Bounces Along Nicely

Rating: 7/10 (16 August 2004)

Remember "Rocky"? "Escape to Victory"? or even "The Karate Kid"?
As much as I love these and countless other sport-related films, there is always a nagging problem - they take themselves far too seriously.
From the initial defeat to the final, against-the-odds triumph, the reverence for competitive sports is carried like a religious icon.
The antidote to all this, is this hilarious debut from writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber. Grounded in a smart and self-aware script, Dodgeball's gags come fast and frequent, as Vince Vaughn's band of losers are transformed into a team of ball-dodging allstars.
Vaughn, as Peter LaFleur, at times shows touches of the 1980's Bill Murray-style wise-cracking everyman.
Gary Cole and Jason Bateman too, put in a brilliantly accurate portrayal of the banality of sports commentary.
A queue of cameos have varying levels of success. (Hasselhoff - good, Lance Armstrong - bad.)
But it is Ben Stiller who steals the show. His narcissistic fitness fascist White Goodman with bouffant blonde hair and Village People 'tache has all the best lines. "Nobody makes me bleed my own blood".
Dodgeball is unpretentious, shameless, silly, and all the better for it.