Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Plot synopsis:
The movie opens with an infomercial for Globo Gym America Corp. We are introduced to White Goodman (Ben Stiller) - who talks about how Globo Gym is a beacon of human physical fitnes extremes, and then he is talking about how he's the company's first customer and the creator of the Globo Gym lifestyle. Then it's revealed that Peter La Fluer (Vince Vaughn) is watching the infomercial on his TV from his house. Peter is the owner and operator of Average Joe's Gymnasium. He wakes up and begins getting ready for another day at Average Joe's Gymnasium.His car barely makes it to the building where Average Joe's is, and it's being pushed by some of the people who make up the membership of the gym. We are then introduced to the members of the gym - including former airport employee Dwight (Chris Williams), teenage cheerleader wannabe Justin (Justin Long), obscure sports fan Gordon (Stephen Root), and Steve The Pirate (Alan Tudyk), and then it's learned that Peter hasn't collected membership fees in several months. Justin tells Peter about his humiliation competing in his high school's cheerleading auditions. And then there's Owen who tells Peter about his dating troubles. And then Peter reassures Owen that there's somebody out there for everybody, and in the rare circumstance, there's two somebodies for everybody, which Peter calls the jackpot. Peter then enters his office where he's being greeted by an attractive auditor named Kate Veatch (Christine Taylor), who's there to sort out Average Joe's financial woes (but was secretly hired by White Goodman to gut Average Joe's of all remaining assets).As Peter and Kate get acquainted, Kate informs them that his gym is being taken over by White Goodman, the owner and operator of Globo Gym America Corp. Peter goes over to Globo Gym to meet White, who appears more hostile than he seems on television. White informs Peter that he's $50K in the hole and that he plans on bulldozing Average Joe's and turning the place into a parking lot for his membership. It's then learned that White has an extremely bizarre lust for junk food and employes some really unusual methods for helping him ignore the temptation.Back at Average Joe's, Peter informs the members about the gym's financial difficulties and has a go round Q&A session to figure out the best course of action to take. Owen suggests that they hold a car wash. Peter agrees to do so, but unfortunately bad timing and no planning means that they're out matched by a group of very attractive women in bikinis who happen to be holding a car wash across the street. The only customer they have successfully managed to attract is a creepy guy with a monster truck and an angry bull dog who keeps paying Justin to wash his car.The car wash was a failure and actually wound up costing Average Joe's some money, in addition to the $50K in the hole that they are already in. Peter decides that they've already been defeated even though they haven't done anything to make the money that they're required. Member Gordon Pibb - who's a fan of obscure sports and reads the magazine Obscure Sports Quarterly, decides that they've got a shot at the $50K by playing Dodgeball. Peter agrees, and Justin finds the training tape that they need. The tape is hosted by the American Dodgeball Association Of America (ADAA) and features legend Patches O'Houlihan explaining the rules of Dodgeball.After watching the video and a couple of practice rounds, they feel they are ready for the tournament. Unfortunately they're paired with Girl Scout Troop #417, who humiliates them after a very one-sided game and they lose. But Average Joe's is saved when one of the members of Troop #417 tests positive for a number of performance enhancing steroids and a low grade beaver tranquilizer. That means that Average Joe's is qualified for the Las Vegas open.That night, while celebrating their victory, they're confronted by White Goodman, who's announced that he's also formed his own Dodgeball team with some seriously competitive players including his fitness counsel Meshell Jones (Jamal Duff) and an extremely strong and lethal Romanian player - who Average Joe's member Owen is strangely attracted to. Gordon tells White that they failed to win a regional qualifying match, but White tells Gordon that he helped the ADAA president shed some unwanted poundage and was therefore owed a favor. White then humiliates them by knocking a tray full of Mexican food on them.Going home, while in the parking lot, Peter is confronted by a strange man in a motorized wheelchair who tells him the regional qualifying game between Average Joe's and Troop #417 was the absolute worst display of Dodgeball that he's seen in over 40 years. The strange man then reveals himself to be none other than ADAA