Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo DVD Review:

After leaving Man-Whoring behind, Deuce Bigalow (Schneider) is trying to get over the freak death of his beloved Kate but when his latest project causes a dolphin riot, Deuce decides to visit his old friend T.J. (Griffin) in Amsterdam. When he gets there he discovers that a killer is murdering man-whores during the run up to the Man-Whore of the Year awards and T.J. is the police’s main suspect. It is now up to Deuce to help clear his friend’s name but the only way he can do that is to become a Man-Whore again.

Rob Schneider returns to his most famous comedic creation but can Deuce Bigalow’s second adventure up the man whoring to a new level?

Rob Schneider has made a career from playing down and out characters that rise up against their ugliness and live happily ever after with a beautiful girl who sees past his imperfections. When he created Deuce Bigalow however he took this to a whole new level by saying that women would actually pay to be with him. Rob Schneider introduced us to the man-whore and he had finally created a funny character but the bad news is that he has completely ruined him in the sequel.

After the success of the first film in 1999 a sequel was inevitable but with such a long gap between the first and second film you cannot help but think that he left far too much time between the first and second movies. Where the first film was fresh and a twist on his usual formula, the second film is stale, clichéd and just not funny.

The continuation of Deuce’s adventures could have offered more laughs to fans of the original but instead we have endure a far fetched plot and a complete lack of man whoring. Yes Deuce does have to return to the strange and bizarre women he had to date in the first film but none of them have the development that they had before. Now we have a collection of complete freaks that just take the joke too far.

The performances don’t make up for any of these shortcomings either. Eddie Griffin’s T.J. becomes an assortment of clichés and repeated gags that just becomes annoying as the film progresses. Hanna Verboom is beautiful but she is only there to look good. Jeroen Krabbé tries his best with a one-dimensional character but it is Rob Schneider himself who comes off worst. Deuce just doesn’t advance at all as he tries to become even nicer and even an action hero.

‘Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo’ is an example of why sequels should not be made. Even fans of the original will struggle to find any enjoyment in this. It is time for Rob Schneider to give up his man whoring ways.

Star Rating = *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Behind the Gigolo: The making of Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo Part 1 & 2 (61.52 mins)
Director Mike Bigalow, producer John Schneider, executive producer Glen S. Gainer and stars Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Hanna Verboom, Katie Dawnes, Rachel Stevens and many other stars of the film, take you behind the scenes of the man-whoring sequel. Filled with exclusive B-Roll footage and onset interviews, we see what the cast and crew got up to during the Amsterdam shoot. We also get an insight into the more raunchy side of the production as we see how all the elements of the film where put together.

The Casting Lounge (4.20 mins)
Star Rob Schneider is joined by Johnny Vaughn and nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow audition Page 3 girls for the part of the girl wasting the widow in Amsterdam. Well someone has to do it.

TJ’s float crib (5.10 mins)
The main man takes you on a guided tour of the ‘Pimp of the Sea’.

So you want to be a Man-whore (2.54 mins)
Watch adverts for ‘Cock Cleaner 3000’, ‘Hot Moves’, ‘1-800-HUMP-ME’ and ‘Herpes PSA’

Comedy Central Special (21.01 mins)
Rob Schneider and Eddie Griffin take you behind the scenes of the Amsterdam shoot of the Deuce Bigalow sequel. With contributions from Hanna Verboom, Norm MacDonald and Fred Armisen, the cast talk about what happens in the movie and this accompanied by clips from the film.

Man-ho 101 (3.52 mins)
Rob Schneider, Eddie Griffin, Koster Sommer, Fred Armisen and Hanna Verboom talk about the various positions and techniques used by man-whores around the world.

Deleted Scenes (4.56 mins)
Entitled ‘Deuce’s window dance’ and ‘The Mmm Mmm Club’, these deleted scenes suffer from the lack of a commentary or introduction to explain why they were cut.

Trailers
Previews of ‘Bewitched’, ‘Into the Blue’, ‘The Longest Yard’, ‘Lords of Dog Town’, ‘Ringers: Lord of the Fans’ and ‘Stealth’

OVERALL

When the DVD extras are the highlight you know that something has gone wrong with the film. The making of documentary has more laughs than the actual film and rest of the extras are just as good. Deuce fans will be more pleased with the extras than the movie itself.



Jamie Kelwick