Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Director:

Rawson Marshall Thurber

Writer (WGA):

Rawson Marshall Thurber (written by)

Release Date:

18 June 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sport

Tagline:

Grab Life by the Balls (Australia & Europe)

Plot:

A group of misfits enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain.

Plot Keywords:

Gay Slur | Obscene Finger Gesture | Pirate | Female Bonding | Girl Scouts

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. May 16

8:00 PM

Fox

Cast

Vince Vaughn	...	Peter La Fleur
Christine Taylor	...	Kate Veatch
Ben Stiller	...	White Goodman
Rip Torn	...	Patches O'Houlihan
Justin Long	...	Justin
Stephen Root	...	Gordon
Joel Moore	...	Owen (as Joel David Moore)
Chris Williams	...	Dwight
Alan Tudyk	...	Steve the Pirate
Missi Pyle	...	Fran
Jamal Duff	...	Me'Shell Jones (as Jamal E. Duff)
Gary Cole	...	Cotton McKnight
Jason Bateman	...	Pepper Brooks
Hank Azaria	...	Young Patches O'Houlihan
Al Kaplon	...	Tournament Referee

Also Known As:

Dodgeball (USA) (short title)
Dodgeball: The Movie (USA) (working title)
Underdogs (USA) (working title)
Untitled Dodgeball Movie (USA) (working title)
Untitled Dodgeball Project (USA) (working title)
Voll auf die Nüsse (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for rude and sexual humor, and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | UK:12 (DVD rating) | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | Malaysia:18SX | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Ireland:15PG (orginal rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40832) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:10 | Canada:G (Québec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A (original rating) | USA:Unrated (DVD version)

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

EASTER EGG: On the Special Features section on the DVD, if you click on the Globogym logo at the bottom, you will see a short video with White Goodman talking about easter eggs on the DVD. He tells you that if you press enter every time he snaps his fingers you'll see an easter egg. These "Easter Eggs" are deleted scenes not included with those in the Special Features. There are 4 White Goodman finger snaps in the movie. The first comes as he gets into the tanning bed, the next when he sends the lawyer out of his office, the next as he motions for Me'shell to pick him up from Kate's porch, and the last when He motions Me'shell to give him the contract for Peter to sign at the hotel room in Vegas.

Goofs:

Continuity: While the Average Joes are playing White Goodman's team, the ref calls White on a line violation, while a few scenes before, White is entirely over the line and no foul is called.

Quotes:

White Goodman: Donde esta la biblioteca, Pedro?
Peter La Fleur: White?
White Goodman: We're opening a new Globo Gym in Mexico City, so I've been boning up on my Spanish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Accepted (2006)

Soundtrack:

Le Fie 'd Carmagnola

superior slapstick comedy - tightly scripted, it gets immense mileage out of the flimsiest of gags

Go and see it. It's one of the best comedies of the year and a lot funnier than it should be given the flimsy premise. Ben Stiller has a big 'Globo' health club worth millions (it even includes cosmetic surgery facilities - they know that 'fatness is genetic, like baldness or necrophilia'). The lovely Christine Taylor is his lawyer, charged with getting rid of the 'Average Joe' gym across the road so they can build a parking lot for Globo customers. 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!)