Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo

Deuce Bigalow is a down on his luck aquarium cleaner whose life feels glued to a dull routine. After he accidentally wrecks the home of a famous gigolo, cash is tight and repairs are due fast. To fix things, he tries a drastic pivot: he will become a male escort, offering company to women, despite his lack of polish. He stumbles through awkward dates and misreads signals, yet a few clients react with genuine warmth. The situation turns trickier when he falls for one client, and a sleazy cop closes in, adding pressure to keep the ruse from unraveling. The setup leans into broad farce with the mismatched comedy of desire and consequences, testing how far Deuce will go for dignity.

Released in 1999, the film was directed by Mike Mitchell from a screenplay by Rob Schneider, Mike Cachuela, and Harris Goldberg. Rob Schneider stars as Deuce Bigalow with William Forsythe as Det. Fowler, Eddie Griffin as TJ Hicks, Arija Bareikis.

With a production budget of 17 million, it earned 92,938,755 worldwide, delivering solid returns in North America and overseas and helping Rob Schneider establish a foothold in mainstream wide comedies, aided by a broad ensemble including Forsythe, Griffin, and Bareikis.

The movie tapped into late 90s raunchy comedies and helped reinforce Rob Schneider's screen persona as brash, unapologetic humor. Though not a prestige title, it spawned memorable quotes and scenes that popped up in parodies and casual references, signaling a moment when boundary pushing humor found broad audience among fans.

Critics were mixed about the comedy, praising Schneider's timing while noting the jokes lean toward crude footing. The film probes reinvention and desire through a misfit protagonist, balancing crude setup with warmth as it moves through rapid gags and awkward revelations, a result that sparked debate about humor boundaries everywhere.