Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo | |
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Directed by | Mike Bigelow |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Rob Schneider |
Based on | Characters by
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Produced by | |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Marc Felperlaan |
Edited by |
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Music by | James L. Venable |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $22 million [1] |
Box office | $45.3 million [1] |
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is a 2005 American crime sex comedy film directed by Mike Bigelow from a screenplay by Rob Schneider, David Garrett, and Jason Ward. The film is the sequel to Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) and stars Schneider (reprising his role from the first film), Eddie Griffin, Til Schweiger, and Jeroen Krabbé. The plot involves male prostitute Deuce Bigalow visiting his former pimp T.J. in Amsterdam, and looking for a murderer who is killing the greatest "man-whores" of Europe.
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo was released in the United States on August 12, 2005, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received worse reviews and earned less money than its predecessor, grossing over $45 million worldwide against a $22 million budget. It was also nominated for Worst Picture at the 26th Golden Raspberry Awards, while Schneider won Worst Actor.
Former gigolo Deuce Bigalow, recently widowed after his wife Kate is killed in a shark attack, is invited by his former pimp T.J. to Amsterdam. There, he learns that European gigolos are being murdered by a "Man-whore Killer" with T.J.'s employee Lil' Kim quitting to avoid being killed.
Deuce finds German gigolo Heinz Hummer asleep in an alley behind a coffee shop; believing he is high, Deuce takes him to T.J.'s boat. After realizing Hummer is dead, T.J. prepares to dump the body in the river but decides to confirm Hummer's reputation of being well-endowed by examining Hummer's penis; T.J. is photographed during the act and becomes the primary homicide suspect. Deuce is apprehended and interviewed by Gaspar Voorsboch, a police inspector.
When Deuce is released, T.J., now in disguise, convinces Deuce to find the killer by becoming a gigolo again. Former gigolo Antoine gives Deuce a client list but is murdered; T.J. is again photographed at the scene. Deuce and T.J. visit the first client on the list, and while Deuce distracts the woman, T.J. discovers lipstick that matches the kind found on the dead gigolos. Deuce gives Gaspar the lipstick, who dismisses it.
Deuce meets Gaspar's niece, Eva, who suffers from extreme obsessive–compulsive disorder. Deuce continues to investigate different women from Antoine's list including Lily, who speaks through an electrolarynx after a laryngectomy, and Svetlana, who has a penis for a nose after being raised in Chernobyl. Deuce and T.J. infiltrate the European gigolo office, where the Man-whore Killer murders another gigolo; T.J. is arrested when he is caught at the scene again.
Deuce visits Eva's apartment and discovers items used by the Man-whore Killer. Deuce confides his suspicions to Gaspar but is again dismissed. However, Gaspar reveals to Eva that he is the Man-whore Killer; he locks her up and prepares to frame her. An unsuspecting Deuce then rides with Gaspar to the "Man-Whore Awards" ceremony under the guise of protecting the gigolos.
Eva escapes and tries to warn Deuce. However, Gaspar holds Deuce at gunpoint and reveals he was once a hopeful gigolo who was humiliated when another gigolo had sex with his fiancé; Gaspar was so distraught he accidentally injured himself with a penis pump. Gaspar reveals that he plans to kill all the European gigolos with a bomb.
Deuce evacuates the building and engages in a sword fight with Gaspar, during which he mentions non-sexual romantic ways of pleasing a woman; his words move the crowd. Gaspar defeats Deuce, but before he can detonate the bomb, Lily and Svetlana distract Gaspar; Deuce gains control of the detonator and is awarded the "Golden Boner" for his bravery. When he kisses Eva, Deuce accidentally sets off the bomb, but no one is injured. Deuce and Eva pick up a newly freed T.J., who tells them that he is entering a brand-new market: homosexual prostitution.
A post-script reveals that T.J. stops gay man-whoring and becomes a rapper called MC Extra Nipple where he didn't make any records and was shot several times. Deuce and Eva got married where they are expecting twin gigolos. Gaspar became a gigolo in prison....against his will. Lil' Kim had a penis enlargement which is now 4 inches wide. Svetlana marries a man with a vagina for a face where everyone vomited uncontrollably. Kate's prosthetic leg is turned into a bong by an old Dutch woman.
The film also includes cameos by Elisabetta Canalis as a castle lady and Dutch actress Chantal Janzen as a Scandinavian porn star. Wes Takahashi, former animator and visual effects supervisor for Industrial Light & Magic, makes a cameo appearance as a news reporter, [2] and Katie Downes appears as a widow cleaner lady.
