Makes for an entertaining hour and a half

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2005)

Films starring Ben Stiller tend to be funny, and that's what this is. You cant go into a film like Dodgeball expecting much more than a good time and a few laughs - so the fact that it's no masterpiece won't disappoint, and the fact that it delivers exactly what you want it to ensures this further. Dodgeball is at least somewhat original because it follows a sport that (to my knowledge) hasn't been done before, or at least not recently. Prior to seeing this movie, I had seen Dodgeball being played 'professionally', and it's easy to see why the filmmakers here decided to base this comedy on that sport. It isn't quite as ridiculous in real life as it's portrayed as being here, but seriously - it's not all that far off. The film follows two rival gyms - the huge Globo Gym, and the small-scale local gym - Average Joe's. Joe's is owned by Vince Vaughn, who finds himself in trouble with the bank when it turns out he hasn't been paying his bills. He owes $50,000, and after his friends' idea to wash cars fails miserably, they find that the only way to pay off the bank and keep the gym open is to enter a dodgeball competition, which has a first prize of $50,000 (mere coincidence). However, the owner of Globotech wants Average Joe's for himself...and enters the competition to make sure that happens.
I'm not exactly Ben Stiller's biggest fan, but it's impossible to deny that he has a talent for comedy. He's shown in his recent films that he has a great range - from the very straight Starsky, to his average kind of role in Meet the Parents; all the way to his role here, which sees him as the maniacal fitness freak turned dodgeball player. He stars along with Vince Vaughn and wife, Christine Taylor. Vaughn has shown his comedy talent a lot recently, and even though his role here is merely as an average kind of guy; he does it well. Stiller's wife definitely is hot - I don't like blonde's as a rule, but every man who doesn't would have to make an exception here. She steals all of her scenes. Many of the jokes come as a result of Stiller's over the top character, and the general silliness of the game; dodgeball. It doesn't take a highly trained eye to notice that this is Ben Stiller's film - and it's him that you're going to remember most after seeing this film, and that is testament to his comical abilities. Some of the humour is a bit grating and doesn't really work (like the awkward romance between some ugly woman and a dorky kid), but on the whole - this is suitably silly, and is sure to sufficiently entertain most people.