“I think it’s time you put your mouth where your balls are.”
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
Written By: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Directed By: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Cast:
Vince Vaughn . . . Peter La Fleur
Ben Stiller . . . White Goodman
Christine Taylor . . . Kate Veatch
Ah Dodgeball, truly God’s perfect game. It is Darwinism distilled to its purest essence and a leveling field for all involved. When I heard that a comedy was being made about this beloved sport by relative newcomer Rawson Thurber, I was intrigued. There’s certainly an unbelievable amount of comedic potential in the concept, but it was a question of whether or not they could pull it off with style. After watching an advance screening of the film, I can safely say that all my fears and doubts have been put to rest. Dodgeball is the funniest sports movie in years, and probably the funniest movie you’ll see this year.
The plot of this little gem revolves around two competing gyms. One is Globotech, owned by Stiller’s White Goodman. The philosophy of this gym revolves around narcissism and vanity to the exponential level. Everyone is a cut Greek god and goddess. The tagline for the gym is “Globotech, we’re better than you and we know it.”
Contrasted against this gym is Average Joe’s, owned by Vaughn’s Peter La Fleur. Peter is a once-was warrior who runs a friendly and open gym full of scrubs and rejects, including a man who believes he’s a pirate (Firefly’s Alan Tudyk) and Justin Long playing a geeky high school student (not really a stretch for him at this point).
Average Joe’s runs into financial trouble and Globotech is on the verge of buying them out and turning Joe’s into a parking lot. The only way to save the gym is to enter a Dodgeball tournament in
Obviously this is not a film high on plot. What it is high on though is gags galore. I know the trailer currently running for the film is really lame, but that’s because most of this film’s jokes might be too racy for network TV. Trust me when I say this film is funny, so funny my sides hurt from laughing.
The humor is in the vein of an Old School, Dumb & Dumber, or Roadtrip though. People seeking out highbrow or subtle humor might do best to look elsewhere. This film has some of the best and most appropriate cameo’s I’ve seen lately, but it wouldn’t due to spoil them for you.
All the supporting cast does a great job with what they’ve been given. And though Stephen Root and Justin Long are playing the same type of character that they always play, the performances themselves are still highly enjoyable. Of course this film ultimately stands on the shoulders of Vaughn and Stiller. Earlier this year, the two teamed up for Starsky & Hutch, a film that didn’t really work for me.
One of the problems with that movie is that Vaughn was cast as the villain and Stiller as the hero. While Vaughn carries a definite level of smarm with him, there’s also an affableness that’s hard to contain. It’s what made Double Down Trent such a likeable character. Even when the guy is being an ass, you still kind of wish you knew him. Vaughn imbues the same characteristics in Peter La Fleur. Subtly sarcastic and biting, La Fleur carries the move along with simple charm and sharp comic timing.
Stiller are on the other hand has made his career playing the affable nice guy in flicks like There’s Something About Mary and Meet the Parents. But there’s always been a vaguely narcissistic quality to the guy which is used to great effect on his White Goodman. He’s just so contemptible and over the top that the audience can’t wait for him to get his comeuppance. It’s obvious that Stiller is having a blast playing this type of character, and that is contagious on the screen.
I know I’m coming across like some kind of paid shill for this movie, but honestly it had me laughing from the beginning to the end. It’s the perfect summer popcorn comedy, deftly embracing and playing with character conventions. After this movie gets released, I wouldn’t be shocked to see scores of local Dodgeball clubs start up across
5 out of 5
Tim Ritenour
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