Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Blu-ray offers solid video and audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
You'll dodge, duck, dip, dive... and laugh out loud watching Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller settle
their differences in a winner-take-all dodgeball competition. Under the painful tutelage of
legendary ADAA champ, Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn), Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) and his
Average Joes take on the Purple Cobras, led by egomaniacal fitness guru, White Goodman
(Stiller). It's an over-the-top underdog tale filled with hilarious sight gags and balls-out fun!
Writer / Director Rawson Marshall Thurber made quite a name for himself back in 2003,
when his enormously popular "Terry Tate: Office Linebacker" commercials won over millions
of fans during Super Bowl XXXVII. As evidenced through these well-received commercials,
Thurber displayed a keen comedic sensibility and a knack for creating situations that put
ordinary people in ridiculous situations. Actor/ Producer Ben Stiller took immediate notice of
Thurber's burgeoning talent and quickly signed the young auteur to create a comedic sports
film. Thus, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story was born. The film was initially
laughed off by most of Hollywood's insiders as being a sure-fire bomb, despite its impressive
cast. Upon release, however, Dodgeball attracted a massive following that
delivered huge box-office numbers and critical praise. Not too shabby, for a low budget flick
about a non-traditional sport
Everyman, Peter La Fleur.
Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) is not having a good month. His gym, Average Joe's, is under
foreclosure, he's broke and competing gym-owner White Goodman (Ben Stiller) is making his
life a living hell. As Peter breaks the foreclosure news to his most devoted customers, Justin
(Justin Long), Gordon (Steven Root), Owen (Joel Moore), Dwight (Chris Williams) and Steve
the Pirate (Alan Tudyk), they discover that the $50,000 Peter needs to save the business
can be won by playing professional Dodgeball. The problem is, none of them know how to
play the game. Fortunately, legendary Dodgeballer, Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn) and
Peter's Banker, Kate Veatch (Christine Taylor), might just hold the keys to training the
wayward team of hopeful competitors. Together, they'll have to travel to the International
Dodgeball Championship in Las Vegas to take on White Goodman's own professional
Dodgeball team, The Purple Cobras. It's their last chance to win the money, save the gym
and, hopefully,
deliver a little payback.
Dodgeball is fantastically entertaining and endlessly witty, with razor-sharp
dialogue and literally dozens of memorable scenes and quotable lines. Rawson Marshall
Thurber has accomplished something nearly impossible in the world of film, by taking a
concept that almost no one was interested in and turning it into a film that continues to be
quoted and talked about. The film is filled with little asides and throwaway jokes that make
repeat viewing essential. I've seen Dodgeball dozens of times, yet I always walk
away from each viewing having caught some new comedic gem that had remained hidden
on earlier viewings.
The film benefits from consistently excellent performances from the entire cast. Ben Stiller
deserves a lot of praise here, as he never shies away from playing unlikable characters to
the nth degree; never having a second thought about making himself the butt of every joke.
His White Goodman is notable for being devoid of any intellectual qualities, scathingly sexist,
superficial and downright annoying in every way. Stiller seems to relish every scene;
making White such a horrible and loathsome character, that the audience has no choice but
to root for his failure. It's terrific stuff. Vince Vaughn continues his winning formula of
portraying fast-talking wise-asses and manages to make Peter La Fluer amount to a bit
more
than the one-note nice guy he could have been. Be sure to be on the lookout for a number
of outstanding cameos throughout the movie. Unlike most films, these cameos actually
have a point, rather than existing as an excuse to put a big name star in a forced scenario.
Dodgeball is a terrific comedy that delivers laughs on a grand scale. Highly
recommended!
Fox has given Dodgeball their typical AVC Mpeg-4 treatment and have delivered a
nice 1080p Blu-ray encode in the film's original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. Dodgeball
was a low budget film, so it's of little surprise that the movie can, at times, show its budget
limitations throughout this presentation. There is a noticeable amount of grain present, but
it remains consistent and never gratuitous. The film's color palette is muted for most of the
film, but occasional flashes of nicely saturated colors shine through in the yellow Average
Joe's team uniforms as well as in the film's final Dodgeball Championship scenes. Contrast
is
generally quite good and black levels are nicely presented, if occasionally crushed. Detail
isn't particularly amazing, though, but it does seem to be a stylistic choice rather than the
fault of the encode. All told, Dodgeball might not be perfect demo material, but it's
never looked better than on this Blu-ray edition.
Fox remains consistent in their commitment to using DTS HD-Master Audio on all of their
releases. Dodgeball features a nice mix in the lossless format that accurately re-
creates the theatrical experience while maintaining a little punch when required. The film is
primarily dialogue driven and the majority of the movie is confined to the front three
channels of the 5.1 mix. Dialogue is well presented; always intelligible and never garbled.
It's precisely what one should expect from a lossless soundtrack of a comedy. Whenever
the film veers into scenes of competitive Dodgeball, the mix opens up to reveal a surprising
amount of ambient and surround activity. There's a nice sense of spatial atmosphere in
these scenes, as dodgeballs whiz around the court and make contact with players' faces in
a resounding thud felt through the LFE channel. This dodgeball-impact sound effect is
played to great comedic effect throughout the film. All told, Dodgeball isn't ever
going to rival the best surround experiences on Blu-ray. It does, however, do a fantastic
job of taking limited source material and delivering it in the best quality imaginable.
-Audio Commentary with Rawson Marshall Thurber, Ben Stiller & Vince Vaughn
-Deleted/Extended Scenes
-Bloopers / Gag Reel
-Featurettes
Dodgeball arrives on Blu-ray sporting a limited number of extra features. The single worthwhile option on the disc the feature-length commentary with Mr. Thurber, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. It's an
entertaining track, to say the least, with each participant contributing an additional level of
comedy to what's present in the film. Unfortunately, the deleted and extended scenes offer
little replay value and the Gag Reel / Bloopers are of pretty standard issue. While I enjoyed
the commentary, that's about all that's worth watching in this
slightly disappointing set of supplements.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is, in reality, an underdog story in and of itself.
The film faced low expectations and went on to attain box-office and critical success while
establishing itself as a modern comedy classic. Making its debut on Blu-ray, the film looks
great despite its lower budget production. Sound is also impressive, while the supplements
are a bit lacking. Ultimately, Dodgeball is a winner on Blu-ray due to the film's
unlimited replay value. It's a terrifically entertaining movie that earns my highest
recommendation!
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