The needlessly long title, Dodgeball: A True
Underdog Story, isn’t the only unnecessary thing
about this movie. The characters are so one-note and
unfunny themselves, the fact that Ben Stiller and Vince
Vaughn star in it is completely insignificant. The
dialogue has no bearing on the product as a whole, only
enforcing the obvious plot. And, most importantly, the
general crudeness of the film is entirely dispensable,
seeing that it ceases to pique a single giggle. But
contrary to what some may be led to believe, basing
their judgment upon all of its extraneous material,
Dodgeball is not a terrible film. In fact, it’s
somewhat of a fun one, come time for its third act. All
of the laughs are generated by humor that places
emphasis on costuming, slapstick, and noise. But
chuckles are chuckles, and for the most part, they
cannot be ignored.
Vince Vaughn’s character,
Peter La Fleur, is a bit narrow-minded, to say the
least. He is the owner of the “Average Joe’s Gym,” which
is located right across the street from the fairly new,
revolutionary Globo Gym, headed by White Goodman (Ben
Stiller). Peter’s business is about to tank, much to his
surprise, and if he doesn’t come up with the $50,000
dollars to save it, within thirty days, it will be
bought off by White. His first attempt at raising money
towards his cause, an all-male car wash, is abysmally
unsuccessful, leaving him in even more debt. With little
hope left, one of the members of Peter’s gym discovers,
in an eccentric sporting magazine, that the winners of
an upcoming national dodge ball tournament in Las Vegas
will take home a $50,000 cash prize. And after watching
an instructional video on the game conducted by the
infamous Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn), taking lessons
from the man himself, and winning a
regional-championship qualifying match to a girl-scout
troop by disqualification, Peter’s team is ready for
victory. They can taste the gym being saved. But,
unexpectedly, White forms a team and enters the
tournament, leading the movie to a predictable final
match. You see where this is going.
I’m finding it hard to believe
that some critics have actually called Dodgeball
nostalgia-inducing, claiming that it made them remember
their pasts, which consisted of chucking red balls at
other students in their schoolyards. I actually played
the game this year in high school physical education,
but thoughts of my own personal dodge ball experiences
didn’t come to mind when viewing this movie. I simply
found its content to be absolutely ridiculous; it didn’t
even occur to me that the hoopla the characters engaged
in could actually be called a sport. Nevertheless, the
competition in Dodgeball feels alive and
happening, especially when set to its loud Rock ‘N Roll
soundtrack. The third act is the part of the movie in
which most of the actual competition occurs, and
perhaps, this is why I find it to be the only really
redeeming portion of the movie.
Stiller and Vaughn are nowhere
near as hilarious as they usually are because the script
won’t allow for such. The two are confined to using
brain-dead, palindromic lines of dialogue, finding
little room for creativity in their deliveries. It is
only when they refrain from speaking that pure
hilariousness can be found. As White’s team
systematically march out into the dodge ball rink
pretending to be snakes, it’s hard to keep oneself from
laughing. However, the most comical scene in the movie
takes place when Peter’s crew receives the wrong
uniforms; they are delivered S&M outfits that a gothic
gang ordered, to play in. But, because they have no time
to switch them, and must follow the rules, by wearing
matching sets of clothes, the strange, leather-bearing
suits serve as their only possible ticket into
competition. The announcers on the station broadcasting
the dodge ball tournament, ESPN 8 (“The Ocho”), are also
a riot. However, Dodgeball’s efforts seem pretty
pathetic when these three situations are the only ones I
laughed at, when it is a come
Whatever small comedic
resonance Dodgeball may hold with its viewers,
this cannot save it from being a thoroughly lackluster
attempt at moviemaking. Writer/director Rawson Marshall
Thurber is trying noticeably hard to please us with his
picture’s most disgusting gags, proving only one thing.
No matter how bad you may want an audience to enjoy
limpid crap, they’re not going to. Even I could pen a
wittier screenplay than Thurber has, and that is a very
sad truth, considering the inspired talent involved in
Dodgeball. Somehow, though, the small bits of
cleverness in it prevail, almost making it worthy of a
rental (it’ll definitely make for a fun viewing if it
ever airs on cable TV). I have never been more aware
that dodge ball could be such a lively, fierce “sport”.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews (6.20.2004)