But what is most annoying is the sequel's capability of inducing laughter even as one hates oneself for so easily succumbing to the total silliness of it all.

Of course, there are many who won't give it up for the Deuce, but those who contributed to the original's $65 million-plus domestic theatrical take should find that the further adventures of Rob Schneider's naive prosti-dude with the heart of gold delivers the damaged goods.

Unlike the other R-rated summer comedies -- "Wedding Crashers" and, presumably, the upcoming "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" -- "Bigalow" will skew heavily toward young males, though many of the screams of grossed-out laughter at a recent preview screening sounded unmistakably female.

Given the film's eyebrow-raising 77-minute running time, which has got to be some kind of record for a live-action major studio release, it's clear that the new "Deuce" doesn't exhibit much in the way of staying power, but it could perform well enough to leave a smile on Columbia Pictures' face, especially after "Stealth's" no-show.

When we last saw Schneider's Bigalow, he had closed up his little black book in exchange for wedded bliss to the one-legged Kate.

Well, it turns out she was tragically killed in a freak fish-feeding incident during their honeymoon. Mourning her loss, Deuce, with her prosthetic limb close at his side, travels to Amsterdam, where he's reunited with his former man madam, T.J. Hicks (a never funnier Eddie Griffin).

In short order, he finds himself having to revert to his old ways when there's an outbreak of murders targeting Europe's greatest gigolos and T.J.'s the No. 1 suspect.

The concept might be "Who Is Killing the Great Man-Whores of Europe?" but Schneider and co-screenwriters David Garrett & Jason Ward give it their own perverse, juvenile spin.

And though the comic potency of all those wacky, phallocentric euphemisms start to peter out -- sorry -- long before the magic 77-minute mark, first-time feature director Mike Bigelow (no joke) keeps the requisite frat house mentality intact.

Once again, the film's strongest asset is the loopy interplay between Schneider's he-babe in the woods and Griffin's nutty pimp, but there's also colorful backup provided by a supporting cast including Jeroen Krabbe, Hanna Verboom as Deuce's obsessive compulsive romantic interest and a host of cosmopolitan film and TV personalities playing the assorted egotistical members of the International Man-Whore Society.

Even though the key art would have potential viewers believing otherwise, the production never leaves the Netherlands, which might lead the geographically impaired to believe that the Leaning Tower of Pisa could one day land right smack dab in the middle of the city of legalized prostitution and wooden shoes.