Disney declined to produce the sequel, deeming it inappropriate for a PG-13 rating, as they aimed to avoid the R rating of the original film. Consequently, the film was picked up by Sony Pictures, which retained the distribution rights. [3] Disney however retains 5% of the box office gross. [4] To promote the film, Sony organized a "Man-Whore of the Year" contest in collaboration with Maxim, held in Las Vegas. [3]
Eddie Griffin verified in an interview that "a really old stuffed cat" was used during the cat scene. [5]
The film earned $9.6 million on its opening weekend and debuted in 3,127 theaters. The film grossed $22.4 million in North America and $22.9 million in international markets, grossing $45.3 million worldwide. [1]
On Rotten Tomatoes Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo has an approval rating of 9% based on reviews from 100 critics, with an average rating of 3.30/10. The site's consensus states: "A witless follow-up to the surprise 1999 hit, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is raunchy, politically incorrect, and not particularly funny." [6] On Metacritic the film has a score of 23% based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C+. [8]
Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Every bit as vulgar, sophomoric and thoroughly tasteless as 1999's Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. But what is most annoying is the sequel's capability of inducing laughter even as one hates oneself for so easily succumbing to the total silliness of it all." [9] Robert Koehler of Variety called it "Rude, crude and, uh, cosmopolitan, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo waves the flag for R-rated politically incorrect studio comedy but doesn't top the laugh ratio of the first Deuce misadventure." [10]
Roger Ebert gave the film a rare "zero star" rating, calling it "aggressively bad, as if it wants to cause suffering to the audience", and describing it as "completely beneath contempt" on his show Ebert & Roeper . [11] He ranked it as the worst film of 2005, and ultimately included the movie in his most hated films list. [12] Also on Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper called the film "the cinematic equivalent of a bunch of 13-year-old boys in a locker room repeating dirty phrases they've just learned" and "dead on arrival."
Ebert also chastised Rob Schneider for his overly zealous defense of the series, referring to an incident in which Los Angeles Times critic Patrick Goldstein called Schneider a "third-rate comic." Schneider responded by calling Goldstein a "third-rate, unfunny pompous reporter" in a full-page open letter published in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter . Schneider further claimed that Goldstein was unqualified to review the film since he was not a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Ebert, having won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975, took it upon himself to criticize Schneider in his own review:
"Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks."
The quote "Your movie sucks" would later become the title of a book published by Ebert compiling reviews of films he had awarded below 2/4 stars. [11]
Ebert and Schneider ultimately settled their differences, and Schneider sent his well wishes to Ebert during his recovery from thyroid cancer. Ebert responded, "Rob Schneider might (in my opinion) have made a bad movie. He is not a bad man." [13] After Ebert's death, in a letter to his widow Chaz, Schneider admitted that the situation caused him to "reassess what pictures I really wanted to make." [14]
Schneider, years later, would admit in retrospect he was disappointed with the film, feeling it lacked the "heart" of the first installment. [15]
The film was nominated for five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Screen Couple (Rob Schneider and his diapers) with Schneider winning Worst Actor. [16]
Robert Michael Schneider is an American actor, comedian and anti-vaccine activist. After several years performing stand-up comedy, Schneider achieved wider success as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1994, which earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Edward Rubin Griffin is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for portraying Eddie Sherman in the sitcom Malcolm & Eddie, the title character in the 2002 comedy film Undercover Brother, and Tiberius Jefferson "T.J." Hicks in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999) and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005). He also portrayed Lester Matthews in John Q. (2002), Orpheus in Scary Movie 3 (2003), Pope Sweet Jesus in Norbit (2007), and voiced Richard Pryor on Black Dynamite (2012–2015). Griffin was ranked at number 62 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time.
Jacqueline Obradors is an American actress. She has appeared in films such as Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999), Tortilla Soup (2001), A Man Apart (2003) and Unstoppable (2004). She is also the voice of Audrey Rocio Ramirez in Atlantis: The Lost Empire. On television, Obradors is known for her role as Detective Rita Ortiz in the ABC crime drama series NYPD Blue (2001–2005).
