Deuces Wild

Plot synopsis:
Leon (Stephen Dorff) and Bobby (Brad Renfro) are brothers and members of the Deuces, a Brooklyn street gang. Ever since the death of their other brother Alphonse "Allie Boy" from a drug overdose at the hands of Marco (Norman Reedus), they keep drugs off their block. This puts them in opposition to the Vipers, another local gang headed by Marco, who want to sell drugs in the neighborhood. On the eve of Marco's return from a three-year stint in prison, a gang war seems imminent. Marco plans revenge against Leon, whom he believes ratted him out to the police.
Bobby falls for a new girl who moves in across the street, Annie (Fairuza Balk), the younger sister of Jimmy "Pockets", a Vipers member and heroin dealer. Their attraction for each other complicates the gang rivalry. Marco attacks the block and Bobby before beating and raping Betsy (Leon's girlfriend) in order to push him over the edge. After a series of skirmishes between the Vipers and Deuces, neighborhood Mafioso Fritzy (Matt Dillon) orders Leon and Marco to make amends hours before the climactic rumble (he previously declined Marco's request to kill Leon). Leon disobeys this order in a fight at the docks where Marco is killed along with Jimmy Pockets, leaving Bobby and Annie free to take her mother to Los Angeles. Leon is shot and killed by one of Fritzy's men in retaliation for ignoring his orders. Before leaving, Bobby drops a wheelbarrow full of cinder blocks on Fritzy's car, presumably killing him.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence, flashback

Review:
With the limited funds to make this film, the scenes were filmed with very few takes - giving it a 'play' feel.The story reminds me of "The Outsiders" and "West Side Story" - which I found to be one of the down sides of the movie, but I still liked it overall.Stephen Dorff gives a great performance as Leon, the Deuces leader.
I liked this movie, it was very unrelenting and dark - The fight scenes are pretty intense especially the last one.
A good story about an exploding gang rivalry, there are good performances from Fairuza Balk, Brad Renfro, Drea DeMatteo and others but the two actors from the Blade series really stood out here.
I'm talkin' about Stephen Dorff(Blade, Judgment Night) and Norman Reedus(Blade 2, Boondock Saints), they were great in the rival roles of Leon and Marco, they really brought their hatred for each other to life, good job....
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 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.
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.
But when his brother (Brad Renfro) falls into a sultry - and dangerous - relationship with Annie (Fairuza Balk), the sister of a Viper, and his own girlfriend is brutally attacked, Leon and his gang are plunged into an all-out war to save his brother, his girl - and his neighborhood!" according to the DVD sleeve description.
A sense of sadness and regret permeates the production.*** Deuces Wild (5/3/02) Scott Kalvert ~ Stephen Dorff, Brad Renfro, Fairuza Balk, Frankie Muniz.
The director managed the clever feat of getting horrible performances from excellent actors, although the writers deserve some credit for that also, as the script seems to have been written by a middle school class that was locked in a room with a DVD of West Side Story and a crate of doo-wop albums as their only reference material.I honestly couldn't even get halfway through it.
I don't know if mister person who made that negative comment on the movie even knows what a street gang is living in Alabama, but a lot of people who grew up in or around N.Y.C. know what I mean.
I found myself watching for silly continuity or production errors (one would hot have used a medicine bottle made of brown plastic with a white cap in 1958 and it's generally a good idea to make sure your magazine covers are spelled right....Photosecne?) instead of following the characters or the story.
The line up here includes a very promising cast of Steven Dourff as Leon, Brad Renfro as Bobby, Matt Dillon as Fritzy, Frankie Muniz as Scooch and Johnny Knoxville as Vince.
We start the film with the death of Leon's brother and the imprisonment of Marko, the rival gang leader who gave his brother the drugs that killed him.
This film has everything, the rival gangs (Outsiders), the big show downs (Last Man Standing), the gangster who is in charge of everything (Bronx Tale) and the drug dealing (Goodfellas).
Matt Dillon show plenty of promise but is only given four scenes in the whole movie, Johnny Knoxville is a nobody that serves no importance and is hardly noticable and Frankie Muniz hardly mutters a word the whole time.
Now don't get me wrong, the movie is not a total waste and there are probably lots of people that this sort of thing will appeal to but its lack of originality cancels out any power of emotion and even though we have a cast of characters that I really didn't care about except for Leon, it's an hour and a half of my life that I don't regret..
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.
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..
Deuces Wild is about two rivial street gangs the deuces and the vipers.The vipers want to put drugs on the street while the deuces never want drugs on the street.The leader of the deuces Leon brother died of an drug over dose Leon thinks the leader of the vipers gave it to  him.The leader of the vipers has been in jail for three year and is soon to be free.These two gangs are going to face off after 3 years of no fighting.Deuces Wild is pure excitement that keeps you watching until the end ..
