Reviews & Ratings for
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story More at IMDbPro »

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96 out of 123 people found the following review useful:
Go Team Slapstick!, 27 September 2004

Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

Once every few years, you're presented to a slapstick comedy so hilarious you instantly forget how LOW this form of entertainment actually is. I can't give a scientific explanation to state how come it's funny to see someone (preferably wearing glasses) getting hit in the face by a ball…it just is. Dodgeball is vulgar, crude and without substance…but your stomach will hurt from laughing and don't we all need that from time to time? In case you really want to defend this film, you can always say it features tons of unsubtle criticism towards modern American image of exaggerated health-obsession. Ben Stiller's character is the personification of the obnoxious fitness guru: 'We're better than you, and we know it'. Opposed to him, there's Vince Vaughn as the chilled-minded, lovable guy who owns a fitness center for the underdeveloped wimps. Due to his financial situation, he risks losing his gym to Stiller except if he and his teams of misfits manage to win the world-famous dodgeball tournament. The film is a series of cheap chuckles, eccentric characters and outrageous one-liners. It's pretty funny to hear Stiller yell out lines like: 'You're a skid mark on the underpants of society'. Or the always-amusing Rip Torn encouraging his team with the words: 'you're as useful as a cock-flavored lollipop'. The acting is great as it can be with Ben Stiller and Rip Torn who go delightfully over the top and lots of enthusiast cameos (Chuck Norris, David Hasselhof, William Shatner and even Lance Armstrong). It sure isn't Schindler's List but Dodgball is great entertainment and stress releasing.

99 out of 135 people found the following review useful:
Forget the Nay Sayers!!, This is a Damn Funny Movie!!, 12 December 2004
Author: MCETXCEM from Morgans Point Resort, TX

I just watched Dodgeball last night and I can't remember laughing so hard at a movie in years, from Vince Vaughn finally being cast as a person you can like to Rip Torn who is always at his best as the sarcastic coach who is full of colorful one-liners, and I didn't start out as a Ben Stiller Fan, but his movies have seriously picked up in quality lately

From the supporting cast and the cameo's everyone does a top notch job, Gary Cole is especially amusing as the sports announcer and his always missing the point sidekick, The Dim bulb Chris Klein type Dimwit on Vince Vaughns team adds to the hilarity, and Missy Pyle(What A Babe!!)

Forget what all the Negativity from the other reviewers state, this is a comedy, a comedy is meant to entertain, it is not Casablanca or the Producers, but it is not meant to be

(****) Out Of (****)

53 out of 67 people found the following review useful:
superior slapstick comedy - tightly scripted, it gets immense mileage out of the flimsiest of gags, 3 October 2004

Author: Chris_Docker from United Kingdom

Go and see it. It's one of the best comedies of the year and a lot funnier than it should be given the flimsy premise. Ben Stiller has a big 'Globo' health club worth millions (it even includes cosmetic surgery facilities - they know that 'fatness is genetic, like baldness or necrophilia'). The lovely Christine Taylor is his lawyer, charged with getting rid of the 'Average Joe' gym across the road so they can build a parking lot for Globo customers. She takes a liking to the 'underdog' owner of the Average Joe gym though, and helps them in their plan to win a Dodgeball contest in order to get the money they owe. Dodgeball is an 'obscure' sport that mostly consists of throwing a ball to hit your opponent (look it up on the Net - Dodgeball fans take it quite seriously!) Even when I describe the film, I think 'it sounds awful' - I probably would have avoided it if it hadn't been recommended so highly - and I recommend you stay till the *very end* of the credits for one of the best scenes (which also takes a swipe at the US film-making industry!)

59 out of 80 people found the following review useful:
Very silly but fun despite the odd patch of misses, 23 August 2004
Author: bob the moo

Peter La Fleur runs a second rate gym that is populated by non-paying members who are, shall we say, on the edge of society. Peter's relaxed existence is made difficult by the fact that a large gym across the road aims to shut him down. When the Average Joe gym receives its final warning from the bank, they face a 30-day deadline to come up with $50,000 or lose the gym to competitor White Goodman. After their initial ideas fail, they discover that the national dodgeball contest has a prize of that very amount – with a little help from an ex-champion, they set out to make it to the finals and save the day.

This film came to the UK on a wave of hype and praise but I was a little wary because I knew that the style of humour that it has can be very hit and miss. The film has the same plot that all these sorts of sports movies have and you pretty much know where it is going from the very start but, to be honest, how many people have come here for the engaging story? No – me neither! The humour is very silly and it will not appeal to everyone but I found it pretty funny with the out-of-the-blue stuff being the funniest; if you find it funny to hear the line 'thank you Chuck Norris' said with sincerity then this will be the film for you. It isn't as consistent as I would have liked because it does have a couple of patches where there are more misses than hits but generally I had a good hatful of laughs and, when not laughing I still had a smile on my face.

Of course, like I said, this isn't for everybody and I'm sure many will see it as a juvenile – and it does seem to have been aimed at the young male side of the market. The downside of this is that the majority of the laughs are pretty basic and, as we are seeing too often recently, the old audience draw of girls kissing is wheeled out yet again. The casting also helps to a certain degree and do help a bit to cover the basic humour. Vaughn is cool and relaxed and, although you wouldn't call it 'acting' he is a likable lead. Stiller has a few dry moments but generally his 70's fitness freak steals every scene he is in. Taylor is pretty but you can't help feeling that the film is only using her when, for no reason other than titillation she is revealed as bisexual (with a girlfriend). Torn is funny if basic and Azaria is also funny. The support cast is more about off the wall characters than good writing or performances, but Long, Root, Moore, Tudyk and others are all OK. Cameos from Hasselhoff, Norris, Shatner and Lance Armstrong are all briefly amusing and, just like Best in Show, commentators Gary Cole and Jason Bateman do spot on spoofs of low-grade sports commentators and have lots of great lines between them.