Oded Fehr is an Israeli actor based in the United States. He is known for his appearance as Ardeth Bay in the 1999 remake of The Mummy and its sequel The Mummy Returns, as well as Carlos Olivera in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Resident Evil: Extinction and Todd/Clone Carlos in Resident Evil: Retribution, Faris al-Farik in Sleeper Cell, Antoine Laconte in Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, the demon Zankou in the TV series Charmed and Eli Cohn on the TV series V. He also portrayed Eyal Lavin, a Mossad agent on the TV series Covert Affairs, as well as Beau Bronn on the TV series Jane by Design and Mossad Deputy Director Ilan Bodnar on NCIS. Additionally he has been the voice of Osiris in the Destiny 2 video game since its Curse of Osiris expansion in 2017. Since 2020, Fehr has appeared in Star Trek: Discovery as Fleet Admiral Charles Vance.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a 1999 American sex comedy film directed by Mike Mitchell and written by Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider. The film stars Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Arija Bareikis, with supporting roles by Oded Fehr, Gail O'Grady, Richard Riehle, Jacqueline Obradors, Big Boy, Amy Poehler, and Dina Platias. The film tells the story of a hapless fishtank cleaner who goes into business as a male prostitute in an attempt to earn enough money to repair damage he caused while house-sitting. It was the first film produced by Adam Sandler's production company Happy Madison Productions.
Deuce Bigalow is a fictional character played by Rob Schneider in the following movies:
Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to:
Arija Allison Bareikis is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Officer Chickie Brown in the TV crime drama Southland. She is also known for the films Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo and The Purge.
Hanna Verboom is a Dutch actress.
The 26th Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, were held on March 4, 2006, at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood, California to honor the worst films the film industry had to offer in 2005. The nominations for the Golden Raspberry Awards were announced on January 30, 2006. The most nominated film of the year was Son of the Mask with eight nominations, followed by The Dukes of Hazzard with seven, Dirty Love with six, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo and Bewitched with five. The only picture to take home multiple penalties was Dirty Love, with four. The official press release announcing the 2005 winners proclaimed Dirty Love "...a little stinker that no one but [Razzie voters] even seem to know existed."
The male prostitute or hustler is a frequent stereotype in literature and movies in the West from the 1960s on, and especially in movies and books with a gay perspective in which he may be considered a stock character. He also appears occasionally in popular music, some contemporary fashion advertising, and the visual arts.
Kostas Sommer is a Greek actor and television host who has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. In 2005, he appeared in the Hollywood film Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo starring Rob Schneider, as the Greek gigolo Assapopoulos Mariolis. The role was Sommer's first Hollywood role, after his only audition since arriving in Los Angeles.
Bobbi Sue Luther is an American model, actress, producer and host of TLC's Junkyard Mega Wars.
Cornelis Pieter "Cees" Geel is a Dutch television, radio and film actor. His notable credits include in the TV miniseries Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001) and in the film Simon (2004). He won the Golden Calf for Best Actor award for his role in Simon.
Patrick Goldstein is an American former film critic and columnist for the Los Angeles Times who wrote about movies in a column titled The Big Picture. Colleague Tom O'Neil described him as the newspaper's "chief Oscarologist" as his column focused largely on the doings of the Academy Awards. Goldstein and O'Neil had a long rivalry concerning the outcome of annual Academy Awards.
A gigolo is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship.
John Steven Schneider is an American film, television and multi-media producer and artists' manager based in Los Angeles, California. The Pacifica, California, native made his first forays into show business when he took on the position of personal manager for his younger brother, comedian and actor Rob Schneider, and subsequently managed the San Francisco area rock band Head On. Eventually, John transitioned into producing movies such as The Hot Chick and Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, alongside executive producers Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo.
Harris Goldberg is a Canadian-American director, writer and producer. He co-wrote the 1999 film Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo with Rob Schneider and the 2002 film The Master of Disguise with Dana Carvey. In 2007, Goldberg wrote and directed the film Numb, inspired by his own experiences battling an anxiety disorder.
Wes Ford Takahashi is an American visual effects animator and animation supervisor who has worked for motion picture visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic. He is known for his special effects work on numerous films; his efforts includes animating the time travel sequences for all three Back to the Future films and the "boy on the moon" in the DreamWorks logo. He is the former head of ILM's animation department.
Erik de Vogel is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the role of Ludo Sanders in the soap opera Goede tijden, slechte tijden for over 25 years.
(The main reason Schneider disliked the "Deuce" sequel is he said it lacked the heart of the original film – it was all smut jokes, without the sweet spot.)