Simple plot, slapstick laughs, good characters

Rating: 9/10 (10 September 2009)

Really..that's it..VERY basic, no need for thought if you're watching this movie..seriously...You have a great cast of comedic actors portraying funny characters...some good physical comedy as well..Stephen Root's character of Gordon is great! Plus Steve the Pirate..Steve the Pirate? Yea..Steve the Pirate!! cmon..Just the name of that character alone rules!!(and the character himself is pretty damn good) Throw in Rip Torn as Patches O Hoolahan, and Hank Azaria playing a younger Patches (in a wonderful B&W instructinoal video from the 1950's telling Timmy to take a break from that fine lead based paint to learn the wonderful game of Dodgeball) and you got soem serious laughs....and remember..this movie IS stupid and that's the whole point..go with it. To be honest, I resisted watching DODGEBALL because I didn't care much for recent comedies. I also avoided anything with Ben Stiller after several of his unfunny stinkbombs. He really needs to be more picky with his scripts because he is a genuinely funny guy (check out "The Ben Stiller Show" to see that). But Stiller is very funny in DODGEBALL, along with everyone else. I wish there had been more Stephen Root and Rip Torn. I also loved Hank Azaria's spoof of old educational films on the history of Dodgeball. After OLD SCHOOL and this movie, Vince Vaughn is becoming the Bill Murray of his generation. Most of this movie is predictable and derivative but it keeps the laughs coming. Funny, funny stuff. Check it out.