Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Ben Stiller resurrects another one of his characters from The Ben Stiller Show for this sometimes very funny spoof of sports movies. As a maniacal fitness guru trying to take over another man’s dingy gym, Stiller is hilarious as a man who just can’t get enough of himself and enjoys masturbating with pizza in his pants. Vince Vaughn is his usual dry self as the man Stiller is trying to conquer. The two wind up facing off in the Las Vegas Dodgeball competition, which results in some pretty sweet shots of actors getting clocked in the head with red balls. Justin Long, Stephen Root and Rip Torn contribute fun supporting performances in what amounts to a decent matinee movie. There’s a nice tribute to Bad News Bears in Breaking Training at the film’s end. The always-funny Gary Cole scores laughs as a smarmy announcer.