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Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Overview
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, commonly referred to as simply DodgeBall, is a 2004 American sports comedy film produced by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

 and Red Hour Productions
Red Hour Productions
Red Hour Films is an American motion picture production and distribution company. Ben Stiller and producer Stuart Cornfeld run the company. The name was derived from an episode of Star Trek -- The Return of the Archons -- that features a scheduled, alien riot...

, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rawson Marshall Thurber is an American writer and director of films and commercials.In 2002, he wrote and directed the original Terry Tate: Office Linebacker commercials for Reebok. In 2004, he wrote and directed the hit comedy film, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.In January 2006, he signed on...

 and starring Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

, Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

, Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...

, and Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...

. The film focuses on a rivalry between the owners of Average Joe's, a small gym, and Globo-Gym, a competing big-budget gym located across the street. Peter LaFleur (Vaughn), the owner of the smaller gym, has defaulted on his mortgage and enters a dodgeball
Dodgeball
Dodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...

 tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

 in an attempt to earn the money necessary to prevent his gym from being purchased by Globo-Gym. Globo-Gym enters a team in the tournament in an effort to ensure that Average Joe's gym fails.
Discussion
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Quotations

It's time to put your mouth where our balls are.

I found that if you have a goal, you might not reach it. But if you don't have one, then you are never disappointed.

I'd love to, but I don't think they make a 'sorry your dodgeball coach just got crushed by two tons of irony' Hallmark card.

You had me at blood and semen. Wait, what about eggs, you know... that kind [Peter points towards Kate in his office]

Hey, White. I didn't think Nazi camp got out until eight. Did you decide to skip arts and crafts?

Thank you, Chuck Norris.

Ball me Blazer.

Oh, now he's a philosophizer.

Cram it up your cram hole!

That's me, six years and six-hundred pounds ago.

Encyclopedia
DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, commonly referred to as simply DodgeBall, is a 2004 American sports comedy film produced by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...

 and Red Hour Productions
Red Hour Productions
Red Hour Films is an American motion picture production and distribution company. Ben Stiller and producer Stuart Cornfeld run the company. The name was derived from an episode of Star Trek -- The Return of the Archons -- that features a scheduled, alien riot...

, written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rawson Marshall Thurber is an American writer and director of films and commercials.In 2002, he wrote and directed the original Terry Tate: Office Linebacker commercials for Reebok. In 2004, he wrote and directed the hit comedy film, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.In January 2006, he signed on...

 and starring Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

, Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

, Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...

, and Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...

. The film focuses on a rivalry between the owners of Average Joe's, a small gym, and Globo-Gym, a competing big-budget gym located across the street. Peter LaFleur (Vaughn), the owner of the smaller gym, has defaulted on his mortgage and enters a dodgeball
Dodgeball
Dodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...

 tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

 in an attempt to earn the money necessary to prevent his gym from being purchased by Globo-Gym. Globo-Gym enters a team in the tournament in an effort to ensure that Average Joe's gym fails.

Dodgeball received generally good reviews, with a 70% aggregate rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

. The film was a commercial success, grossing over $30 million in its first week and eventually grossed more than $114 million domestically.

Plot


Peter LaFleur (Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

) is the owner of Average Joe's, a small and financially unsuccessful gym
Health club
A health club is a place which houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise.-Main workout area:...

 with a handful of loyal members. When he default
Default (finance)
In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...

s on the gym's mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

, it is purchased by his rival White Goodman (Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

), a fitness guru and owner of the successful Globo-Gym across the street. Unless Peter can raise $50,000 in thirty days to cover his mortgage, White will foreclose
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...

 on Average Joe's and demolish it to build a parking garage. Attorney Kate Veatch (Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...

) is working on the transaction for White. White repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempts to charm her, and she instead develops a friendship with Peter while reviewing his financial records.

Average Joe's employees Dwight (Chris Williams
Chris Williams (actor)
-Career:Williams, a graduate of Georgetown University, has made appearances on numerous television shows such as CSI, JAG, The Shield, Weeds, Reno 911!, Californication, and popularly as fictional rap artist Krazee-Eyez Killa on Curb Your Enthusiasm...

