Over the past few weeks or so, I have written down a list of movies I have yet to watch. Being a film student and surrounded by people who own a vast catalogue of DVD?s, I was able to sucker the poor bastards into letting me ?borrow? them. Luckily for me, the returning part was never discussed in the bargain. So off I slue my way through many great movies; The Seven Samurai, Se7en, American Gangster, so I?ve had little to vent my spleen about lately. That was up until I made the foolish choice of adding Dodgeball to my list. Finally my black, hate-fueled, spleen can now clear itself of the tar that?s been building up in it for so long.
To let me clarify (and keep my alternative ?art student? dignity) the reason I added Dodgeball to the list was that so many people have been chitchatting on what a hilarious movie this was. Full of fun and hearty laughter, the trailers seemed to draw the crowds in and who was I to argue? I knew I should have kept myself ignorant to the hype that had also crossed many comedy ?greats? such as Scary Movie and American Pie, but instead I had to try a taste for myself. Ok, I?m going a bit far to compare Dodgeball to Scary Movie. In all honesty, it wasn?t that bad, but like Scary Movie, it does seem to pride itself on the constant tits and arse (and ball) jokes that would have many ?fat yanks? rollicking on the floor laughing said arses off.
To me, Dodgeball is the wannabe child of Anchorman and Zoolander, which falls short on both counts. Like Anchorman, it tries to keep the one-liners open and funny and attempts to be as random as possible. (I hate that word, random. I?m falling into the schoolgirl prat club here). It begins about a tale of a gym, The Average Joes, which contains a group of average Joes that are about hit bankruptcy. If they don?t pull in enough money to cover them, their gym goes to Ben Stiller, the owner of the much larger corporation and better gym franchise. Up at this point I gave my face a good palming when I realized the real subtle David and Goliath story that any children?s adventure should have. Note: the word subtle was should be read with a very heavily sarcastic tone. So the group of average Joes at Average Joes have to enter a Dodgeball competition to win the big $$$ and save the day for all mankind.
Putting the story aside for one minute, the movie shows its ugly head in its script. None of the jokes are really drawn out or used ever again. Each joke is a one-line wonder. Quotable? Yes. But since when was a movie only great for how well you can recite the dialogue in normal conversation? Some could argue Monty Python?s Holy Grail, but those smug British bastards actually drew out each joke and filled their sacks with whit. None of which can be found around Dodgeball.
But what am I trying to argue? It?s an American comedy? Of course it will have no character development. Vince Vaughn is apparently the nicest guy on the planet, but he continuously comes off as a sexist git. Yet, somehow, the lead lady is turned off when Ben Stiller does it, but wants to engage in a fiery threeway when Vince calls her a *****. There are enough tits and arse (and ball) jokes to sink the Titanic and visual gags that remind me why I try not to watch most American comedies. If I was a few more years older and beaten over the head with the stupid stick for a while, I might enjoy it a bit more. For now, watching 92 minutes of grown men laugh about farts is enough to make me want to deep throat my kitchen knife.
To let me clarify (and keep my alternative ?art student? dignity) the reason I added Dodgeball to the list was that so many people have been chitchatting on what a hilarious movie this was. Full of fun and hearty laughter, the trailers seemed to draw the crowds in and who was I to argue? I knew I should have kept myself ignorant to the hype that had also crossed many comedy ?greats? such as Scary Movie and American Pie, but instead I had to try a taste for myself. Ok, I?m going a bit far to compare Dodgeball to Scary Movie. In all honesty, it wasn?t that bad, but like Scary Movie, it does seem to pride itself on the constant tits and arse (and ball) jokes that would have many ?fat yanks? rollicking on the floor laughing said arses off.
To me, Dodgeball is the wannabe child of Anchorman and Zoolander, which falls short on both counts. Like Anchorman, it tries to keep the one-liners open and funny and attempts to be as random as possible. (I hate that word, random. I?m falling into the schoolgirl prat club here). It begins about a tale of a gym, The Average Joes, which contains a group of average Joes that are about hit bankruptcy. If they don?t pull in enough money to cover them, their gym goes to Ben Stiller, the owner of the much larger corporation and better gym franchise. Up at this point I gave my face a good palming when I realized the real subtle David and Goliath story that any children?s adventure should have. Note: the word subtle was should be read with a very heavily sarcastic tone. So the group of average Joes at Average Joes have to enter a Dodgeball competition to win the big $$$ and save the day for all mankind.
Putting the story aside for one minute, the movie shows its ugly head in its script. None of the jokes are really drawn out or used ever again. Each joke is a one-line wonder. Quotable? Yes. But since when was a movie only great for how well you can recite the dialogue in normal conversation? Some could argue Monty Python?s Holy Grail, but those smug British bastards actually drew out each joke and filled their sacks with whit. None of which can be found around Dodgeball.
But what am I trying to argue? It?s an American comedy? Of course it will have no character development. Vince Vaughn is apparently the nicest guy on the planet, but he continuously comes off as a sexist git. Yet, somehow, the lead lady is turned off when Ben Stiller does it, but wants to engage in a fiery threeway when Vince calls her a *****. There are enough tits and arse (and ball) jokes to sink the Titanic and visual gags that remind me why I try not to watch most American comedies. If I was a few more years older and beaten over the head with the stupid stick for a while, I might enjoy it a bit more. For now, watching 92 minutes of grown men laugh about farts is enough to make me want to deep throat my kitchen knife.
