Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story
(2004)
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Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) is an underachiever who owns a run-down gym which has a clientele to be ashamed of. It comes as no surprise when White Goodman (Ben Stiller) decides to take over the place and he sends in attorney Kate Veach (Christine Taylor) to finalise the deal. Unfortunately for White, Peter's charms win Kate over and she helps him try to beat the odds and save 'Average Joes'. |
This slight and silly comedy features a hyper-energetic Ben Stiller and an almost catatonic Vince Vaughn in a familiar story of the little guy battling against the odds. Vaughn owns a run-down gym that fitness tycoon Stiller wants to buy up and it's only by forming a dodgeball team and going to Las Vegas to win $50,000 in the national championships that Vaughn and his rag-tag band of under-achievers can save the day. Along the way, Vaughn's team is whipped into shape by Rip Torn's insane coach (“If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball!”) and challenged by a variety of bizarre opponents, including a David Hasselhoff-obsessed German team. It's even dafter than it sounds, but filled with such good-natured spirit that it's easy to succumb to the movie's simple-minded charms — the faux 1938 instructional film on how to play the game is worth the price of admission alone.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Fitfully amusing broad farce that aims low and hits its target.