Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
It's been said a million times but
I'll say it again: Either you like Ben Stiller or
you don't. And if you have generally laughed at "Zoolander,"
"Starsky and Hutch" and his other films, then you
will probably laugh at this film as well. Not his
funniest, by any means, but certainly the kind of
better than mediocre, goofy, over-the-top shenanigans
we've come to expect from Stiller and his pals.
Stiller does, at least, step out
of his typical schlub comedic film persona to become
the villain in a Ben Stiller film. Here he plays the
maniacal White Goodman, owner of GloboGym, a franchise
that offers everything one could need to change themselves.
Not just gym workouts and protein snacks are offered
but also cosmetic surgery and anything else one might
desire to change their looks.
On the opposite end of the spectrum
is Vince Vaughn and an assortment of supposed losers
who own, work or frequent his gym, Average Joe's.
The plot twist? Stiller's global corporation is going
to buy out Joe's and foreclose on the property, turning
it into a parking lot, unless the Joe's guys can come
up with 50 thousand dollars in 30 days. And there's
only one way to do that: Win a dodgeball championship
that airs on an obscure ESPN affiliate. Of course
there's a love interest as well, Christine Taylor,
Stiller's real life wife, who works for Stiller's
bank but finds herself being more and more drawn in
by Vaughn's charm.
When the film isn't being funny,
and that's at least half of the time, there was plenty
of eye candy for me with hotties Justin Long and Joel
David Moore used for gay, homophobic comic relief
as they are made the butt of jokes about being skinny,
wimpy half-naked white guys. Long even opts for a
scene where he's in wet, skin tight gym shorts wiggling
his ass for comic effect much to the chagrin of the
straight guys in the audience (it's a sports film,
so the word "fag" of a variation is used at least
three times in "Dodgeball") and to the delight of
us homos. Long is supposed to be a dork but he is
the hottest, cutest dork I've seen in a movie this
year. And much more to us homos delight, Long, Moore,
Vaughn and the other guys in the film even do a fairly
lengthy scene in skimpy S&M bondage gear for a joke.
Moore is even wearing a choke gag throughout. This
is one DVD that is going to get worn out on my player
from selected segments playing over and over in repeat
and still captures being up for at least 3 or 4 minutes.
Anyway, the funniest thing in the
film is Jason Bateman who plays color announcer at
the climactic dodgeball tourney to Gary Cole's play-by-play
analyst, Cotton McKnight. Bateman is a laugh a second
as he pokes fun at all those color announcers who
either ramble inanities ("It's a game where you dodge
balls, Cotton") or simply repeat what the play-by-
play guy has just said. This has been done before
but Bateman's throw-away performance and goofy mugging
is so breezy and funny that one cannot help but laugh
hysterically at anything he says.
"Dodgeball" is one of those everything-and-the-kitchen-sink
comedies that will do anything to make you laugh.
There's even a spoof of 50's educational films in
the piece. But, as with all these "sink-ing" comedies,
it is purely hit and miss. The actors may be dodging
red rubber balls but sometimes what the audience is
dodging is stupid jokes that just don't work.
Note:
Also with Hank Azaria, Rip Torn,
Alan Tudyk, and Missi Pyle. Small roles played William
Shatner and Curtis Armstong. Cameos by Lance Armstrong,
Chuck Norris, and David Hasselhoff.
Cole and Stephen Root appeared together
in Office Space. Cole and Taylor were in the Brady
Bunch films together. Vaughn, Stiller and Bateman
were in "Starsky and Hutch" together earlier this
year. Moore, Long and Root are also in a film called
"Raising Genius" together.
There is a scene with Ben Stiller
in the fat suit at the very end of the credits.
There has been two other films named
"Dodgeball" which may be why this one contains a lengthy
subtitle.
Viewed in Austin in June 2004.
