Where does the average guy go to escape his everyday life and get in a few reps on the weight machine? Where can you go and workout without fear of mocking (even if you are dressed like a Pirate)? What gym in the world would a nerdy cheerleader wanna-be, a guy who dresses like a pirate, an overweight father of two, and a slacker all be welcomed with open arms? Average Joe's is the answer to all those questions.
Sadly, that may not be an option for much longer if Globo Gym has it's way.
What you get in DodgeBall is a battle of David versus Goliath, average guy vs. freaky fit, tool vs. slacker!
Average Joe's is run by slacker Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn). Gym members include: Steve the Pirate (Alan Tudyk) who's aptly named that way because he...drum roll please...thinks he's a pirate; Justin the young uncoordinated cheer leader wanna be (Justin Long) Gordon the odd overweight father of two (Stephen Root) and many more.
Peter runs the gym with the reckless abandon of a mega millions lottery winner. Meaning he doesn't really pay attention to the finer points of running a business...like paying mortgage, collecting dues, etc. Peter is served notice by his bank that his mortgage is about to defaulted on and he is about to lose his gym.
Bad news for Peter, but good news for White Goodman (Ben Stiller) owner and operator of Globo Gym. Think any major fitness club...on steroids! White is looking to purchase the little gym across the street and the only thing that can stop him is Peter and his crew of wacky gym members coming up with $50,000 in about a month.
Through this whole process we are introduced to Kate Veatch (Christine Taylor).. Kate is assigned by the bank to make sure that the Globo Gym acquisition of Average Joe's goes smoothly. It's obvious from the start that she like Peter. It's also obvious that she's repulsed by White. In what is one of my favorite lines in the movie Kate's response to a White come on is, "Actually, I threw up a little in my mouth."--comedy gold!
When the idea of holding a car wash to raise money fails miserably there is only one thing the guys can do. Play competitive dodgeball. How does one learn about competitive dodgeball you ask? (and thank you for asking) It seems Gordon is a fan of obscure sports, hey he gets the magazine! All the team has to do is beat a local girl scout troop in the local regional qualifier and they are on their way to Vegas. They get their collective asses handed to them. Thankfully one of the scouts failed her pre-match drug test!
With the help of former ADAA (American DodgeBall Associationn of America) Superstar, Patches O'Houlihan the team is whipped into shape prior to their televised matches at the World Championship of Dodge ball on ESPN 8 "The Ocho". An event so great it's billed as, "Better than the World Cup, World Series and World War II combined!" With such wisdom as,. "If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball." and "if you can dodge a car, you can dodge a ball". Patches gets this motley crew in shape. Well, he gets them in shape once Kate joins the team.
From there you get some good hardcore dodgeball action. The teams competing in Vegas remind me of what would happen if WWE wrestlers mixed it up with your local Roller Derby Queens.
You round out the cast with a cameo from David Hasselhoff as the coach of the German team. Gary Cole and Jason Bateman as the announcers from ESPN "Ocho", and brief appearances by Hank Azaria, William Shatner, Chuck Norris and Lance Armstrong. Overall you get about 92 minutes of slapstick comedy at it's finest.
For full effect make sure you watch the special features with out takes and deleted scenes. Pay close attention to the separate feature on Justin Long. basically it's a five minute gag reel of him getting pummelled with dodge balls! You really can't go wrong with abuse like that!
Stiller is amazing in most everything he does. Movies like Permanent Midnight, Keeping the Faith and The Royal Tenenbaums showed he had dramatic chops along with the ability to be a comic actor. The fact that he and Christine Taylor are married makes the scenes they have together that much funnier.
If you're looking for a way to relax and laugh for an hour and half you could do a lot worse than Dodgeball.
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