Film Snail

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story

6.4

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story

PG-13·2004·92m

Summary

When megalomaniacal White Goodman, the owner of a trendy, high-end fitness center, makes a move to take over the struggling local gym run by happy-go-lucky Pete La Fleur, there's only one way for La Fleur to fight back: dodgeball. Aided by a dodgeball guru and Goodman's attorney, La Fleur and his rag-tag team of underdogs launch a knock-down, drag-out battle in which the winner takes all.

Crew

Director, Writer

Rawson Marshall Thurber

Reviews

Kamurai

Kamurai

September 15, 2020

8

Really good watch, could watch again, and can recommend.

I forgot how well this movie holds up. Now, I'm not a fan of Vince Vaughn or Ben Stiller (most of the time), but, being objective, this is a pretty funny movie with a good plot to it. It has problems besides casting, but most of those are over in a blink and we're back to the movie.

This is a movie that leans on ridiculous humor, and everyone pretty much stays in their lane with quirks and motivations, and while the abuse humor of Justin Long pushes my boundaries of entertainment, Vaughn's lazy character work breaks it. I'd say it was a problem with the writing, but the delivery is sloppy even for someone playing a lazy character: the character is someone who knows what needs to get done and can't be bothered to do work, not someone who is too lazy to do what he can do.

Ben Stiller is over the top, but that's a combination of how the character is written and Stiller's delivery: I clearly don't like the character concept, but without him being an overly nice / secretly evil guy, I'm don't have a real suggestion there.

I'm sure you can make similar arguments for any given character, but the movie is actually so well produced, overall well written, and the performances are funny enough to distract from "problems" that if you just relax and watch this movie, you'll probably be laughing all the way up to "My Milkshake By's All the Boys to the Yard".

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$20,000,000.00

Revenue:

$168,423,227.00

Keywords

underdog
sports
love at first sight
competition
gymnasium
bodyguard
oddball
cheerleader
cheerleading
sexual harassment
breaking the fourth wall
pirate
workout
megalomaniac
lgbt
sport competition
against the odds
mentor protégé relationship
weight loss
referee
aftercreditsstinger
duringcreditsstinger
guide book
dodgeball
instructional video
girl scouts
small business
handicapped
rules and regulations
food addiction