Deuces Wild (2002)

Director:

Scott Kalvert

Writers (WGA):

Paul Kimatian (written by) &
Christopher Gambale (written by)

Release Date:

3 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Before gangs had guns... they fought with guts.

Plot:

Two brothers, Leon and Bobby are members of the street gang in Brooklyn known as the deuces. Their brother...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | 1950s | New York City | Street Gang | Gang War

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Stephen Dorff	...	Leon
Brad Renfro	...	Bobby
Fairuza Balk	...	Annie
Norman Reedus	...	Marco
Max Perlich	...	Freddie
Drea de Matteo	...	Betsy
Vincent Pastore	...	Father Aldo
Frankie Muniz	...	Scooch
Balthazar Getty	...	Jimmy Pockets
Nancy Cassaro	...	Esther
Matt Dillon	...	Fritzy
Deborah Harry	...	Wendy
James Franco	...	Tino
Joshua Leonard	...	Punchy (as Josh Leonard)
Alba Albanese	...	Brenda

Also Known As:

Deuces Wild - Wild in den Straßen (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language, some drug content and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

96 min | Spain:100 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #37939) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

CineWild

Trivia:

Josh Hartnett was originally cast in the role of Tino but was allowed by the producers to drop out when he won the role of Danny in Pearl Harbor (2001).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the scene between Bobby yelling at his mom and Leon sending him out, someone (clearly not Bobby or Leon) casts a shadow on the wall.

Quotes:

Leon: You don't run the Deuces, I do!

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo (2007)

Soundtrack:

For Your Precious Love

A good weekly rent.

A movie that goes along the tradition of Goodfellas(1990) or something like it, alas, in a whole different league.

The whole finished piece ends up almost like a B-movie, there is no doubt that , in some country like Australia most probably , Deuces WIld will never be screened to the cinema. Alright, aside from that , this film still manages to entertain , i mean we have to expect something from the guy who directed the gritty Basketball diaries(1995).

with the usual plot of a rigtheous gang that will stand againts the odds , no doubt cinema geeks have seen this before , i call it a blend of Rumble fish (1984) and the Young and Dangerous series (Hongkong Productions).

Stephen Dorf plays Leon, the righteous gang leader who still cleans the mosaic windows of churches, probably as an act of redemption, Bad kid Brad Renfro plays his younger angry brother, who also acts as the narrator of the story. Somehow Renfro's acting reminds me of his character in Bully(2000) , still grunting around as usual,and looking more and more beefy, this is the tyke who appears in The client(1993), Dorf performance saves himself from being a miscast character, the crew cut really exposes his lack of hair, i guess he is getting old, and damn, he is just too skinny despite the DVD commentary said that he undergoes rigorous weight lifting. Norman Reedus the annoying scuddie from Blade 2 plays Marco Vendetti the villain, well it seems that he have to be supported with a shiv and non-stop utterings of profanity to be a real bad ass, almost a bad job.

Not really a crucial role here, but James Franco as one of the uber deuces looks like a reincarnation of the original Rebel without a cause fella...have to see to be believed.

None of the female characters in here seems to be presented as at least a decent accountable character; One alcoholic mother, one nuts mother, a girlfriend only acts as "the-chick-of -the-badass" played by Madonna look alike Drea De Mateo, and yeah....talking about the most mismatched coupling, A teenage Renfro with close to thirty-ish Fairuza Balk.

SInce the budget seems to be constrained, audience with keen sense of frame could possibly tell that most of the scenes was shot in a backlot set.

In a film like this violence is expected, however oftenly becomes an annoyance as we see packs of Elvis/Dean haired brutes pulverizing each other for five minutes(which is a long time), some of them wield butterfly or flip knifes, amazingly none of them managed to get stabbed. The bone crunching sound effects also add mild bittery aftertaste.

Folks , like i said, this is an alright film , which manages to entertain if you feel violent because somebody ruin your haircut, however an act of purchasing is highly questionable.

2.5 outta 5 stars.

+2.5 for the entertainment value.

-2.5 for all the Balderdash already seen so many times.