Apparently, there are some people out there who dont know what the word gigolo means. Fortunately Im not one of them, predominantly because Im one of the few people who still remembers the early-90s sitcom Just a Gigolo, starring the mighty Tony Slattery. Come to think of it, Im probably one of the few people who still remembers Tony Slattery.
Anyway, for the unenlightened, a gigolo is a bloke who ladies pay to spend time with them or, as this movie frequently puts it, a man whore. If youre a male reading this right now, and youre thinking to yourself that that sounds like an absolute belter of a job, then you are of course absolutely right. More importantly, youd think it would open up all manner of comic opportunities for a movie such as this one. Sadly though, that Slattery thingmy didnt take advantage of them all those years ago, and Rob Schneider doesnt take advantage of them here.
Schneider who co-wrote this guff with Harris Goldberg plays Deuce Bigalow, a slightly sleazy fish-tank cleaner who joins the escort industry in the hope of making a quick buck when top man-proz Antoine (Oded Fehr) heads off to Switzerland and leaves him to house-sit. Upon hearing jobs like this exist, Bigalow says Im gonna kill my guidance counsellor which is a good gag, but its all downhill from there as he makes his way through a series of predictably dodgy clients. Theres the fat woman (ha!), the really tall woman (hee!) and the woman who suffers from Tourettes (stop it, youre killing me!). Comedy gold it aint.
To the films credit, theres a surprisingly nice moral message underpinning the whole thing, but on the whole it makes for lousy viewing. The story doesnt flow at all well (it feels as if a lot of bits have been edited out, leaving parts of it making very little sense), the supporting performances are weak, and all the Schneider enthusiasm in the world cant make up for the fact that the guy just isnt particularly funny. Wheres Tony Slattery when you need him?