legend Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn). He agrees to become their new coach and begins training them under a variety of unusual methods including throwing wrenches and making them dodge traffic.While practicing, White Goodman presents them with a cardboard cutout of himself with a hidden camera that records their every move. It's attached with 30 day trial memberships to Globo Gym, meant to be an insult. During a practice round, Kate picks up a ball and throws it, decapitating the cut out of Goodman. Impressed, Peter and White both try to woo Kate into joining their respective sides. Kate ultimately agrees to join Average Joe's because she finds White as creepy as they do, and she would want nothing more than to see him on the losing end of the final match.It's now time for the Vegas open Dodgeball championships. It's held every year at the Las Vegas Learning Annex, and this year it's being broadcast on ESPN 8: The Ocho (motto: "If it's almost a sport, it's on The Ocho"). The announcers for the tournament are Cotton McKnight (Gary Cole) and Pepper Brooks (Jason Bateman). Average Joe's makes a rather bizarre first impression from the ADAA community when Owen throws out their old uniforms and has them replaced with new ones. Thanks to a shipping error, they're forced to play the first round in S&M garb, while the people who were supposed to receive the S&M garb accidentally receive the Average Joe's uniforms instead.Average Joe's takes on a variety of teams - including the German Blitzkrieg, the Lumberjacks and inner city champions Skillz That Killz while the Globo Gym Purple Cobras take on their own various teams including the Japanese Kamikaze, the MilFs, and the Las Vegas Police Department. Average Joe's finds themselves in a pickle when they're on the last end in the semi finals facing The Cougars with Gordon as the sole remaining member of a four on one game. Patches instructs Gordon to get really mean. He does and eliminates the opposition without fail. Meanwhile, Globo Gym has absolutely no problem eliminating the opponents they face. That leaves the two teams without competition and they ultimately find themselves facing each other in the final round. After a well-earned victory celebration that clinches Joe's a spot in the final round, Patches and Peter decide to celebrate, and Patches gives Peter his workout towel, and invites him to his hotel room where he has some Vegas hookers waiting.On the last day before the final round, the team separates. Patches is killed when a giant neon sign falls on his head. While mourning Patches, Peter goes crazy and tells Steve that he's not a real pirate, and Steve, while walking down the Vegas strip, decides that maybe Peter's right. Justin is met by his love interest - fellow high school cheerleader Amber, who's in town for the National Cheerleading Championship finals. Amber tells Justin that their team captain has suffered a horrendous accident, rendering him unable to compete, and that Justin is the only one in Vegas who knows their whole routine. Justin helps his high school team - the Donkeys - perform their routine with rousing success. Peter is confronted by White Goodman, who offers him a $100,000 bribe if Average Joe's forfeits.Peter takes the bribe, and that day while at the airport, he's met by Lance Armstrong (Lance Armstrong), who tells Peter that he should never give up. Peter then has a change of heart and joins Average Joe's in the finals. Just as it looks like Average Joe's is four players short, Peter rejoins the group and he tells ADAA president William Shatner (William Shatner) that the team is here and ready to play. Shatner is ready to hand the trophy over to White, but thanks to an ADAA by law, if they get approval from two of the three judges, they can play the final match. Shatner then has the other judges confer and give their approval or disapproval. The final judge - Chuck Norris (Chuck Norris)- gives the thumbs up and allows them to play the finals.After a rousing match, the only member left is Justin, who catches a ball, then Kate catches a ball, to allow Average Joe's to get the upper hand against Globo Gym. They finally eliminate everyone except for White - who's nearly thrown out of the game after hitting Kate, who's already been eliminated, bringing it down to White and Peter. White then eliminates Peter and effectively ends the game. But thanks to a technicality, White has accidentally stepped over the line and has caused a penalty against Globo Gym. That means that it goes into something unheard of in Dodgeball history - sudden death elimination.Peter decides to blindfold himself with the towel that Patches had given him prior to Patches' death. The announcers comment that he's unable to see. He tells White that he looks awful fat in those pants, leaving White feeling insecure. The match resume, and White is