| DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story |
| ~ It is what it is and that's all that it is~ |
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| By Todd Karella June 18, 2004 |
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| Peter La Fleur-Vince Vaughn |
| I knew you had a big chest, but this is ridiculous |
| White Goodman-Ben Stiller |
| Just when you thought the Macarena was dead. |
| A smartass, a cripple 4 Geeks and a pirate. How can they lose? |
| You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out |
| Everyone's favorite game from high school is making a very adult comeback. Dodgeball leagues are popping up everywhere, along with competitions on the Game Show |
| Network and finally with a feature film. The movie does not pretend to be anything more than a goofball comedy, and for the most part it delivers. It brings back memories from one's youth where pelting people with rubber balls, calling |
| them names, and just being childish was all you needed for a good time. Unless, you happened to be the one on the receiving end. |
| While the story line has been done many times over it still ends up being funny just because it deals with such childhood antics. It's about a ragtag group of heroes who must overcome impossible odds so that they can win the prize money and save their building. |
| Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) is the loveable gym leader at Average Joe's. His car is old and breaks down constantly, and he doesn't care whether he collect dues from his patrons or not. That all changes when Kate Veach (Christine Taylor) shows up to do an audit on his finances. It seems that Peter is behind on his mortgage and owes the $50,000 balance by the end of the month. To make matters worse, the sleazeball White Goodman (Ben Stiller) who owns rival Globo Gym now holds the mortgage. |
| Peter and a group of his misfit members, including one that thinks he's a pirate, decide to earn some money by playing an obscure sport. Dodgeball. As luck would have it, there's a tournament in Las Vegas with a $50,000 purse. The basic storyline is rather predictable, but the characters and the games are fun as you watch teams of girl scouts, pimps and sumo wrestlers compete against the average joes. There are also a number of celebrity cameos that filter in throughout the movie. The most important one being Lance |
| Armstrong who gives Peter that special pep talk just as he's about to throw in the towel. By far, Ben Stiller gives the worst performance in the film. Not only are his lines poorly written, but he gives the impression he is trying too hard. His performance comes across as forced and his character has no personality. It was painful to watch. While Dodgeball will never win any awards, it's exactly what it claims to be. A silly little movie that will make you laugh. |
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