Wasted roles for Vincent Pastore and Johnny Knoxville, too many worthless fight scenes, and a horribly underdeveloped & misused plot made this film a major disappointment in my book.
Leon (Stephen Dorff) and Bobby (Brad Renfro) run the Deuces and are determined to keep drugs off their turf, while a rival gang called the Vipers wants to flood the streets.
The performances ate all pretty forgettable except for Norman Reedus as Marco, a positively evil rival gang member with bloodlust for the Deuces.
Like I said it ain't the best movie, but the cast will keep your attention and there's a few moments of tension to keep it going..
The leader of the rival gang is just getting out of prison and wants revenge.The movie didn't really do it for me.
That being said, I think the biggest problem with the film is that it's overacted, but what can you expect with a poorly written script.Why do they continue to put little Stephen Dorff in the role of tough guys and bad asses?
I am left with a question at the end of this movie: "What?" I wonder if anyone actually read the script before or even during shooting this film.
But what Deuces Wild has going for it is a strong cast, great performances, awesome fights scenes, and a somewhat surprise ending.
The acting and script were very strong, borrowing the absolute best plot points from movies like West Side Story (love conquers gang lines) and A Bronx Tale (movie title, name of hangout, soundtrack, emotional depth).
When things get ugly, the fights go down, and loyalty and love are put to the ultimate test.As seen in Sleepers, the movie starts out with the narrator explaining their lives in 1950's Brooklyn.
Stephen Dorff and Fairuza Balk give the performances of their lives, and director Scott Kalvert gives a stunning introduction film for his career.
All in all Deuces Wild is a great fight movie, but not much more as the story goes.
It's just like the other greaser movie but I think it has something more...Great fight scenes.
Now, I've been wanting to see this movie since last year because Frankie Muniz was in it and I just love him and also Brad Renfro who's also a great actor.
That Saturday I walked into the theater thinking "I know I've been wanting to see this for such a long time, but is this really worth my money?" Turns out after I saw this movie I loved it.
Besides the fact that it WAS closely related to the plot lines of other movies like it, it still kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next.
This movie had really great points in it and overall was a pretty good film.
The fight scenes are like nothing I have ever seen and the overall look of the film, is a romantic memory for all people who have lived through the 1950's.
I personally loved this film...a fun, exciting,50's gang flick has not come out for a long time...and it was a good change compared to the same old stuff coming out these days...the story is detailed and very interesting throughout the film with excellent, adreniline pumping fight scenes(fight club fans will enjoy this).
As I said, it is a homage movie that is a great watch.Deuces Wild's most parallels are from The Outsiders as I mentioned, but what makes this more unique from The Outsiders is the characters.
The Deuces are rivals with another Brooklyn gang called "The Vipers," and chaos spews when Bobby falls in love with one of the Vipers' sisters, who is played by Fairuza Balk.
Premiere actors Stephen Dorf, Norman Reedus and Matt Dillon show you how it's done in Deuces Wild, a powerful, tragedy of gang-related, white-on-white crime.
She looked like she should be joining the gang fights instead of watching.
The movie focuses on Leon (Stephen Dorff- "Blade", "S.F.W") who, after his brother's death from a drug overdose, vows to keep the streets clean and creates a gang called "The Deuces" to make sure it stays that way.
Aided by his kid brother, Bobby, (Brad Renfro- "The Client", "Sleepers") Leon is able to put the city's biggest drug dealer, Marco (Norman Reedus- "Gossip", "Blade II") in prison for 3 years, and the streets remain safe.
I had wanted to see DEUCES WILD when it was out at the theatres, because who wouldn't want to see a film about rival gangs in 1950's Brooklyn?
The film ultimately comes off like a silly cross between THE OUTSIDERS, STREETS OF FIRE (you remember that Greaser movie with Rick Moranis and Wilem Dafoe?), and of course WEST SIDE STORY.
Stephen Dorff, a wonderful actor, portrays a character we at times love and hate.
Only those nostalgic for nostalgia are likely to be very impressed by `Deuces Wild,' a film that seems somehow more attuned to the 50's-crazed 1970's  a time when popular culture was embracing backward-looking fare like `American Graffiti' and `Happy Days'  than to the era in which it is actually set.
That happens to be Brooklyn in the summer of 1958, when the streets were overrun with denim- and leather-clad hoodlums who smoked cigarettes, drove cool cars, and strutted around looking for fights to protect or extend their seemingly God-given `turf.'  `Deuces Wild' feels like it is about 25 years out of date, especially since it adds nothing new to a well-worn genre that can pinpoint its beginnings as far back as 1961's magnificent `West Side Story.'  In fact, this is little more than `West Side Story' sans the music and dancing.