intimidated by Peter. He throws the dodgeball first, and it passes by Peter. Peter throws the ball at White and eliminates him. That ends the game and makes Average Joe's champions.But the victory is short lived as White tells Peter that he sold Average Joe's to him the night before, and while Peter can't argue with that, Peter informs him that he took the $100K that White had given him and bet it on Average Joe's to win, and with 50:1 odds, that nets him a profit of $5,000,000. He then tells White that he plans to take his advice that he had given Peter the night before and invest the money in something - and that something happens to be the controlling stake of Globo Gym. Globo Gym is a publicly traded company and there's nothing that White can do about it. White, now having been completely defeated, goes back to his overeating ways that he had before he founded Globo Gym, and starts stuffing the face with junk food as he's walking off the court. Kate's girlfriend returns from Guam and meets up with her during the victory celebration, and Peter has hit the proverbial dating jackpot in addition to hitting an actual jackpot. Steve returns having completely cut off his pirate dreads and gone with a more conservative look. He tells Peter that Peter was right about the fact that Steve should stop being a pirate, but then Peter wonders who he's going to split all this newly acquired "buried treasure" with. We see Average Joe's on the cover of Obscure Sports Quarterly, followed by a commercial for the new and improved Average Joe's.The film ends with a morbidly obese White Goodman sitting on the couch surrounded by junk food, explaining why they're happy that Average Joe's won and Globo Gym lost, and the reason why is that Hollywood doesn't like anything that deviates from the norm - good guy wins, bad guy loses, and then blames Chuck Norris for his defeat. And then later during a post credits scene, he does the dance from the "Milkshake" video.

Tags: comedy, humor, entertaining, flashback

Review:
She takes a liking to the 'underdog' owner of the Average Joe gym though, and helps them in their plan to win a Dodgeball contest in order to get the money they owe.
Dodgeball is an 'obscure' sport that mostly consists of throwing a ball to hit your opponent (look it up on the Net - Dodgeball fans take it quite seriously!) Even when I describe the film, I think 'it sounds awful' - I probably would have avoided it if it hadn't been recommended so highly - and I recommend you stay till the *very end* of the credits for one of the best scenes (which also takes a swipe at the US film-making industry!).
I just watched Dodgeball last night and I can't remember laughing so hard at a movie in years, from Vince Vaughn finally being cast as a person you can like to Rip Torn who is always at his best as the sarcastic coach who is full of colorful one-liners, and I didn't start out as a Ben Stiller Fan, but his movies have seriously picked up in quality latelyFrom the supporting cast and the cameo's everyone does a top notch job, Gary Cole is especially amusing as the sports announcer and his always missing the point sidekick, The Dim bulb Chris Klein type Dimwit on Vince Vaughns team adds to the hilarity, and Missy Pyle(What A Babe!!)Forget what all the Negativity from the other reviewers state, this is a comedy, a comedy is meant to entertain, it is not Casablanca or the Producers, but it is not meant to be(****) Out Of (****).
The film has the same plot that all these sorts of sports movies have and you pretty much know where it is going from the very start but, to be honest, how many people have come here for the engaging story?
Cameos from Hasselhoff, Norris, Shatner and Lance Armstrong are all briefly amusing and, just like Best in Show, commentators Gary Cole and Jason Bateman do spot on spoofs of low-grade sports commentators and have lots of great lines between them.Overall this is not the funniest film EVER, as some critics have absurdly claimed  it simply isn't consistent enough for that accolade but it is still a pretty funny film if you are in the mood for silly humour and some pretty basic jokes.
When average Joe's gym, run by Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) is under threat of take over by White Goodman (Ben Stiller), La Fleur and his gym members must raise $50,000 to save it.
The only way to do it is Dodge Ball, and with the help of a seasoned professional, maybe they have a chance.Great characters, and a hilarious script make dodge ball a Hit, Ben Stiller's and Rip Torn's characters are particularly well written, but none of the characters fail to get a laugh, and there is a good blend of them on show.Definitely worth a look for anyone who fancies a laugh.
Ben Stiller as the "evil" White Goodman -- it's a classic character that should go down in the annals of comedy greatness.
