I finally caught "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" a couple of days ago. It is a perfectly acceptable entry into the current "dumb comedy" genre that has been with us since "There's Something About Mary" dangled hair gel from Ben Stiller's ear.
Stiller's here too, in a sometimes frightening performance as a gung-ho and idiotic gym owner who wants to run his low-rent rival, played by Vince Vaughn, out of the business. In predictable yet amusing fashion, the two men go head-to-head in a nationally televised dodgeball tournament. Who is more macho?
For the main audience for this blog, "Dodgeball" blends two important events of the 1970s: the horror of elementary school P.E. and the heroism of "The Bad News Bears." There's also a trace of 1984's "Revenge of the Nerds."
Stiller scores as the bad guy. Christine Taylor, his real-life wife, is adequate in the obligatory love interest role. Chris Williams, perhaps best known as Krazee-Eyez Killa on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," doesn't get enough to do. And Vince Vaughn once again turns in a fine performance as Vince Vaughn. He's even better playing himself than Lance Armstrong, who has a cameo.
Dodgeball fu. Gratuitous inflatable codpiece. No breasts. Lesbian sub-plot. Chuck Norris and William Shatner in the same scene. No dead bodies, but plenty of knockdowns. Three stars. Ange Bob says check it out.
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