The closing rumble scene is so confusingly shot and edited that it takes the voiceover narration to straighten out for us who got killed and who didn't.The cast of mostly youthful actors does its best with shallow, stereotypical roles, but one should at least pity poor Frankie Muniz, that charming young star of TV's `Malcolm in the Middle,' who delivers a surprisingly dorky performance in the extremely sketchy and underwritten part of Scooch, the neighborhood `good kid' whom Leon, the Deuces' leader, takes under his wing.
No wait I laughed.The movie is filled with mostly B actors but they're on the line between A and B,maybe B+ I mean they've done some good flicks, but Matt Dillon should have stayed in his trailer and even Brad Renfro was lame.I dont know what happens at the end because I left and It's probably some great twist ending, oh wait no, it's probably predictable and cliched.Oh yeah and Basketball Diaries was 50,000 times better..
It is "Romeo & Juliet", fixed up like "West Side Story", with fights that would no doubtingly see the award ranking at that year's MTV Movie Awards.
I believe that if Dorff would have taken control of Renfro's character and vice versa, perhaps a better film would have come from this conclusion, but alas, we were stuck with what was the final product.
Well if you take into account that this is a movie set in the 50s...and we are watching it 50+ years later then you should probably take into account that the whole good guys vs.
When a tough but an good hearted young man by the name of Leon (Stephen Dorff) tries to control his younger out of control teenage brother by the name of Bobby (Brad Renfro).
Leon tries to keep drugs off the streets that killed his brother, When the leader of the Vipers (Norman Reedus) is out of prison for being there for three years.Since he wants revenge, because someone did rat him out to the cops.
Keep drugs off the block, even if it's comes to Violence.This underrated film is stylish, tough, passionate and good looking brutality strong gang drama.
"Deuces Wild" is one of the worst movies that I have seen in quite a while.
but I'll try.The film's about a Brooklyn gang called the Deuces, circa 1958, and centers on two people, Leon, the gang leader, and his younger brother, Bobby.
Now three years later, Leon and his other brother Bobby (Brad Renfro) and a bunch of other guys have formed a street gang called The Deuces and will do anything to protect the neighbourhood.
When I saw the previews for this one, I, like everyone else thought it would be cool, I mean, a 1950's movie about two greaser gangs duking it out with a whole trunk load of familiar supporting actors (Norman Reedus, Matt Dillon, Brad Renfro, Stephen Dorff, that chick from the Sopranos, and 'Big Pussy', also from the Sopranos).
The acting (except for the always good and sinister Norman Reedus and Matt Dillon) is pure crap, especially coming from the more credible big star turned indie-flick/b-movie stars like Renfro and Dorff.
To the Producers of this film:  If you want me to FEEL something other than rage for being duped by your deceiving marketing scheme, then give me my 3 bucks and 90 minutes back from my life!To anyone else who is interested in watching a good gang flick, look else where, this ain't West Side Story, Once Upon a Time in America or Goodfellas...oh no no no.
I did not expect much from this movie, but I rented it mainly because it had such good actors as Brad Renfro, Stephen Dorff and James Franco in it.
i will say that they don't make many movies that look like this, or have this kind of feel to them.
and for girls like me, who like to look at hotties, but also like a good fight scene, will enjoy this movie even more!
The film has a talented young cast in everyone from Brad Renfro to Johnny Knoxville.The fight scenes and cinematograpgy are all good and Scott Kalvert has made a film on par with his first one..
DEUCES WILD (2002) *1/2 Stephen Dorff, Brad Renfro, Fairuza Balk, Norman Reedus, Baltahzar Getty, Matt Dillon, James Franco, Drea de Matteo, Vincent Pastore, Frankie Muniz, Max Perlich, Joshua Leonard, Johnny Knoxville, Debbie Harry.
Leon (Stephen Dorff) and Bobby (Brad Renfro) formed the Deuces after their little brother died from a hot dose of heroin,and vowed never to let the drug hit their streets again.The lethal dose was supplied by the Vipers' leader Marco (Norman Reedus) who after three years' prison time, comes back to the neighbourhood to seek vengeance and get the powerful backing of mob boss Fritzy (Matt Dillon)to sell heroin on the streets.Marco believes it was Leon who snitched to the police and the violence begins with a bloody fight in the park.
Life in a street gang rarely ends happily and the parting of the ways is inevitable for the Deuces.If you are still young enough to remember the thrills of teenage rivalry and like your films to mix good fight scenes with angst and passion, then you should sit back and reminisce about your adolescent fantasy as the cool gang leader who didn't take sh*t from no one.