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Movie Review - Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Rawson Marshall Thurber |
| Starring: |
Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, and Rip Torn |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for rude and sexual humor, and language) |
| Length: |
minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy |
| Website: |
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story |
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PLOT
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Peter La Fleur's (Vaughn) Average Joe's Gym has to raise $50,000 or it'll be taken over by White Goodman's (Stiller)
Globo Gym. A group of not-so-in-shape gym members enters a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save it.
Dodgeballs connecting with various parts of the human anatomy ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Over-the-top. Outrageous. Silly. Ridiculous. All words that describe the mullet Mr. Shade sported back
in high school. And yes, I have a picture to prove it, and no, I'm not scared to use it. But conveniently,
these words also form a fitting description of "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story."
The best advice I can give you if you plan on seeing this is to go in expecting the craziest. This is a
movie that contains a character who thinks he's a pirate. This is a movie where Ben Stiller drops lines
like, "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood." This is a movie where Rip Torn plays an old dodgeball coach
named Patches O'Houlihan who throws wrenches at his players to teach them how to dodge. With all in this
mind, what exactly are you expecting?
If your answer is, "High brow comedy with a couple of Oscar performances," then please allow me to slap you
upon the face with a white glove. This is Ben Stiller we're talking about. Speaking of Stiller, he totally
shines here as the outrageously psycho owner of Globo Gym. I've always thought he's at the top of his game
when he plays an unrealistic bad guy jerk like this. Remember "Happy Gilmore"? You're in my world now,
grandma! Vince Vaughn also delivers. He plays things a lot cooler than Stiller, and the drastic contrast
between the two characters leads to some great exchanges. Granted, some people won't find the humor in
Stiller trying to think of a clever insult only to end up awkwardly spitting out, "Go ahead, make your jokes.
Mister ... Jokey ... Jokemaker," but I thought it was funny. It's just all part of the character.
Another thing about this movie that really works is the effective use of cameos. I don't want to spoil them,
but they're some of the funniest I've seen used in a comedy in a long time. You gotta appreciate
when an actor/celebrity can poke fun at his image. And yes, the joke is old, but the German dodgeball
team rallying around a picture of David Hasselhoff is still funny.
One of the most surprising things about the movie is how interested I found myself in the actual dodgeball
matches. Admittedly, the outcome of the tournament is about as predictable as an Ashley Judd thriller,
but *how* the outcome is arrived at is what keeps things fresh. That's right, the games manage to actually
have a little tension! The commentary by Gary Cole (best known for his role as Bill Lumbergh in
"Office Space") and Jason Bateman (best known for being Jason Bateman) serves as a nice mockery of some of
the annoying sports announcers today who seem to specialize in stating the bloody obvious. Unfortunately,
their commentary misfires at times and really never reaches its full potential.
My main complaint regarding the movie is that it sometimes relies too heavily on crude humor for cheap
laughs. It isn't necessary, and it seems like they felt it's just an easy way to get the ol' auto-laugh.
Come on, guys, you don't always have to lower the bar. Having a redneck trucker ogle Justin Long in
spandex isn't funny, and having Stiller draw any sort of attention to his crotch just makes me
glad I chose not to eat popcorn and candy during the movie. So if you're easily offended, then this
isn't the movie for you.
Overall, the movie is continuously funny and often times it's laugh-out-loud funny. The movie takes a few
minutes to really get going, and I was a little scared at first. I mean, come on, a guy thinks he's
a pirate? As you can see, not *everything* works in the movie, but once things heat up it's very easy
to get caught up in the absurdity of it all and to just let yourself laugh. All I really have left to
say is thank you, Chuck Norris.
P.S. Stay until the very end of the closing credits.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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It's safe to say this is a movie that wouldn't meet mama's approval. There isn't much profanity, but
the crude sexual humor really pushes the PG-13 rating. This is not for the kids or the easily offended.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I actually liked the movie better than the trailer indicated I would. After watching the trailer I thought
the movie had the potential to be good, but I was scared it might be a let down. Thankfully, that wasn't
the case. However, it's my responsibility to warn you that the trailer might not prepare you for the
number of crude, sexual jokes.
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THE GIST
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Don't expect *anything* serious from "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story." It's completely over-the-top,
it's completely insane, it absolutely knows it, and it positively revels in it. This will work for some
people, but others will find it stupid. And I admit, some of it is stupid. Folks, this is a movie with
"Dodgeball" in the title, so would you like to guess what part of the male anatomy is used quite often as a
punch line? How willing you are to invest your time in the insanity of the proceedings will likely determine
how much enjoyment you'll get from the movie. I'm a fan of insanity, so it worked for me.
Photos © 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.
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