) and Owen (Joel David Moore) and members Steve "the Pirate" (Alan Tudyk
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk is an American actor known for his roles as Simon in the British comedy Death at a Funeral, as Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, as Sonny in the science fiction drama I, Robot, as Doc Potter in 3:10 to Yuma, as Tucker in the Tucker & Dale vs Evil and as Hoban...

), Justin (Justin Long
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...

), and Gordon (Stephen Root
Stephen Root
Stephen Root is an American actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voice of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill...

) try to raise the money needed to save the gym. Gordon suggests that they enter a dodgeball
Dodgeball
Dodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...

 tournament in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...

 with a $50,000 prize. They form a team with Peter and watch a 1950s-era training video narrated by dodgeball legend "Patches" O'Houlihan (Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...

). They are soundly defeated by a Girl Scout
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...

 troop in a local qualifying match, but win by default when the Scouts are disqualified due to steroid
Steroid
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.The core...

 use.

White has been spying on Average Joe's using a hidden camera, and forms his own elite dodgeball team to oppose them. Peter is approached by the aging, wheelchair-bound Patches (Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...

) who volunteers to coach the Average Joe's team. Patches' training regimen includes throwing wrench
Wrench
A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning....

es at the team, forcing them to dodge oncoming cars, and constantly berating them with insults. Kate demonstrates skill at the game, but declines an offer to join the team as it would be a conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....

 due to her contract with White. In the meantime, to circumvent Kate's employer dating employee conflict of interest, White arranges for her to be fired from her law firm so he can pursue her romantically. Infuriated, Kate joins the Average Joe's team.

At the tournament in Las Vegas, Average Joe's suffers early setbacks but manages to advance to the final round against Globo-Gym. The night before the match, Patches is killed by a falling sign. This shakes Peter's confidence; he expresses his fear that the team will lose to Globo-Gym and berates Steve for his childish pirate persona, causing Steve to leave the team. White offers Peter $100,000 for the deed to Average Joe's, which Peter accepts. The day of the final round Justin leaves to help his classmate Amber (Julie Gonzalo
Julie Gonzalo
Julie Gonzalo is an Argentine-American actress. She is known for her roles as Parker Lee in Veronica Mars, Shelby in A Cinderella Story and Maggie Dekker in Eli Stone. She has been in two movies with Chad Michael Murray: Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story...

) with a cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

 competition, leaving the Average Joe's team without enough members to compete. Peter has a chance encounter with Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...

, who encourages him to rejoin his team, but by the time he arrives Average Joe's has already been forced to forfeit. Gordon finds a loophole in the rules that can overturn the forfeiture by vote of the judges, and Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...

 casts the tie-breaking vote to allow the team to play.

After a fierce game, Peter and White face off in a sudden death match to determine the winner. Inspired by a vision of Patches, Peter blindfolds himself and is able to dodge White's throw and strike him, winning the championship and the prize money. White declares the victory meaningless, since Peter had sold Average Joe's to him the previous night, but Peter reveals that he used White's $100,000 to bet on Average Joe's to win; with the odds against them at 50 to 1, he has won $5 million. He buys a controlling interest in Globo-Gym, which now also includes Average Joe's, and fires White. Steve returns to the group after Peter apologizes to him. Kate reveals that she is bisexual and kisses both Peter and her girlfriend. Justin also finds romance with Amber, while Owen begins dating Fran (Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle
Andrea Kay "Missi" Pyle is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in several films, including Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay...

) from the Globo-Gym team. Peter opens youth dodgeball classes at Average Joe's, while White becomes obese by drowning his sorrows in junk food.

Cast

  • Vince Vaughn
    Vince Vaughn
    Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

     as Peter "Pete" LaFleur
  • Ben Stiller
    Ben Stiller
    Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

     as White Goodman
  • Christine Taylor
    Christine Taylor
    Christine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...

     as Katherine "Kate" Veatch
  • Rip Torn
    Rip Torn
    Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...

     (Hank Azaria
    Hank Azaria
    Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...

