I still remember when this movie came out - it sounded pretty bad, and I certainly wasn't all that interested in watching a film about a male prostitute. Actually, when one comes to think about it, if being a prostitute is considered by many in society to be the bottom of the barrel, then being a male one comes across as being even lower. Moreso, the concept of the male prostitute seems to always be connected with homosexuality, and the passive participant at that.
However, what surprised me was that this film was nothing of the sort. Okay, back when the film was released the gay community was still fighting tooth and nail for recognition, and while they did appear in films, and in fact appeared in films not as something to be laughed at, it wasn't anywhere near as ubiquitous as it is today. Another thing is that the picture of the male prostitute is actually painted as being quite lucrative, though the people who perform the role tend to be incredibly attractive (something that is also the case where prostitution is legal).
The story goes that Deuce happens to be a guy that cleans fish tanks, though you get the impression that he knows an awful lot about fish as well. Anyway, he is summoned by a male prostitute, Antoine, because his really expensive fish is sick, and since Antoine is heading off overseas, he allows Deuce to stay at the house so that he can nurse the fish back to health. Unfortunately, because Deuce is playing around with Antoine's stuff, he ends up breaking the fish tank and he needs to get the money together to replace it - so, he decides to take up Antoine's profession.
The main theme behind this film is that there is much more to a human being than simply having sex. In fact, there is much more to Deuce's client's than just wanting to have sex. As it becomes evident, Deuce simply ends up spending time with them, and finding ways to make them feel comfortable. The thing with his clients is that they are all flawed, and because they are flawed they find it incredibly difficult to interact with other people - especially men. As such, they end up going to Antoine to feel better about themselves, though it ends up being the case that it isn't simply sex that they want, it is companionship, and respect.
That is one of the interesting things that this film raises, and that is how we look for perfection in potential partners, and that is usually in a physical sense. As such, those who are less than perfect tend to fall by the wayside. Okay, finding perfection is impossible, but what ends up happening is that we have a level that we won't drop below, and this leaves a large number of people out to the side, and unfortunately, more likely than not, they end up being women (though there are also a lot of men there as well, though that ends up being personality than anything else). What this film is reminding us is how we need to learn to respect all people, because there are elements in them that are good, and by simply writing them off because of their flaws shows how shallow we as humans can actually be.
Mind you, when I think about it, such a film no doubt is not going to be heavy on the sex, especially since this is something that you wouldn't expect coming from Deuce. In fact, this film comes out of Adam Sandler's company, so you pretty much can see his hands all over the production (and he even appears in it, uncredited). In a way it is one of those oddball comedies, and one that ended up being much better than my original, rather biased mind, considered it to be - especially how others pointed out that we shouldn't judge it by the title.
Another thing I really liked in the film was the character of TJ - the pimp, though he happens to be a pimp for the male prostitutes. He's one of those characters that I do particularly like. The other characters were pretty cool as well, especially some of the women who had particular flaws. Of course we also have Deuce, who happens to be the perfect gentleman, so it isn't all that surprising that we have the woman in the fish shop who just seems to think that she is too good for him (or rather that he is a bit of a sleaze, which honestly he his). Yeah, you could say that through this film he actually comes to learn more about women, and that they are more than simply objects to gawk at, or even trick into revealing certain parts of their bodies (though he doesn't change in some regards).
Oh, and this also applies to the men as well, especially with Detective Fowler, who spends the entire film asking Deuce if he thinks a certain part of his anatomy is abnormal. Deuce also works his magic with him, by reminding him that it works both ways, and they we need to accept who we are, because by accepting who we are means that others can accept us as well. The fact that he is ashamed of himself means that his wife begins to lose respect for him, and it ends up being a vicious cycle. In the same way that Deuce helped his clients learn to respect themselves, Deuce also helps Fowler respect himself, and in turn saves his marriage.
Yeah, it does go to the suggestion that a prostitute is actually partly a psychologist, and there is much, much more to the profession providing sexual services.
However, what surprised me was that this film was nothing of the sort. Okay, back when the film was released the gay community was still fighting tooth and nail for recognition, and while they did appear in films, and in fact appeared in films not as something to be laughed at, it wasn't anywhere near as ubiquitous as it is today. Another thing is that the picture of the male prostitute is actually painted as being quite lucrative, though the people who perform the role tend to be incredibly attractive (something that is also the case where prostitution is legal).
The story goes that Deuce happens to be a guy that cleans fish tanks, though you get the impression that he knows an awful lot about fish as well. Anyway, he is summoned by a male prostitute, Antoine, because his really expensive fish is sick, and since Antoine is heading off overseas, he allows Deuce to stay at the house so that he can nurse the fish back to health. Unfortunately, because Deuce is playing around with Antoine's stuff, he ends up breaking the fish tank and he needs to get the money together to replace it - so, he decides to take up Antoine's profession.
The main theme behind this film is that there is much more to a human being than simply having sex. In fact, there is much more to Deuce's client's than just wanting to have sex. As it becomes evident, Deuce simply ends up spending time with them, and finding ways to make them feel comfortable. The thing with his clients is that they are all flawed, and because they are flawed they find it incredibly difficult to interact with other people - especially men. As such, they end up going to Antoine to feel better about themselves, though it ends up being the case that it isn't simply sex that they want, it is companionship, and respect.
That is one of the interesting things that this film raises, and that is how we look for perfection in potential partners, and that is usually in a physical sense. As such, those who are less than perfect tend to fall by the wayside. Okay, finding perfection is impossible, but what ends up happening is that we have a level that we won't drop below, and this leaves a large number of people out to the side, and unfortunately, more likely than not, they end up being women (though there are also a lot of men there as well, though that ends up being personality than anything else). What this film is reminding us is how we need to learn to respect all people, because there are elements in them that are good, and by simply writing them off because of their flaws shows how shallow we as humans can actually be.
Mind you, when I think about it, such a film no doubt is not going to be heavy on the sex, especially since this is something that you wouldn't expect coming from Deuce. In fact, this film comes out of Adam Sandler's company, so you pretty much can see his hands all over the production (and he even appears in it, uncredited). In a way it is one of those oddball comedies, and one that ended up being much better than my original, rather biased mind, considered it to be - especially how others pointed out that we shouldn't judge it by the title.
Another thing I really liked in the film was the character of TJ - the pimp, though he happens to be a pimp for the male prostitutes. He's one of those characters that I do particularly like. The other characters were pretty cool as well, especially some of the women who had particular flaws. Of course we also have Deuce, who happens to be the perfect gentleman, so it isn't all that surprising that we have the woman in the fish shop who just seems to think that she is too good for him (or rather that he is a bit of a sleaze, which honestly he his). Yeah, you could say that through this film he actually comes to learn more about women, and that they are more than simply objects to gawk at, or even trick into revealing certain parts of their bodies (though he doesn't change in some regards).
Oh, and this also applies to the men as well, especially with Detective Fowler, who spends the entire film asking Deuce if he thinks a certain part of his anatomy is abnormal. Deuce also works his magic with him, by reminding him that it works both ways, and they we need to accept who we are, because by accepting who we are means that others can accept us as well. The fact that he is ashamed of himself means that his wife begins to lose respect for him, and it ends up being a vicious cycle. In the same way that Deuce helped his clients learn to respect themselves, Deuce also helps Fowler respect himself, and in turn saves his marriage.
Yeah, it does go to the suggestion that a prostitute is actually partly a psychologist, and there is much, much more to the profession providing sexual services.