I love this movie.
I mean, I absolutely love it.
Back when I was buying DVDs because they were dirt cheap and it was easier and cheaper to do that rather than go to the theater, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is a disc I picked up just because the trailer amused me. What I discovered was a film that was just rude, crude and utterly hilarious with what it does. It’s a standard underdog “sports” story to be sure, but it populates itself with such outlandish and awful characters in some hilarious situations that just left me in stitches. And is one of those movies that every time I see it come on, I have to watch more of it. Or pull out the disc and just savor it. With a good range of actors in it, some great comic timing and wrenches being thrown at people, it just hits all the right sweet spots for me.
Having grown up in the 80’s with some of the best comedies coming out at that time, there’s a lot out there to certainly enjoy. I got my foundations with 80’s sitcoms and the 90’s stand up circuit so there’s been a lot of comedy in my life. Those films have had a harder time of it over the years with few that stand out and even more that just plain go for the spoof or parody route that end up falling flat or having no real legs and life to them. The classics continue to be great, from Stripes to Ghostbusters and There’s Something About Mary, but Dodgeball just gets me grinning simply thinking about it.
And now I have to go watch it again.
Plot concept: Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn) is an underachiever who owns Average Joe’s Gym but is in debt. White Goodman (Ben Stiller) is a rival who wants to buy it. Peter and his gang of gym buddies decide to hold a dodgeball tournament to make money. Goodman retaliates by creating his own dodgeball team, one he is sure will crush Peter’s. But then the legendary champ, Patches O’Houlihan (Rip Torn), turns up ready to train Peter and his friends.
