Satirizes low-brow underdog comedies, while being a pretty good one

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2004)

It's low-brow fun that's self-aware; it does what it does, and at the same time makes fun of the conventions of underdog comedies, and of a lot of other things -- sports, sports TV, the fitness craze, and so on.
A lot of the crude jokes are actually pretty smart: they get laughs not just by being crude, but by being unexpected. This movie didn't change my life, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. I didn't laugh helplessly, but I did laugh out loud a number of times.
The actors were good enough: Rip Torn is always fun, Ben Stiller reminded me of all the EST-addled people I knew back in the '70s and '80s. I thought his final fate was a little cruder than crude, even for a movie like this. But you'll only find out what happens to him if you stay until the end of the credits.