This post is part of COUNTING DOWN THE ZEROES, brought to you by IBETOLIS of FILM FOR THE SOUL.
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Dodgeball: A True Underdog StoryRelease: 06.18.04
DVD Release: 12.07.04
Rated PG-13
1 hours, 32 minutes
See It, Take a Friend, Buy the DVD!
The summer of 2004 was one of those fortuitous moments when the fantasy of the movies and my routine reality crossed paths. Having recently seen Dodgeball in theaters, my girlfriend and I were walking around quoting lines incessantly. One day, a flyer at our apartment announced a dodgeball game convening at the tennis courts. A resident with a handful of those hard rubber balls, inked with stylish Spongebob and Spider-Man artwork, beckoned us to join in the fun. This weekly stress relief evolved into joining our city league, and five years later, we still find ourselves enjoying this 'child's game.' Those who know dodgeball know it's not for the weak of heart...
Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn, Starsky & Hutch), owner of Average Joe's Gymnasium, has learned that his gym is near the brink of foreclosure; partly due to his laid-back business tactics, but mostly due to his rival, White Goodman (Ben Stiller, Zoolander). The narcissistic Goodman wants Joe's shutdown so he can add extra parking for the members of his corporate Adonis factory, Globo Gym. With little time, La Fleur and with his rag-tag band of employees and clients do the only thing possible to generate the needed cash: enter the American Dodgeball Association of America International Dodgeball Championship in Las Vegas. The Joes' quest and their pathetic dodgeball skills catch the attention of seven-time all-star dodgeball champion Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn, Men in Black) who offers his expertise to help defeat Goodman's Purple Cobras team, win the $50,000 and save their gym.
I hold writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber in high regard mainly because he, like me, believes Ghostbusters to be the best comedy ever made. Prior to Dodgeball, Thurber directed the Terry Tate, Office Linebacker commercials for Reebok. After shopping his script around, Ben Stiller's Red Hour Films picked it up, and with Thurber attached to direct, the fun began. In the commentary, Thurber mentions an old adage that "90% of directing is casting." In this instance, I couldn't agree more.
To read the full post, head over to Film for the Soul...
Dodgeball is great. It's one of the few movies Mr. Mouse and I both enjoy and, as such, owns a particular place of prominence in our home DVD library. Even with the trailers having overdone the wrench-dodging workout montage, Justin Long still makes me giggle whenever he takes one to the head.
ReplyDeleteummmm....the title? was that a line in the movie i forgot or something?
ReplyDelete@Friend Mouse- Long stumbled and stuttered perfectly thru Dodgeball. It's one of those stupid comedies where all the parts just work together so smoothly.
ReplyDelete@IW- Yep, it was a movie line. Patches O'Houlihan shouts it. I can't remember if it's during the training montage or when they're winning in the tournament. I cracked up w/ every line he said.