Reviews

Fresh, funny sequels to comedies are quite rare. Usually the premise of the first movie is played out by the time the sequel rolls around a few years later to cash-in on the original's success. We all know of or have had the displeasure of seeing disappoint comedy sequels that don't quite live up to the originals like Fletch, Caddyshack, and The Nutty Professor (the Eddie Murphy version, not Jerry's).

Reincarnated six years after the moderately successful Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, European Gigolo surprisingly outperforms the original. Rob Schneider reprises the same character of the aquatic enthusiast-cum-gigolo, a loser who relates well to the quirky female customers who pay him for dates. There are many crowd-pleasing sight gags and scenes that elicited riotous laughter from the crowd. Eddie Griffin, playing both accused man-whore murderer and Deuce's pimp, brings the same brand of comedy seen in prior roles from the first Deuce as well as a bit of the racial humor from Undercover Brother .

If you enjoyed the first Deuce then the second will be a pleasant romp through the rarely-visited world of male prostitution. If you're not a fan, but instead are seeing the movie with a spouse or friends, you may find yourself giggling nonetheless. The dialogue in the movie is quite vulgar and many groups might find cause to protest. But if the thought of seeing a dwarf tossed, a man eating a wad from a bowl of soup, and enough penis jokes to fill a novel don't give you cause for alarm, then you will likely enjoy what Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo offers. Then again, if you hate the movie, at least it is only 80 minutes.

I wanted this movie to be entertaining. Oh so very much. I read Dave Barry's book--couldn't put it down--when the novel came out. I own many old Dave Barry books with collections of his columns. The guy is a good humorist. So with delayed glee, I finally attended this movie when it opened in April 2002. What a stinker. I chuckled to myself twice. The people who came with me to the theater on my recommendation of this movie from the novel, how I told them it would be hilarious wall-to-wall situations like nothing seen before, still have not forgiven me for making them sit through BIG TROUBLE. Now I'm in big trouble with them and my movie-recommending cred has been irreversibly damaged among my friends and family.

I think what ruined this movie for the most was the voice over and Tim Allen. Also, a lot of the actors seemed to be just phoning in their performances. This is probably due to the root problem of this movie. What really hosed this movie was the flywheel in charge, I speak of Barry Sonnenfield. Big Barry sure can drain the funny out of some of the most talented comedic actors. Hopefully after this movie, Barry paid off his gambling debts and will never need to direct another comedy again.

After watching parts of the movie again recently on TV, I was still left with the same bad sentiments about this movie.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some tight butt who cant relax and enjoy humor of all types--I enjoy and laugh at all kinds of movies, but just not BIG TROUBLE. Here's hoping the next Dave Barry adaptation, if Hollywood producers even take that chance again, is a better movie.

Elimidate differs from other dating/singles shows like Blind Date, Shipmates, Classmates, etc. in that there is *always* drama on these dates, or at least after the producers edit the date. The contestants on Elimidate are usually in their mid-20s to early 30s, with the occasional middle-aged episode of Elimidate thrown in throughout the season.

The *picker* eliminates one suitor each round until after 3 rounds the picker has chosen one of the suitors with whom he or she feels romantically compatible. The suitors, especially the women, need not to know much personal information about the *picker* (ie the man) in order to get into arguments/catfights with their competitors, often over a shallow guy who doesn't add much to the conversation on his date edgewise.

The dates with one man and four women are formulaic. Typically one or two girls will throw themselves at the man, often making out with the guy minutes after meeting him! Next, the man eliminates one of the girls that did *not* kiss him and/or was passive and not dominating the conversation. Now, there is some variety to these situations. Occasionally, the man is a real stud, or the women are more sexually forward than the typical suitor, which results in the guy making out with all 4 girls, many times back-to-back-to-back. The women (and occasional man) who are adamant about their self-prescribed rule of *not kissing on the first date* usually do not win this competitive dating show, and for good reason--the picker generally wants to select the person with whom they share a physical attraction, which possibly leads to a one-night stand or a short-term relationship. Unlike Blind Date, Elimidate does not have follow-up shows or segments on how the winning couple is doing 3-6 months down the road.

Dates with a female picker and 4 bachelor suitors often boil down to the men bickering about their careers. The token unemployed guy or college student is often on the receiving end of the disparaging remarks and he does not often succeed in being chosen in the final round.

The guilty pleasure aspect of Elimidate is laughing at people's awkward behavior while dating, often as the result of drinking too much alcohol, which is paid for by the show's producers. Another high point is when the rejected suitors will flip out after being cut/elimiDated and have juicy insults for the remaining contestants. For the man or woman who travels and dates a lot in various cities, Elimidate can provide some inspiration for venues and bars/clubs to take dates, or where to find singles.

Elimidate is syndicated on a variety of stations, WB, UPN, Fox, WGN, so you can usually find it on 3 or 4 times during the day at various times.

I must be the only person in the world who believes T3 is better than the first two movies, but I stand by my opinion. The first two Terminator movies were great and definitely action classics, and the 3rd one really takes the ball and gives this series a slam dunk. The action is crisp and well filmed. The dialogue is sensible, both serious and half-mocking. Lastly, the storyline did not disappoint, as often is the case in sequels of this scale (ex. the Matrix movies). The casting in this movie at first threw me off, but eventually the new characters fit into the timeline. The female terminator is also another reason to check out T3 many times. All in all, T3 is a benchmark for 21st century action movies.

CYE is the greatest television comedy ever. It is basically what "Seinfeld" could have been if it were allowed to be R-rated. But it is better than "Seinfeld" because:

1) NO LAUGH TRACK (what a brilliant idea) Simply put, when you watch CYE with friends or alone (naked), you will find yourself LOLing. The smart television viewer doesn't need audio cues to let him/her know when a one-liner or situation is funny, we have the freedom to hear the show and laugh at what is funny to us.

2) Celebrities play themselves, not stupid characters.

Seeing people like Ted Danson, Ben Stiller, Mel Brooks, Richard Lewis, etc be themselves but acting in comic situations as friends or acquaintances of Larry David just makes the show even funnier. CYE still casts some lesser known comedic actors as characters (Rachel Harris as a secretary, etc).

3) It's on HBO == profanity = makes the show better. Susie Essman is just hilarious as Jeff's wife. You can't do that kind of character on network or even comedy central.

I can't wait to continue buying the seasons as they are released on DVD, even though HBO comedy frequently shows CYE, just being able to watch CYE whenever you want it is a true luxury.