Of Man Whores and Tribesmen

Last Saturday (1/6/2007), I was able watch two consecutive movies together with a dear friend (hi ma'am!), HBO's Deuce Bigalow - The European Gigalo and a pirated copy of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. I can't help but to make a not-so professional movie review and observation from these two flicks. Here are my observations:

1. The protagonists: The lady-sympathetic character of Deuce made the movie more hilarious without even uttering a single word. Imagine his face dancing together with a woman who has a penis ingrown in her face due to radiation cause by Chirnobyl explosion. Apolypto's Jaguar Paw uses a variety of facial expressions to convey fear, determination, pride and weariness from the adversities. Great use of facial expressions and non-verbal signs!

The status quo of the protagonists are opposite though. Deuce was a center of mockery and joke among the man whore population while Jaguar Paw was respected and admired by his tribe due to his hunting prowess.

2. The setting: European Gigalo was set in a modern day European city while Apocalypto was filmed in a jungle and an ancient Aztec city.

3. The conflict: EG's conflict arises from a series of man whore killings in the city. Deuce' friend TJ Hicks was wrongfully accuse of the crime and should be proven innocent. Deuce later on discovered that the killings was an action of a man who was kicked out of the man whore university (whatta school). Apocalypto shows the life during the times when men and animals thinks almost the same: survival of the fittest. Jaguar Paw's tribe was ravaged by a group of marauders. The shows Jaguar Paws attempt and struggle to save himself and the future of his tribe.

4. The resolution: EG maintain its reputation of having a caption at the end of the movie to relate what happened to the characters. The antagonists was jailed and Deuce married the leading lady. Their 2 sons became man whores. Apocalypto ended when the chase between JP and the barbarian encountered a fleet of Spanish armada.

5. Lessons learned: EG - never underestimate the inferior. Apocalypto - "the strong shall survive and the weak shall perish".