DodgeBall [M]

Peter LaFleur runs Average Joes, a quaint little gym filled with a group of ragtag members that have become like an awkward family. But this is all threatened when they learn that Joes needs to raise $50,000 or it will be taken over by competitive gym Globogym. Desperate the raise the money, the group enter in a dodge ball tournament with the first prize being $50,000. The only problem is, none of them can play dodge ball. But with ruthless dodge ball champion Patches O’Houlihan as they’re coach, they just might in with a shot. 

This really is a bizarre, but very funny and clever movie. It’s filled with comedy that can sometimes get a little crude, romance, determination, and balls. Every time I watch it, I find something new to laugh at. 

Peter LaFleur runs Average Joes, a quaint little gym inhabited by a group of ragtag members that have become like an awkward family, each with their own problems that just melt away when they’re at Joes. But this is all threatened when they learn that Joes needs to raise $50,000 or it will be taken over by the successful and competitive Globogym, run by White Goodman, who has a personal grudge against Peter. Desperate to raise the cash, the group enters a doge ball tournament with the first prize being $50,000. However, none of them have every played dodge ball before, but with the ruthless dodge ball champion, Patches O’Houlihan as their coach, they may just be in with a chance. 

The thing I like most about this movie is that it has a simple story that’s easy to follow and the entire film is moved along by its characters. Each character is as eccentric and memorable as the next, and all the actors did great jobs. 

Vince Vaughn stars as Peter LaFleur and he was great. Admittedly, the only time I’ve ever really seen Vince Vaughn inhabit another character is in Be Cool, in everything else I’ve seen him in, he tends to play the same sort of character. But who cares? He plays that character so well and in DodgeBall he delivered a performance that was charming, subtle, and rather funny. I really do like Vince Vaughn. 

Although the film is really about Vince and his team, the real star of the show was Ben Stiller who played White Goodman. The only other time I’ve seen Stiller really play another character is in Zoolander (and, to a lesser extent Starsky and Hutch), which is a bit of a shame because he’s really quite a versatile actor. He can inhabit any character and I think that’s what’s so great about him, he holds onto that ability to surprise you. Here, he gave a wonderfully memorable performance that was bizarre, aggressive, forceful, competitive, and just hilarious. He was very much like a peacock in certain scenes. Just brilliant. 

Starring Christine Taylor, Rip Torn, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Joel David Moore, Chris Williams, Alan Tudyk, Missi Pyle, Jamal Duff, Gay Cole, Jason Bateman, Hank Azaria, Al Kalpon, William Shatner, and featuring brilliant cameos from David Hasselhoff and Lance Armstrong, DodgeBall is a fantastically funny movie packed with sports, balls, comedy, violence, quick wit, and memorable characters. It really is a great movie that keeps your attention from start to finish.