2004's Happy Gilmore

Rating: 8/10 (6 August 2004)

"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" was a goofy, but hilarious movie that had me laughing all the way through. It was truly a story of underdogs proving that are just as likely to succeed, even if it is only by luck. Those who enjoyed "Happy Gilmore" may or may not enjoy this film - it depends if you like movies that have striking similarities to one you've seen before.
The main character in this film, White Goodman, is played by Ben Stiller, who was a nursing home orderly by the name of Hal in the 1996 film Happy Gilmore. In both films, he uses his power to his advantage, using every opportunity to make anyone feel bad. The striking similarities between the two films goes beyond this. The basic plot lines are essentially the same: the ownership of a large asset is threatened, the character takes up a sport they've never played before in order to win back that asset, and the champion of that sport, who is imminently to take over that asset, feels threatened and will do anything to stop them. In Happy Gilmore it was Grandma's house that was threatened; in this film it is a gym business. In the same sense, golf versus dodgeball.
In addition, product placements are found in this film, and they are sometimes the same as what is found in Happy Gilmore. Pepsi was seen a number of times in both films. Also, some golf events in Happy Gilmore were covered by ESPN, and in this film, the dodgeball championships in Las Vegas are covered by ESPN - ESPN 8 "The Ocho", that is. Fortunately, we didn't see Peter LaFleur eating three Subway sandwiches a day.
To put it another way, if you didn't like Johnny English, you won't like this film. The antics are very goofy throughout.