Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (DVD)

Ben Stiller has no doubt capitalized on his popularity this year with five films under his belt for 2004 and one more on the way, but out of that group he really hasn't managed to overwhelmingly impress, and my distaste for his ability doesn't really help out just as it didn't when I reviewed the theatrical release of Dodgeball.

I may have unfairly graded this movie with a "C-" when it first hit theaters, but I try to take into consideration whether I would be happy spending $10 on a movie ticket in relation to the quality of the film I am recommending you watch. As a theatrical film Dodgeball is a waste of time, but as a DVD it can be a lot of fun.

Dodgeball tells the story of Peter LaFleur's (Vaughn) Average Joe's gym vs. White Goodman's (Stiller) powerhouse Globo Gym. Goodman is trying to take over LaFleur's gym in an attempt to completely remove any and all competition and thanks to LeFleur's horrible bookkeeping it is becoming all to easy, and the idea that he needs $50,000 or he loses the business there is only one thing left to do... compete in a dodgeball competition where the winner takes home $50,000.

Obviously, with this news Globo Gym decides to enter the contest in an effort to thwart LaFleur's efforts.

In theaters this movie just runs too long and the overwhelming amount of redundant comedy gets annoying, but as home entertainment Dodgeball is good popcorn fun, and the DVD has enough extras to make it well worth a rent, if not a buy for you higher than average Stiller fans.

The special features included are much better than what you get from your average comedy including an extreme opposite alternate ending, a rather comical commentary with writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn and a funny little group of featurettes that expand on the filmmaker's idea of what makes it so funny when someone gets hit in the head with a red rubber ball.

On top of all this there is some finger snapping Easter eggs that will appear while you are watching the feature as long as you hit the "Enter" button every time Ben Stiller snaps his fingers. It isn't exactly ground breaking comedy that you will be accessing, but a little bit of added fun if you are getting bored during the movie.

Overall, I was far from impressed when I saw this film in the theater but with a repeat viewing on DVD it began to grow on me. This is definitely a worthwhile rental, but I would recommend renting before buying just in case a large number of headshots and hits to the groin just aren't your idea of laugh-out-loud comedy.