Overall this is not the funniest film EVER, as some critics have absurdly claimed – it simply isn't consistent enough for that accolade but it is still a pretty funny film if you are in the mood for silly humour and some pretty basic jokes. The use of easy draws such as female flesh, lesbianism and physical jokes is a bit of a downer when you think about it but I doubt many will complain when it is on. The cast generally do well and the material is funny and energetic enough to do the job, producing a silly film that is hardly memorable but will be fun while you're watching it.

38 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
Like chocolate cake: you know it's bad for you, but you can't help but love it, 12 January 2005

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

Silly metaphor, I know. The film "Dodgeball: A true underdog story" while maybe be offensive at times, the film really brings it back up to place with the humor. You really can't help but laugh at the movie a couple times. Sort of like "Zoolander", another great flick with Ben Stiller, it's so stupid you've gotta love it. I would recommend this film for a good laugh. As of movie of the year or comedy of the year, no, this is not the film. But it was a good one to watch. A true film for any Ben Stiller fan, that's for sure. I will warn though, if you get offended easily, this maybe not the film for you.

8/10

46 out of 68 people found the following review useful:
Oh my God, this movie is funny!, 25 June 2004

Author: hrivnak from Atlanta, GA

I haven't laughed this hard at a movie in years. That's all I can really say about this movie. It's stupid, sure, but it's so hilarious, you don't care.

I could not stop laughing. There are so many jokes in this movie, you don't even have a chance to rest before the next one comes along.

Ben Stiller as the "evil" White Goodman -- it's a classic character that should go down in the annals of comedy greatness. The announcers for ESPN 8 "The Ocho" (Gary Cole and Jason Bateman) had me rolling in the aisles. Stephen Root is a comic genius as well, and Alan Tudyk as the random pirate (why? who cares!) was pure gold.

Oh, and make sure you stay till the end of the credits... Ben Stiller does a routine that's absolutely hysterical.

29 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Pretty much as funny as they say it is, 8 February 2005

Author: mjw2305 from England

When average Joe's gym, run by Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) is under threat of take over by White Goodman (Ben Stiller), La Fleur and his gym members must raise $50,000 to save it. The only way to do it is Dodge Ball, and with the help of a seasoned professional, maybe they have a chance.

Great characters, and a hilarious script make dodge ball a Hit, Ben Stiller's and Rip Torn's characters are particularly well written, but none of the characters fail to get a laugh, and there is a good blend of them on show.

Definitely worth a look for anyone who fancies a laugh. It's not a classic, but it doesn't fail to entertain with it's slapstick style.

7/10

19 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
If you can dodge a wrench....., 28 February 2008

Author: g-bodyl from United States

This film is one of the funniest slapstick comedy ever. Ben Stiller was funny as always and Vince Vaughn was surprisingly funny. Stiller plays White Goodman and he is the snobbish owner of his up-to-the-style Globo Gym whereas Vaughn plays Peter La Fleur and he is the owner of Average Joe's. The gyms find out that there would be a dodgeball tournament held in a few weeks with a grand prize of fifty thousand dollars. Average Joe's need that money or else the gym goes to Globo Gym. The gyms ended up going and making it to the finals. But who wins? The movie will tell you that. All of the supporting actors were funny especially Rip Torn as Patches O'Houlihan. If you like Ben Stiller, you will like this movie. I rate this film a 10/10.

24 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
Fun piece of camp comedy, 19 December 2005

Author: mstomaso from Vulcan

What's funny about dodgeball? First, it's a movie about a group of non-competitive and somewhat eccentric adults playing dodgeball to save a not-very-impressive gym from the clutches of a competitive monopolistic chain gym. Second - Ben Stiller. Stiller is over-the-top and hilarious as the evil nemesis of average Joe Vince Vaughn. Vaughn - playing the slightly less than average Joe owner of Average Joe's gym, plays the perennial hard luck loser to the hilt. The supporting cast is terrific. Alan Tudyk, Rip Torn, Christine Taylor and Stephen Root are a great ensemble.

This is a rather extreme and rather Hollywood camp comedy. Although a lot of the humor is adult, the film is also refreshingly clean compared with the averaged 21st century comedy. Dodgeball also doubles as a spot-the-cameo film, since a whole host of odd celebrities pop up here and there throughout.

The first time I saw this film, I was charmed and I laughed a lot. Although the film remained entertaining, like most comedies it lost a bit of its luster in its second viewing.

Why only a 6 rating? Despite the campiness and good solid humor, this is still a very formulaic film and it does tend to vaporize after a viewing or two.

Strongly recommended - for one viewing!

4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Great Fun!, 20 July 2008

Author: roy-c from United Kingdom

Picked this up on DVD for £3 ($6) - didn't know anything about it We thought it one of the funniest films we've seen for some time. Thought I'd check out the rating and was surprised how low (6.6) it was. Then checked out some of the "Hated It" comments to see why this could be I guess that a lot of people find this film offensive, with stereotypical attitudes - like how a bisexual woman could kiss both a man and a woman (an extraordinary observation). Or that it was unfair to poke fun at someone who spent all his waking hours dressed up as pirate. I think that comment came from a member of the Long John Silver Alliance.

Lighten up! Comedy - like any other artistic endeavour is subjective - all I can say is that I laughed and found that at many points the jokes were coming faster than I could process them - always a good sign.

A good combination of slapstick humour and smart-ass comments delivered at a rapid pace And an ever-popular theme: will the underdogs triumph? Watch it and find out

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