Beer League (2006)

Director:

Frank Sebastiano

Writers (WGA):

Frank Sebastiano (written by) &
Artie Lange (written by)

Release Date:

15 September 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

No Gut, No Glory

Plot:

An unemployed slacker (Lange) inspires his softball teammates to improve their game so they won't get kicked out of the local league.

Plot Keywords:

Softball | Slacker | Beer | Friend | Remake

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Nov. 27

2:00 AM

SHOW

Cast

Artie Lange	...	Artie DeVanzo
Ralph Macchio	...	Maz
Anthony DeSando	...	Dennis Mangenelli
Cara Buono	...	Linda Salvo
Jimmy Palumbo	...	Johnny Trinno
Jerry Minor	...	Tim
Laurie Metcalf	...	Artie's Mom
Seymour Cassel	...	Dirt
Michael Deeg	...	Alfonse
Elizabeth Regen	...	Gina
Maddie Corman	...	Marilyn
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Dave
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kamal Ahmed	...	Umpire #3
Armin Amiri	...	Steakhouse Waiter
Anya Avaeva	...	Exotic Dancer
Todd Barry	...	Creepy Guy Down the Shore
Mary Birdsong	...	Rhonda
Charlene Biton	...	Layla (as Kristy Redford)
Jim Breuer	...	Football Guy
Jared Burke	...	Ed's Bar & Swill Player
Gino Cafarelli	...	Dakis
David Carney	...	Umpire #2
Alex Corrado	...	Ed
Albert DeGrasse	...	Ed's Bar & Swill Player
Nick DiPaolo	...	Cousin Mickey
Rich Duva	...	Ed's Bar & Swill Player
Bret Ernst	...	Corino Third Baseman
Tina Fey	...	Front Desk Girl
Jim Florentine	...	Crispino
Joseph R. Gannascoli	...	Giusuppe Primavera (as Joe Gannascoli)
Shane Geraghty	...	Softball Player
Keren Gilbert	...	Vicki Galliotta
Matthew Gumley	...	Tommy
Brigitte Hagerman	...	One of Dennis Mangenelli's girls
Hollie Harper	...	Tim's Wife
John Heinlein	...	Mangenelli 3rd baseman
Frank Hopf	...	Manganelli left center fielder
Lauren Hugnou	...	Hooker #1
Maria Javier	...	Hooker #2
Joanne Joseph	...	Dirt's Wife
Keisha	...	Michelle "Pitching Machine"
Tim Lajcik	...	Manganelli Outfielder
Jodi Lennon	...	Melissa
Mike Lisenco	...	Umpire #1 (as Michael Lisenco)
Louis Lombardi	...	Chief Gugliamino
Dana Lorge	...	Gina's Mom
Erik Martin	...	Manganelli Catcher
Steve Nuke	...	2nd Base Man - Green Team
George Palermo	...	Mangenelli First Baseman
Rich Pecci	...	Bachleor Party Guy
Frank Pellegrino	...	Gina's Dad
Bill Scheft	...	Championship Game Ump
Christian Sebastiano	...	Manganelli 2nd Baseman
Francisco Sebastiano	...	Dave's Baby
Rosalinda Sebastiano	...	Marie
George Seminara	...	Shoot the Geek Barker
Daniel Tay	...	Max
Nathalie Walker	...	Hooker #3 (as Natalie Twaddle)

Also Known As:

Artie Lange's Beer League (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for non-stop language including strong sexual references, sexuality, nudity and drug use.

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #42316) | Finland:K-13 | New Zealand:R16 | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Identity Films (I)

Trivia:

Scott Baio auditioned for the role of Maz. After casting Ralph Macchio, Baio was considered for another role but the producers felt it would be "too much" to have two icons of the 1980's in the film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the diner scene where Artie's girlfriend Linda throws French fries at him, if you look at the window sill above Artie's shoulder to the left you can see a lone French fry that appears and disappears BEFORE she actually throws them at Artie. This scene is obviously compiled from multiple takes and somebody missed a French fry when they were cleaning up from the previous take.

Quotes:

Johnny Trinno: It's unfair, it's like pitching to a healthy Lou Gehrig.

Movie Connections:

References A Few Good Men (1992)

Soundtrack:

Cure Me... Or Kill Me...

Totally Disappointing

As someone that was born and raised in New Jersey, a huge Howard Stern fan (back when it was free, that is), and a fan of both baseball movies and R-rated comedies, I had high hopes for this movie. Boy, was I off when I finally got to see this thing! The movie wasn't funny at all except for a few scenes here and there. The screenplay was more sitcom material than movie material where the comedic lines just don't sound natural at all. After one character says a "funny" line, it's followed by a silent beat as if it's allowing time for the audience to laugh before the story continues. What's that about??! Artie Lange's acting is horrible. He's no leading man and should just stick to supporting roles instead. It's a shame because some of biggest laughs I ever had in my life came from listening to the Howard Stern radio show which Artie helped tremendously when he was added to the show, but the comedy involved in Howard's show wasn't stale one-liners that fell flat. Instead, it was the realistic banter between everyone in the gang about their lives, arguing or busting each other's balls. You'd think Artie Lange would learn from his own radio show what would make a great comedy, but, no!, he chooses to make an 86-min. episode of The Artie Show instead.