Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo is a 1999 American sex comedy film directed by Mike Mitchell in his feature-length directorial debut, written by Harris Goldberg and Rob Schneider, and starring Schneider in the title role, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, and Arija Bareikis. The film tells the story of a hapless fishtank cleaner who goes into business as a male sex worker in an attempt to earn enough money to repair damage he caused while house-sitting. The film is notable for being the first film produced by Happy Madison Productions. The film was released on December 10, 1999 by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Touchstone Pictures label). While the film received negative reviews from critics, it was a box office success, grossing $92 million worldwide on a $17 million budget. A sequel, titled Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, was released in 2005 by Columbia Pictures instead of Touchstone Pictures. Plot Deuce Bigalow, an insecure fishtank cleaner, is fired for cleaning the tank at a public aquarium while naked. Deuce is unsuccessful in attracting women, so he attempts to keep himself busy at work. On a house call, he meets the Argentinian male prostitute Antoine Laconte. Antoine is going on a business trip, and so asks Deuce to care for his sick lionfish and protect his home while he is away. Deuce accidentally sets Antoine's kitchen on fire when trying to make a grilled cheese sandwich in the toaster, and breaks an expensive fish tank, causing a lot of water damage. Fearing Antoine will kill him (Antoine even tells him he will if he messes the place up), Deuce is forced to find a way to pay $6,000 for the damage. Low-rent pimp T.J. Hicks offers to help Deuce make enough money to buy a new fish tank, and convinces Deuce to take over the absent Antoine's role as a gigolo. Deuce decides to make the clients feel better about themselves since he only desires to have sex with beautiful women. Deuce meets unusual clients but he still manages to get along with them, despite there being no sex involved, by helping them with certain issues in their lives. The clients include Carol, a woman who is severely narcoleptic; Ruth, who has Tourette syndrome with coprolalia, and therefore is afraid of socializing; Fluisa, a mannish obese woman weighing close to 750 pounds; and Tina, a woman that has a pituitary gland disorder and is