Poop jokes are not my thing so I didn't expect much from this little film called Holy Deuce. But as I watched, I found myself really enjoying it. Though it is littered with plenty of potty humor, my fear was not realized. Unlike toddlers who giggle when someone farts and burst into seismic laughter whenever fecal matter is reference by any of its multitude of names, the filmmakers didn't expect me to laugh at poop for poop's sake – in fact, the film is an entertaining religious satire with surprising intelligence.
Deuce follows three twenty-something roommates who discover that the most repulsive among them has dropped a big one that looks like the Virgin Mary. Art (Mark Stewart), the owner of the house and an architecture grad student, is focused on his work and the girlfriend that recently left him so he wants nothing to do with it. But Jason (Chris Sibley) and Wally (Matthew D. Joyce), his two layabout roommates that live rent-free and walk all over Art, see a golden opportunity for a little religious profiteering. But what begins as an innocent racket spirals into a full-fledged cult as Wally, the cretin who laid the holy item, starts to drink his own kool-aid.
The progression is both its saving grace and the root of Deuce's biggest flaw. Though development of the religious satire gives some pleasant depth and laughs, it also drags considerably. Some of the scenes felt that they were kept – or elongated – merely to pad the runtime to feature length.
Though the initial profiteering is charming, the script does little beyond what you might expect. Overlong montages show old ladies leaving flowers and Jason, who leads the enterprise, collecting money. But there's nothing going on that you wouldn't expect. But once Wally defects from Jason to start a cult, the film takes an absurd but exciting turn.
As I read over this, I realize how bizarre it must sound but all of it actually makes sense in the film. Much of the credit for this must go to the actors, who do a great job at playing their parts without the slightest bit of self-awareness, keeping the reality of the world intact though the audience can laugh at its absurdity.
If you had told me a week ago that I would like a film based on the likeness of the Virgin Mary appearing in a turd, I would have never believed you. But that's why you watch the movie. Deuce surprised me with its smart usage of a seemingly juvenile premise and was funny to boot. Give it a shot.
