Funny; stupid, but funny

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2005)

Sometimes, a dumb, funny movie just totally hits the spot. And that's the case with this movie. Dodgeball is freakin' funny, but don't expect Noel Coward. To me, the funniest bit is watching Justin Long taking a wrench to the face, so that should tell you the kind of movie this is.
But you have to be clever when you make a dumb movie, and this movie is full of cleverness. Gary Cole and Jason Bateman as the sports announcers were amazing; I never knew Gary Cole was so funny. And Justin Long has a real future doing physical comedy. As they say in the commentary, he is "a study in ham and cheese." MAN he's funny.
Ben Stiller is awesome as White Goodman, the cartoonish bad guy. Some of his best humor comes from his screen time shared with Jamal Duff, who plays "Me'Shell," White's 'fitness concigliere.' And Vince Vaughn sort of plays a standard Vince Vaughn role, but he's still great.
Stephen Root adds another classic character role to his impressive repertoire. And Alan Tudyk as Steve the Pirate totally rocks! When I heard that he was in this movie playing a guy who thinks that he's a pirate, I thought, "WOW, this movie must be stupid." You have to see it to get it.
If you don't mind broad physical comedy and references to obscure, gross sex acts, then this movie is great for a laugh.