    , young) as Patches O'Houlihan
  • Justin Long
    Justin Long
    Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...

     as Justin Redman
  • Stephen Root
    Stephen Root
    Stephen Root is an American actor. He is best known for his comedic work on the TV sitcom NewsRadio, in the film Office Space and as the voice of Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland in the animated series King of the Hill...

     as Gordon Pibb
  • Alan Tudyk
    Alan Tudyk
    Alan Wray Tudyk is an American actor known for his roles as Simon in the British comedy Death at a Funeral, as Steve the Pirate in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story, as Sonny in the science fiction drama I, Robot, as Doc Potter in 3:10 to Yuma, as Tucker in the Tucker & Dale vs Evil and as Hoban...

     as Steve "the Pirate" Cowan
  • Joel Moore
    Joel Moore
    Joel David Moore is an American actor who has appeared in television commercials, feature films, and television series. He is best known for his roles as Owen Dittman in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Dr. Norm Spellman in Avatar, Colin Fisher in Bones and J.P...

     as Owen Dittman
  • Chris Williams
    Chris Williams (actor)
    -Career:Williams, a graduate of Georgetown University, has made appearances on numerous television shows such as CSI, JAG, The Shield, Weeds, Reno 911!, Californication, and popularly as fictional rap artist Krazee-Eyez Killa on Curb Your Enthusiasm...

     as Dwight Baumgarten
  • Missi Pyle
    Missi Pyle
    Andrea Kay "Missi" Pyle is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in several films, including Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Big Fish, 50 First Dates, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay...

     as Fran Stalinovskovichdavidovitchsky
  • Jamal Duff
    Jamal Duff
    Jamal Duff is an American actor and former American football player in the National Football League. He played college football at San Diego State University, then played in the National Football League for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins....

     as Me'Shell Jones
  • Gary Cole
    Gary Cole
    Gary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...

     as Cotton McKnight
  • Jason Bateman
    Jason Bateman
    Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...

     as Pepper Brooks
  • William Shatner
    William Shatner
    William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...

     as The Dodgeball chancellor
  • Julie Gonzalo
    Julie Gonzalo
    Julie Gonzalo is an Argentine-American actress. She is known for her roles as Parker Lee in Veronica Mars, Shelby in A Cinderella Story and Maggie Dekker in Eli Stone. She has been in two movies with Chad Michael Murray: Freaky Friday and A Cinderella Story...

     as Amber
  • Trever O'Brien
    Trever O'Brien
    Trever O'Brien is an American actor from Newport Beach, California and younger brother of actor Austin O'Brien.-Life and career:...

     as Derek
  • Rusty Joiner
    Rusty Joiner
    Jason Russell "Rusty" Joiner is an American male fashion model, fitness model and actor.Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Joiner attended Georgia Southern University, where he was a successful athlete, cheerleader, and gymnast for four years...

     as Blade
  • Kevin Porter as Lazer
  • Brandon Molale
    Brandon Molale
    Brandon Molale is an American actor.He is often cast in very physical or masculine roles. His most prominent role to date was as fictional New York Jets quarterback Kevin Ward in Mr. Deeds and as Blazer in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story...

     as Blazer
  • Curtis Armstrong
    Curtis Armstrong
    Curtis Armstrong is an American actor best known for his portrayal as Booger in the Revenge of the Nerds movies, as Herbert Viola on Moonlighting, and as famed record producer Ahmet Ertegün in the film Ray.-Early life:...

     as Mr. Ralph
  • Scarlett Chorvat
    Scarlett Chorvat
    Scarlett Chorvat is a Slovak actress. She came to the U.S. at the age of five.She started playing tennis semi-professionally at the age of 15, but moved on to become a model, and finally an actress. Scarlett is best known as a model, counting numerous covers of magazines, advertising and TV...

     as Joyce
  • Lori Beth Denberg
    Lori Beth Denberg
    Lori Beth Denberg is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work as an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, and for her role as Lydia Liza Gutman on The WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show.-Acting background:Denberg began acting in community...

     as Martha Johnstone
  • Cayden Boyd
    Cayden Boyd
    Cayden Michael Boyd is an American teen actor. He is best known for his main character role as Max in the Robert Rodriguez's film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D.-Life:...

     as Timmy


As themselves
  • Lance Armstrong
    Lance Armstrong
    Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...

