Deuces Wild (2002)

I wouldn't recommend this movie, other than on a rainy day. It was basically a hyped up hormones, macho-ism worshiping film about local hoods in Brooklyn. There was the typical clichés, boy meets girl, etc. However, there are a few things that went well: 1) The bad guy was creepy. He was jealous and bitter, like a lot of wannabe hoods who did hard time.2) The older brother was trying to be sedate and practical, while the younger brother was naive and reactive.3) They lived with their mothers, who were going mad. Probably pretty close to true.4) There was no escape from the hood. You were stuck there, and in that environment.5) The fights were not phony. They really did beat each other up, and the last ones standing were the winners. For once, they make the fights look realistic. It wasn't as though they were great fighters, but they fought until they dropped. It was very realistic.However, don't expect too much depth in this film. It was just something to watch on a rainy day.

This film while having a cliche of a storyline, really take the opportunity to highlight talented actors. I have never been a Brad Renfro fan but I definitely would vouch for his role in this movie. He plays a younger brother trying to live up to the expectations set by his past circumstances. He does this well without the old teenage angst. He is explosive and impulsive, therefore very entertaining. Stephen Dorff, a wonderful actor, portrays a character we at times love and hate. He is strong, but his soft side greatly plays into the story. And as for Norman Reedus, one of my favorite actors, he is so easily hated that you have to respect him for that level of acting. If you leave an open mind to the drama that each character is experiencing, the story actually flows together very well.

"Deuces Wild" is one of the worst movies that I have seen in quite a while. It is basically a story of cliches taken from other (better) movies and thrown together to make this lame excuse for a movie. It is even more painful because it stars a bunch of second-rate actors trying to make this thing work. Not a single actor is even able to pull of a halfway decent Brooklyn accent, so how can they be expected to carry this awful script into a watchable movie? Exactly, they can't.Do yourself a favor and avoid this movie at all costs. Watching it is a painful experience.

Don't you hate it when you're standing in the videostore and you already saw all movies that there ? Those are the moments that you rent movies like Deuces Wild...these kind of titles are never high on your list but you take them anyway because the synopsis doesn't sound too bad and you know the washed up actors in it from their earlier - more glorious - roles. The stories of these movies are never highly original. We've all seen it before. The only thing movies like this can do is provide the story with a few interesting twists, cool characters and some good looking settings and locations. And, I'm not being too harsh today, Deuces Wild succeeds in doing so. The story takes place in the 1950's. After he lost his brother to an overdose of Heroïne, Leon ( Stephen Dorff ) founds the "Deuces". A steetgang that tries to keep the Brooklyn neighborhood clean. Opposite to this, is the Viper streetgang. Their leader is about to get released from jail and he ( Norman Reedus from Boondock Saints ) wants to take revenge because he thinks Leon framed him. It looks like a war between both gangs can't be avoided even though the true king of the Brooklyn streets, Fritzy ( a small but great role by Matt Dillon ) , strongly warned them not to fight.Deuces Wild contains a lot of decent actors who never really reached the highest status. You've got the ones I already mentioned, but also known names like Fairuza Balk, Brad Renfro and Deborah Harry. The cast also includes a few upcoming names like James Franco and the annoying ( in my opinion, of course ) Frankie Muniz. They also deliver pretty decent acting jobs but the show gets stolen by the nice and good 50's settings. We're talking old-timers, juke-boxes and lots of hairgel. You're never touched by the story or the characters and that's the biggest disadvantage of this movie. You don't really care who wins or who loses. You never feel involved in the story, but you don't mind watching it. If you ever come across it on TV or at your local videostore...give it a go. It stands for an hour and a half of fun.