Deuces Wild

Starring:Stephen Dorff, Fairuza Balk
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Take West Side Story, remove the music, add excessive profanity and violence, and you'll get Deuces Wild. It's an overripe melodrama in which rival street gangs--in this case Deuces vs. Vipers in 1958 Brooklyn--inevitably clash in a deadly rumble, preceded by shameless scenery-chewing from nearly everyone involved. Stephen Dorff plays the head Deuce, agonizing over his older brother's drug overdose and leading a cast of rising stars and familiar faces including Brad Renfro as Dorff's hot-tempered kid brother, Norman Reedus as the vicious lead Viper, Fairuza Balk as Renfro's no-nonsense girlfriend, and Matt Dillon (uncredited) as the kingpin who introduces heroin to Dorff's drug-free turf. Balthazar Getty, Frankie Muniz, and James Franco are also in the cast, suggesting that director Scott Kalvert was hoping for an unforgettable ensemble. What he got instead was a stale story crowded with percolating posers, recommended only for those who've never seen the 1979 street-gang classic The Warriors. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Deuces Wild doesnt have that much fight in it.......2005-09-26

Stephen Dorff (Blade, Entropy) stars as the leader of the gang called the Deuces and he was stricken years ago when one of his brothers died from an overdose that his enemy on the otherside of the street, the leader of the Vipers, played by Norman Reedus (Blade 2, Gossip) gave him. Now, Reedus springs out of prison and wants to take revenge on the Deuces starting a club on their side. Brad Renfro (The Jacket, Tart) plays the second older brother of Dorff who falls madly in love with a member of the Vipers sisters, played by Fairuza Balk (Almost Famous, The Craft) but his brother Dorff has his suspicions about her and doesnt want Renfro to be going out with her. Then things heat up as both gangs go head on in fights and brawls to see who comes out on top. Sometimes boring, nothing that can bring it up to be a good movie. Some of the acting is laughable and the editing, especially the fast motion/slow motion sprinkled into the fight scenes are really lame. Also starring Matt Dillon (Crash '05, The Outsiders) who is wasted here, Balthazar Getty (Lost Highway, Lord Of The Flies), Max Perlich(Blow, Drugstore Cowboy), James Franco (James Dean, Spider-Man 2) , Johnny Knoxille (Big Trouble, Dukes Of Hazzard), Frankie Muniz (Agent Cody Banks, Big Fat Liar), Deborah Harry (lead singer of Blondie) and Dre de Matteo (Assault On Precinct 13 '05).

no more west side story comparisons,please!!.......2005-02-21

when i heard about DEUCES WILD back in late 1999 early 2000,i was elated at the prospect of there finally being another 50's/early 60's type of street gang melodrama on the horizon.
yet,of course,because of the 9/11 incident in new york,the a-holes in hollywood decided to push back its release for quite a while,so i had to be content with the occasional promo photo in random movie magazines.
finally the movie came out without much fanfare,alas it was also the 'spiderman' weekend,and also the innocuos 'lord of the rings' was in theatres as well that weekend,but luckilly that meant i was in the movie theatre with just myself,my girl and about ten other people.
i thought the movie was excellent,great costumes,great cars,great period music,great locations,good yet hammy acting,gorgeous leading ladies,stylized violent rumble scenes,cheezy yet touching overacted scenes between familys,decent period detail.
yet then the reviews started coming in,and everybody who had ever had freshmen english or drama class compared it annoyingly to west side story,a 1961 singing and dancing musical,when they should have made comparisons to another tho far superior 1961 gang film,john frankenhiemer's black and white opus,'the young savages',or even to photographer bruce davidson's late 50's photo essay,'brooklyn gang' or even the short comic story in the late 70's underground comic,'50's funnies',called,'turf',about a gang in the 50's fighting with another gang who wanted drugs in the neiborhood and who had mob backing and a character was even named marco.....awfully convenient dont you think?
anyways,while this movie was'nt as good as 'the young savages','lords of flatbush' or 'the wanderers',to name but a few,but it was a hundred times better than the wimpy 'west side story' could ever be.
i dont know if this review helps,but the leads in this film were really good,stephen dorf,brad renfro,drea dematteo,faruiza balk,matt dillon,normon reedus and james franco putting in good performances......also i liked the fact that they did,nt over saturate the film with to much music from the past,it was just the right amount,very good choices of songs by 'dion and the belmonts','jerry butler and the impressions','the valentines','dee clark' and a few others.
and of course,faruiza balk and drea dematteo,tho a little long in the tooth to be playing teenagers,looked absolutely scrumptiuos.