  • Chuck Norris
    Chuck Norris
    Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...

  • David Hasselhoff
    David Hasselhoff
    David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...

    , acting as coach of the Blitzkriegs

Reception


DodgeBall received mostly positive reviews from critics, although Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...

dismissed the film as "a less-than-one-joke film", while TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...

remarked that Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

 "doesn't know when to stop". Other critics, such as the Boston Globe, praised Stiller's satirical take on male virility and praised the chemistry between Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

 and Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor
Christine Taylor-Stiller is an American actress.- Early life :Taylor was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joan, a homemaker, and Skip Taylor, an owner of a security company. She grew up in neighboring Wescosville, Pennsylvania...

. Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....

initially declined to review the movie, believing it wasn't worthy of his time. However, after reviewing the DVD, he changed his view of the movie, writing, "Mea culpa, mea culpa. Rawson Marshall Thurber's debut feature, starring Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....

 opposite Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...

, is erratic, imbecilic if not completely idiotic, inconsequential in even the small scheme of things, and thoroughly entertaining". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

 gave the film a 3/4 star rating in his Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...

 review and in praise writes "in a miraculous gift to the audience, 20th Century-Fox does not reveal all of the best gags in its trailer." On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, the film received a 70% "fresh" rating out of 151 reviews, with 107 of the reviews being positive. The film was mostly praised for its "cheerfully sloppy, dumb fun" according to the website.

Box office


In its first week, the film grossed over $30 million, and would go on to a domestic gross of $114,324,072, and a worldwide total of $167,722,310.

Awards

  • 2004 ESPY Awards
    • Best Sports Movie – Nominated
  • 2005 BMI Awards
    • Best Film Music, Theodore Shapiro – Won
  • 2005 MTV Movie Awards
    • Best Comedic Performance, Ben Stiller – Nominated
    • Best On-Screen Team (Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Justin Long, Alan Tudyk, Stephen Root, Joel Moore and Chris Williams) – Nominated
    • Best Villain, Ben Stiller – Won
  • 25th Golden Raspberry Awards
    • Worst Actor
      Razzie Award for Worst Actor
      The Razzie Award for Worst Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated....

      , Ben Stiller (Also for Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
      Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
      Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, or simply Anchorman, is a 2004 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film, which was also written by Ferrell and McKay, is a tongue-in-cheek take on the culture of the 1970s, particularly the then-new Action News format...

      , Along Came Polly
      Along Came Polly
      Along Came Polly is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston in the lead roles.-Plot:...

      , Envy, and Starsky & Hutch
      Starsky & Hutch (film)
      Starsky & Hutch is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips. The film stars Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson and is a film adaptation of the original television series of the same name from the 1970s....

      [all 2004]) – Nominated

Plagiarism lawsuit


In 2005, two New York City screenwriters, David Price and Ashoka Thomas, filed suit in federal court
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York is a federal district court. Appeals from the Southern District of New York are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case...

 against Fox and Thurber, claiming copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

 of an unproduced screenplay they had written, DodgeBall: The Movie, by Thurber and Fox. They alleged there were a number of similarities in the plots of the two screenplays, and that Thurber may have had access to their screenplay, which was finished a month before his and submitted to an agent whose assistant he was acquainted with. Lawyers for the defendants dismissed some of the allegations as coincidental. They said that both screenplays were the work of writers who used common formulaic elements. Judge Shira Scheindlin
Shira Scheindlin
Shira A. Scheindlin is a United States District Court judge for the Southern District of New York. She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994, to a seat vacated by Louis J...

 denied the defense motion for summary judgement and ordered a jury trial. The suit was later settled
Settlement (law)
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. The term "settlement" also has other meanings in the context of law.-Basis:...

out of court.

Soundtrack


The repeating section of music, played on an organ throughout the film is from the track 'Where It's At' by Beck.

External links