Stiller plays White Goodman and he is the snobbish owner of his up-to-the-style Globo Gym whereas Vaughn plays Peter La Fleur and he is the owner of Average Joe's.
This film is not intended to be a great work of art and no one will win an Oscar for it because it is just a film packed full of laughs that leaves you smiling afterwards - that is, with the exception of the few posters here bereft of any sense of humour.I am not a great Ben Stiller fan - generally, I find him rather unfunny but he scores highly in this film and Vince Vaughn also deserves recognition among others for fine comedic timing.The guest appearances also add to the general fun and the wheelchair-bound coach, played by Rip Torn is just a hoot.This is definitely one to hire from your local rental shop - me, I'm going to buy the DVD!.
Prior to the typically-dumb ending are some very funny moments, mostly provided by Ben Stiller's over-the-top fitness guru, "White Goodman," a man who runs an ultra high-tech fitness center.
Vince Vaughan plays the likable good guy small-gym owner who is in competition with Stiller, sort of like David against Goliath, the nerds against the jocks.....another formula that is so often used these days in comedies because it's always fun to see the little guy knock off the arrogant big jerk.
"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" provides just enough good-natured low brow humor to make up for the fact that the film is not always as funny as it intends to be.Vince Vaughn takes on the role of straight man as Peter La Fleur, the owner of a third rate gym called "Average Joe's" that caters to the.umhow shall we say it?
Rip Torn plays the part of a former Dodgeball champion and, for those of you who like physical humour, had me in pain from laughing so hard.The story has been well thought out and put across to the audience in a way that everyone will relate to at least one of the characters.
I loved it!This movie is about a group of "weird" (I hate to see that word in a sentence next to the word "people") guys who work out at a small gym owned by Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn), which isn't getting any income b/c it's going to be taken by the bank, task handed to Kate Votch(Christine Taylor).
But that isn't all, the gym wants to be owned by the annoying/gross and long time rival of Peter, owner of Globo gym, White Goodman (Ben Stiller in I think one of his best roles ever).
Vince Vaughn was great too, funny and the classic good guy/hero of the movie, I liked him.
Christine Taylor was good too :)I'd watch this movie again anytime, one of the best comedy movies I've seen in a long time :) ****1/2 out of ***** (the half point taken away by David Hasselhoof's came, I have no idea what he was doing or why he was there, but it was stupid and not fun)..
I call them the frat pack because they appeal more to those guys.I always enjoy a good comedy, but if the next 10 years is going to be comedy movies like this then i might just watch reruns of 'The Simpsons' or 'Family Guy' for comedy.The game of dodgeball is humorous but it doesn't mean you should make a movie out of it.
The brat is played to absolute hilarity by Ben Stiller who has his own unique way of impressing the ladies.(Hint: puff puff the magic dragon).By sheer coincidence there is dodgeball tournament at Las Vegas that will pay-yep you got it, $50,000 to the 1st place team.
Peter LaFleur {Vince Vaughn} is the owner of Average Joe's Gym, barely making any cash, LaFleur looks like losing his Gym to corporate big hitters, Globo Gym. Globo Gym, run by sleazy White Goodman {Ben Stiller}, is the complete opposite to Joe's, big money, big clientèle and big ego's.
So when the few hardy members of Joe's decide to enter the Vegas Dodgeball Tournament, in the vain hope of winning the cash prize to save the gym, it's no surprise that Goodman enters his own team to hopefully thwart their plan.A joyous, crude and eminently quotable underdog story that demands repeat viewings to fully catch all that is going on.
Boasting smart use of cameos from such luminaries like William Shatner and Chuck Norris, Dodgeball is a testament to how good physical comedy can be, and of course it's always great to shout for the underdog.
Over-the- top comedies like this usually either end up being complete disasters or very funny, and I would definitely place 'Dodgeball' in the latter category.The guy behind this film went on to direct 2013's 'We're the Millers' and the similarities between the two are clear.
Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller have a great chemistry, their stature difference was really funny.The movie has many classic comedic moments like the car wash or their first match with the girl scouts or the suitcase with a million dollars.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is a great movie with a well written storyline and a really great comedic cast.The movie is absolutely hilarious from start to finish,it wouldn't be on my list of favourite comedies,but it is a movie that whenever it is on TV I will watch and enjoy,and laugh at the exact same parts.This movie also has some very quotable lines,most of them coming from Ben Stiller's character White Goodman,who is without a doubt my favourite part of the movie,he was a very different character for Stiller and he played him very well.Dodgeball is a great movie that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good comedy.
White Goodman (Ben Stiller) is a raging douche and owner of Globo Gym. Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn) is a slob and the owner of Average Joe's Gymnasium.
The scenes follow on each other seamlessly in a very fluid way, making it almost impossible to get bored or to find that time passes slowly.The gags aren't hilarious but it is pretty fun overall, like the crazy character of Ben Stiller, who, by the way, does very well compared to a monotonous and relatively transparent Vince Vaughn..
Fans of Vaughn and Stiller will have a great time watching this movie.
If you a fan of Ben Stiller then you probably know what to expect from this movie, and if you're not you better go and watch all of his previous works.
Synopsis: After being bully to sell the Average Joe gym by the big co-operation, the group of men tries to raise money to save their sanctuary by entering the competition of Dodge ball.Yea, I know there is absolutely nothing new there in the storyline but the way it was portraying is funny and entertaining.
Dodgeball is a very fun and funny comedy.Ben Stiller is a great actor for comedy.The movie is very predictable but I laughed a lot on this movie and it kept me fun.I liked a lot Stephen Root's and Rip Torn's performances,both in supporting roles.I think that Dodgeball is a parody to sports.While the movie's credits are finishing there's a great and very funny scene,so don't take out the DVD.Dodgeball is a very predictable movie,but very fun and funny and with some great performances.If you wanna have a funny time,don't doubt in watching Dodgeball.Rating:7.5.
Dodgeball/2004/*** Main Stars:Vince VaughnBen Stiller Dodgeball was a good movie because White Goodman's (Ben Stiller's) comments made no sense but they were funny.
The main point for this movie was for the Average Joes to beat the Cobras in the dodgeball tournament and win 50,000 dollars so they can pay for their gym.
- he even turned David Starsky into a neb!).*Dodgeball* is Stiller's welcome return to artery-busting form, as the corporate gym owner, White Goodman - entrepreneurial, avaricious, bombastic Bad Guy to Vince Vaughn's somnolent Pete La Fleur, who mismanages his own failing gym across the way.
White has designs on merging Pete's fringe-dweller gym with his own commercial monster conglomerate and will go to any sweat-tainted lengths to corporately consume it.In this film fantasy where an independent, successful, sexy woman (Christine Taylor, Stiller's real-life wife, playing Kate the auditor, whom everybody wants to examine "under the counter"), can fall for a shiftless itinerant like Pete La Fleur, it is no stretch to discover that the only way La Fleur can raise money to save his gym is to enter a Dodgeball tournament with a cadre of his willing (though untrained) gym patrons.
Due to the movie taking itself about as seriously as the inflated bulge in White Goodman's jockstrap, we go along for the ride.Hank Azaria and Rip Torn camp it up as young and old versions of legendary Dodgeballer, Patches O'Houlihan, whose methods of training La Fleur's dysfunctional, ubergeek squad would give any man pause for scrotal reflection.The tournament itself action-packs the last half hour of film, and climaxes with Pete and White facing off (- how'd you guess?
Easy to watch, and completely enjoyable.Stiller plays the stereotypical American health freak brilliantly, and Rip Torn is ever so funny as the ex-champion dodgeballer, Patches Ohoolighan.
Dodgeball is a riveting and sharp comedy about a sport we all stopped taking seriously after our last elementary school gym class.Vince Vaughn plays Peter LaFluer, owner of a rundown gym called Average Joe's.
You'd think that the love interest Christine Taylor as the lawyer, initially hired by Goodman to shut down Average Joe's but ends up joining the team out of disgust for the villain, but she turns out to have her own weird attributes.In a sense, Dodgeball is sort of a quasi-sports film because it centers around a sport that doesn't actually exist in terms of a spectator base, and uses that to poke fun at some of the sillier aspects of our present-day athletic culture.
