Deuce's Wilder Than Ever for Schneider

The return of the "hard R" big-screen comedy continues this weekend when Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo hits theaters on Friday. While there is bound to be some "reaction" to the sequel's outrageous sexual euphemisms and unspeakable sight gags, you can thank such bawdy box-office entries as Wedding Crashers and Bad News Bears for softening the blow a bit.

"I'm glad that Wedding Crashers did well because all the comedies I loved when I was a kid were [rated] R," Deuce star Rob Schneider tells TVGuide.com. "I had Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks, Monty Python... [starring in] all these funny movies. So I feel like our children — um, I mean the 13-  to 14-year-olds — are getting ripped off now. I feel sorry for them. That's why I hope parents will bring their teenagers to this movie. Go, have fun!"

The sequel marks another tandem effort from Schneider and fellow Saturday Night Live alum-turned-film star Adam Sandler, a producer on the Deuce franchise. Since declaring themselves not just ready for prime time, but also ready for filmdom, the pair have worked together in assorted capacities on such fare as The Waterboy, The Animal, Mr. Deeds, The Hot Chick and The Longest Yard. "Adam is just the nicest guy in the history of show business, and I don't say that too lightly," Schneider professes. "He literally wrote the next movie that I'm doing, Bench Warmers. It was an idea that he [originally] wanted to do with Chris Farley [who has since passed on], and I did it with [other SNL grads David] Spade and [Jon] Lovitz. It was like a reunion."

That both the Schneider/Sandler/Spade and Will Ferrell/Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn "comedy machines" are furnishing multiplexes with much of today's envelope-pushing fare is not to say that the two groups are "rival gangs," so to speak. "When I saw Wedding Crashers, I really respected those guys. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson were fun to watch," says Schneider. "I'm happy if I see a good comedy because it's good for the business. A lot of Hollywood comedies that have come out in the last few years have stunk, and that bums me out."

The temptation to dip twice into the same well doesn't help the quality of output, either. "Most comedy sequels suck," Schneider admits, "because they're just feeding off of the first movie. I didn't want to do that; I wanted to make this better than the original." After all, he observes, "people have their Friday night out, they're standing in line with a bunch of other people, paying a baby-sitter and eating crappy popcorn. I want them to have a good time!"

In the case of Deuce 2, "good time" means bracing oneself for all sorts of politically incorrect humor, expurgating proboscises and, yes, the shocking details of a (thankfully fictional, we hope) sex act known as the "Portuguese breakfast." Luckily, the times seem to be a-changing, and moviegoers are in the mood for rude. "American audiences are more conservative than they were 30 years ago," Schneider says, remembering back to his own comedy-loving childhood. "And that's a shame. But I think the pendulum swings so far in one direction that it has to swing back. It simply has to."