Z-Reviews || Movies || Review

What do you get when you combine a pirate and four losers? If you said dodge-ball team, you guessed right. Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) is a washed up gym owner who has 30 days to raise $50,000 in order to keep his decaying establishment from falling into the hands of White Goodman (Ben Stiller), a chauvinistic meat-head who is going to use the property as a parking lot for his multi-million dollar gym complex next door. So what does La Fleur and his loyal band of misfits do? They wash cars in their swimming trunks of course; and when that doesn’t work out they decide to enter the dodge-ball championship in order to raise the money. The only problem is that none of them know how to play. But don’t worry because dodge-ball legend Patches O'Houlihan comes to rescue in his motorized wheelchair to whip the team into shape by tossing large wrenches at them. What happens next? Well, you’ve got to go see the movie for yourself to find out. I can only promise you that it is going to be very funny.

Although this movie can not offer you any Oscar worthy performances, it will make you laugh from start to finish. Stiller comes through with a remarkable performance playing an over the top body building enthusiast named White Goodman. Stiller takes the character to the extreme with idiotic remarks, wild facial expressions, and an inflatable crotch in order to impress the ladies. On the other hand La Fleur, played by Vaughn, is a regular guy with no aspiration until he forms the dodge-ball team and slowly takes on the role as the team leader. Christine Taylor plays Kate, a pretty blonde bank lawyer who originally works for Goodman but defects in order to help the team of misfits win the tournament. All three do a good job playing their respective roles in this outrageous comedy.

Who knew that physical comedy can be so funny and effective? This movie proves that seeing people getting hit in the face and their private parts with a big red balls (or other heavy objects) never gets tiresome. There are many great shots of players getting nailed with the ball, followed up by a close up of their wincing face or a pan of their lifeless body laid out across the floor. Yes, this movie is definitely about physical comedy.

“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” is the full title of this movie and although I don’t know how close this farce can be to any reality it is “truly” a funny movie. Despite the fact this is a silly movie with an insane plot and zany characters it still works out to be a good film. The reason why I think this movie works is because it is consistently funny from the beginning to the end. It continuously pushes the envelope with new jokes and skits that hold your attention and keep you wanting more. The other reason why most viewers will enjoy this movie is because it promotes the underdogs, the nerds, and the losers. It is something that we can all relate to as we ourselves become the cheering audience that want to see this Cinderella team of misfits win.