Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Full Screen Edition)

Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Full Screen Edition)
by Rawson Marshall Thurber

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• brings a lot of laughs

DVD Reviews of Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Full Screen Edition)

DVD Review: Dumb as can be, but maybe the funniest movie of 2004
Summary: 4 Stars

It's the kind of movie that's mapped out in your mind before you even see it: underdog gym is going to be bought out by big corporate giant gym unless $50,000 is paid...owner of big gym is a complete jerk...worker in the underdog gym hears about a Dodgeball Tournament...the prize is (I'll give you 1/2 a guess): $50,000. It's a plot contrivance that has been used by just about every sports movie and a decent amount of Brady Bunch episodes as well. Yet it didn't really bother me in the case of Dodgeball because this movie, in its constant onslaught of humor, knows that it's a dumb plot contrivance and doesn't care to put any dramatic weight on it. Writer/Director Rawson Marshall Thurber knows that we could care less and, unlike other movies, he cares about it as much as we do. Thank God, for that gives a chance for us to see more people getting hit and less awkwardly played tension. YES!

So the dorky guys on the underdog gym team have to learn how to kick butt in dodgeball, and who better to teach them than eccentric, wheelchair-bound ex dodgeball pro, Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn)? He's the man who, in the trailer, trains them by throwing wrenches and encouraging them by saying things like, "I don't drink my urine because I have to, do I? No! I drink it because I like it." Torn's O'Houlihan is the first example in Dodgeball of an over-the-top character that totally works in every way. Case-in-point: Ben Stiller, seemingly reprising a more egotistical, disgusting, chauvenistic version of his Tony Perkis in Heavyweights. He's White Goodman, the owner of the monster gym across the street, and boy is he freaking hilarious. Stiller is so gleefully over-the-top and caricature-esque that most lines, gestures, and actions do really come off as geniunely funny.

Dodgeball, though, does have its rough spots too. Some scenes with the underdog team veer into cliche with dopey little inpsirational moments and a few character gags that just fall flat (like the member who thinks he's a pirate, only to serve a twist toward the end of the film). Not to mention the movie is kinda immature: they go to a bar called the "Dirty Sanchez" (hehe) and seem to be the perfect combination of dumb, cliched movie characters (the fat one, the dork, the dork who might have a love interest, the beauty who gets into the game somehow). But this is a movie about people getting hit with balls (that word has a few jokes, as you'd imagine) and other sundry items, so don't expect comedic subtlety and nuance...it doesn't have it.

It does, though, have laughs and little in-jokes in spades where movies like Stiller's Along Came Polly have none. At the big tournament, Jason Bateman (of Arrested Development) plays a unique version of an announcer sidekick. All the gags with the wrenches and the "if you can dodge traffic, you can dodge a ball" bit never fail to be hilarious. And the movie is even aware of its formula and isn't afraid to play around with it (in the obligatory bribery scene, look in the suitcase full of money; check out how they handle the star cameos, especially Lance Armstrong's). In short, Dodgeball KNOWS it's stupid and doesn't make any mistake about it.

It's a little smarter than you'd think, though, because in the end it comes off a lot better than those annoying Adam Sandler vehicles and those rauncy teen comedies. In a way, Dodgeball is something right in the middle: funny and lowbrow with a mean streak (yes, a main character does die), but never veering off too much in one direction. Dodgeball is about nothing more than the childish little game itself, and if you're willing to pay money to see a movie CALLED Dodgeball, I guarantee you'll have a great time. It's no Blazing Saddles or Airplane!, but it's possibly the funniest movie of the year so far. GRADE: B

Description of Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Full Screen Edition)