Take West Side Story, remove the music, add excessive profanity and violence, and you'll get Deuces Wild. It's an overripe melodrama in which rival street gangs--in this case Deuces vs. Vipers in 1958 Brooklyn--inevitably clash in a deadly rumble, preceded by shameless scenery-chewing from nearly everyone involved. Stephen Dorff plays the head Deuce, agonizing over his older brother's drug overdose and leading a cast of rising stars and familiar faces including Brad Renfro as Dorff's hot-tempered kid brother, Norman Reedus as the vicious lead Viper, Fairuza Balk as Renfro's no-nonsense girlfriend, and Matt Dillon (uncredited) as the kingpin who introduces heroin to Dorff's drug-free turf. Balthazar Getty, Frankie Muniz, and James Franco are also in the cast, suggesting that director Scott Kalvert was hoping for an unforgettable ensemble. What he got instead was a stale story crowded with percolating posers, recommended only for those who've never seen the 1979 street-gang classic The Warriors. --Jeff Shannon
2.
Scott Kalvert's (THE BASKETBALL DIARIES) tale of escalating gang violence in a Brooklyn Italian-American neighborhood during the summer of 1958 is WEST SIDE STORY without the singing and dancing. Leon (Stephen Dorff) leads the Deuces, a gang he formed to keep "junk" off his Sunset Park block after his youngest brother died of a drug overdose. However, his other brother, Bobby (Brad Renfro), is still alive and very hotheaded, and with their greaser gang mates, they keep themselves busy. When the rival gang, the Vipers, look to start a drug business in Deuces territory, Leon goes to Mob leader, Fritzy (Matt Dillon, playing a more senior thug than in his OUTSIDERS/RUMBLE FISH days). He asks for help, but in vain. While Leon worries about a gang war, Bobby chases after pretty, smart-mouthed Annie (Fairuza Balk), who just happens to be the sister of Jimmy Pockets (Balthazar Getty), a coked-up Viper. More trouble brews when Marco Vendetti (Norman Reedus), the drug dealer Leon holds responsible for his kid brother's death, is released from prison. When the big rumble comes, it forever changes the neighborhood in this story of loyalty, violence, and star-crossed love.
3.
Leon and Bobby are brothers who, with their friends, are determined to maintain the way of life in their neighborhood. They are "The Deuces," trying to keep things the way they are. Loyalty means everything to them, and protecting friends and family is their main priority.
Now, when a violent gang threatens to destroy their neighborhood, the Deuces are forced to fight to shield the world they know from becoming a world they want no part of. As the violence escalates and relationships are tested, the Deuces are forced to face how far they’re willing to go to keep their lives safe and true.
4.
Some Lines Should Never Be Crossed.
This stylish, tough and sexy gang drama vividly captures the passion and brutality that pervaded the streets of New York in the late 1950s.
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