Sets an extremely high bar for future nonsense comedies

Rating: 10/10 (10 July 2007)

"Nobody makes me bleed my own blood. NOBODY", White Goodman (Ben Stiller) in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
This ridiculous quote (don't bother searching for inner logic within it, you won't find any) is taken from one of the most zany, crude and remarkably dumb movies that were made for the silver screen in recent years. Guess what? The formula, absurd as it is, actually works. With the right cast, inexplicable cameos (Chuck Norris, Lans Armstrong and William Shatner all in one), and just the right amount of grown-up actors who are willing to embarrass themselves at any cost  Dodgeball is the best sports comedy made in the 2000's (miles better than Will Ferrell's overrated Talladega Nights).
Dodgeball tells the ludicrous story of a bunch of losers (A high school student with aspirations of becoming a male cheerleader, a man who thinks he's a pirate, a spineless nerd married to a male-ordered Asian wife and more) who work out together in a gym conveniently named "Average Joes". The manager of the gym is Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn, in his last pre-Wedding Crashers days), who has an ongoing dispute with one White Goodman (Stiller), the owner of a mega-successful chain of gyms who looks to take over La Fleur's gym as well. La Fleur, who is also in deep financial debts, has to come up with 50 grand as soon as possible, in order to prevent Goodman from executing his devilish scheme. When he and his brethren of losers learn about an obscure Dodgeball competition with a 50,000$ award tag attached, they must learn to play the game fast, and overcome Goodman's competing team in the finals.
The movie is very short, and very accelerating (I knew nothing about Dodgeball upon my first view, but hooked up with the rules of the game as the film went along), and pumps you up towards its adrenaline packed finale. The main course, however, is Ben Stiller's character, Goodman. Stiller gives out his best performance to date by portraying Goodman as the dumbest bad guy you'll ever see. The narcissistic head of the competitive chain of gyms is a goofy character, who speaks illogical sentences, often contradicting himself; greases himself up and masturbates with a Pizza slice (don't ask me how this works). Stiller gives Goodman the most outrageous gestures and one-liners I've seen in a while, especially when confronting Vaughn's character on screen; and comes out as a complete arrogant jerk. Stiller's real life wife, Christine Taylor, is the bisexual bank accountant who comes to La Fleur's aid and eventually falls for him (more or less). Taylor and Vaughn's chemistry with Stiller is a definite advantage that helps carry the movie throughout its comedic sequences, setting an extremely high bar for future nonsense comedies.
If you love sports and comedies, and you don't get offended easily, Dodgeball is the place to be for relaxation and guilty pleasures.