Ben Stiller has made a successful film career from being a great comedy character actor.
The only thing else to really stand out from this film was the character of Patches O'Houlihan played by Rip Torn a wheelchair bound ex-dodge-ball all star who coaches the Average Joe's team with such methods and advice as "if you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball" and "your playing like a bunch of retards trying to hump a door knob".
However all said about the cheesy storyline, if you want a film where Ben Stiller steals the show, cuts loose and shows what a great comedy actor he is Dodgeball is definitely for you..
A group of misfits challenge the neighboring mega-gym to a dodgeball tournament in order to save their own.A very funny comedy made even more engaging by the performances of the cast.
This film works at times a lot like a great parody of these movies!
Anchorman was unique, bizarre, funny and satirical.Dodgeball tries to sell itself as somewhat of a parody of those typical underdog stories, and is full of talented people like Stiller, Stephen Root, Gary Cole and Vince Vaughn, among others.Its just not funny.
Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn play rival gym owners with rivaling personalities who agree to a playoff in the game called Dodgeball which means, you guessed it- dodging basketballs.
My point is that Hollywood these days is extremely dependable, and there's a scene in the credits that talks about it; stay so you can watch it.So what I mean is that the stars move a lot inside a movie, and I just wanna know what Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn's projects are.
As is almost always the case, though, the trailer had already shown the funny scenes so there were hardly any surprises watching the film.However, you're not supposed to be surprised watching a movie called Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog StoryStarring: Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn, Stephen Root, Justin Long, Chris Williams, Hank Azaria, Jason Bateman, Joel Moore, Missi Pyle, Gary Cole, Jamal Duff and Alan TudykGenre: ComedyRated: PG-13Dodgeball is one of my favorite movies of 2004!
In order to save their favorite local gym, a slacker (Vince Vaughn) assembles a motley group of friends into a strong enough dodgeball team to enter into an intensive competition in Vegas against the superstar team assembled by the corporation taking over the gym, led by White Goodman (Ben Stiller).
Maybe the underquote of 'Dodgeball' shouldn't be: 'A true underdog story', but 'how a comedy about the stupidest subject became one of the best of recent years'.So there's your typical group of losers, who all are connected to 'Average Joe's' gym, in desperate need of some money, or else they will be bought up by snotty Globo Gym owner White Goodman (Ben Stiller in yet another great role).
Ben Stiller plays the wonderful role of the owner of Globo gym, White Goodman.
While the underdog theme is common, it's the twisted stupidity of Stiller's character and the involvement of dodgeball that makes the movie good..
Ben Stiller was a laugh a minute as the egotistical White Goodman (I'm sure there's a race related joke in there somewhere; White Good Man) and I also thoroughly enjoyed Steve the pirate, who is one of the most random characters I've seen in a while with no explanation as to why he thinks he is a pirate.
If that was a nail in comedy you just hit it on the head.I am now in a state of limbo waiting to see Anchorman so that I can finally decide who is my favourite comedic actor Vince Vaughn or Will Ferrell and unfortunately at the moment I think I'm leaning towards the Ferrell beast.Overall a good laugh and worth a watch if you like this batch of comedy although I would have enjoyed seeing a few more of the Dodgeball teams.
It's an over-used plot line in movies and an excuse for Ben Stiller ( as the somewhat strange White Goodman, owner of the high tech Globo gym ) to make some one liners and do a bit of slapstick with on screen cohort Vince Vaughn ( as Peter La Fleur , the lax owner and friend of the locals at Average Joe's gym, conveniently located right across the street from Globo ).
Peter and his friends must compete and win this tournament to keep their gym, but of course not without White Goodman, the owner of Globo-Gym, in the same tournament.I'm just gonna say this: Ben Stiller makes this movie.
"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" was a goofy, but hilarious movie that had me laughing all the way through.
Patches and White Goodman are two of the funniest movie characters to come around in a long time.
Vince Vaughn plays the good guy, Peter LaFleur, who assembles a ragtag dodgeball team to save his little gym from being taken over by Goodman.