A more intense version of West Side Story.......2004-11-27

Scott Kalvert did an outstanding job directing this movie and making the time period as realistic as possible. The similarity between this and Westside Story is the gang rivalry. In Westside Story, you have The Jets vs. The Sharks and in this movie you have The Deuces vs. The Vipers. I didn't see all of Westside Story though but it seems like its less intense than this movie. This movie has some Rebel Without A Cause as well but I didn't see that movie either. I compare this movie to Rebel Without A Cause because of the gang element and Stephen Dorff is The Jimmy Dean of this movie. Stephen Dorff does a great job as 'Leon', the noble yet violent leader of The Deuces. Brad Renfro also does a great job as Leon's younger brother Bobby. He is easily influenced by his brother's hatred towards The Vipers and his life-style is even more chaotic when he meets 'Annie', who is played by Fairuza Balk. Drea DeMateo was so so as 'Betsy', Norman Reedus does a great job as 'Marco', and Matt Dillion does a great job as 'Fritzy'. Overall, its a powerful and intense movie and a must see for movie fans. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

save your money.......2004-04-13

Unless you like cheesey, poorly written, poorly acted, and poorly executed movies save yourself the money. If you just have to have a nostaglia trip, get The Outsiders instead

just ok .... far from great , but not awful.......2004-01-10

Well like most others have commented yes the basic plot of the movie has been too many times to count . And yes there have been dozens of movies about the big-greasy hair and white t-shirt gangs of the late 50's and early 60's . But how many of those involved heroin dealers? or how many were as violent but as well written as this movie ... Yes , I will admit that the casting is a little weird in places . Most of the characters are suposed to be in their late teens or early twenties , and Fairuza Balk and Drea Demateo are just a little too old to be playing girls in their late teens . Or the head of the Deuces and his brother are really out of place , the are suposed to be in their early 20s! Couldn't they have found actors with less receaded hair lines?

The film itself is ok and is filled with ok writting, decent acting , and tons of nostalga ( all the cars and the BROOKLYN Dodgers). And if you want to know the honest truth I saw the movie mostly because I'm obssessed with Fairuza Balk (dont ask why , Im not sure "why") .Yeah overall the movie does leave something to be desired in some areas but you should find something to like and will probably watch this again when you dont know what else to rent or need to kill an hour or two. So yeah its an ok movie.

[19 Comedy Flicks] Love Laughs At Andy Hardy, My Dear Secretary, Never Wave At a WAC, Nothing Sacred, the Nasty Rabbit, New Fave, One Week, Parlor Bedroom and Bath, Smallest Show on Earth, Two Weeks to Live, Bashful Bachelor, so This Iswashington, Dreaming Out Loud, Clancy Street Boys, East Side Kids, Little Tough Guy, Spooks Run Wild, Flying Deuces, Stolen Tools

Average customer rating:

[19 Comedy Flicks] Love Laughs At Andy Hardy, My Dear Secretary, Never Wave At a WAC, Nothing Sacred, the Nasty Rabbit, New Fave, One Week, Parlor Bedroom and Bath, Smallest Show on Earth, Two Weeks to Live, Bashful Bachelor, so This Iswashington, Dreaming Out Loud, Clancy Street Boys, East Side Kids, Little Tough Guy, Spooks Run Wild, Flying Deuces, Stolen Tools

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000E3AW7O

Product Description

DVD FEATURES: DIGITALLY MASTERED, INTERACTIVE MENUS, CHAPTER SELECTIONS, ENHANCED AUDIO 5.1

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