The cars steal the show in this Scott Kalvert film: when one of these mint, candy-colored '50s classics gets squashed by half a ton of falling cinder blocks, it's a shock -- and not because two goombahs are sitting inside. They're ciphers, as are the rest of the characters in this dumb pastiche of clichés about Eisenhower-era Brooklyn street gangs that's as menacing as an episode of Happy Days. Leon (Stephen Dorff) founded the Deuces to keep drugs out of the neighborhood after his brother Allie OD'd, and the gang has since maintained a turf war with the less ethical Vipers. The status quo breaks down when Marco (Norman Reedus), the Viper who sold Allie the hot shot, gets out of jail just as Leon's brother Bobby (Brad Renfro) falls for Annie (Fairuza Balk), the sister of one of the Vipers. West Side Story is only one film ripped off: Deuces borrows freely from betters that range from On the Waterfront to Mean Streets. Kalvert, who showed promise with his Basketball Diaries, at times seems to be subverting this nonsense with John Waters-like details (Annie's mom has a thing for Santa Claus) and ludicrous stylistic touches. But given the hand he's holding, it's all bluff. At the Entertainment, Hoyts, and Showcase cinemas.