Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
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A group of misfits must win a high-stakes dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas to save their local gym from a corporate takeover.
The story
Peter LaFleur, the owner of the struggling Average Joe's gym, faces a crisis when his business rival, White Goodman, attempts to seize the property. To save the gym from being demolished for a parking structure, Peter and his team of misfit employees and customers decide to enter a dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas. With a $50,000 grand prize on the line, they must train under the guidance of a legendary coach to defeat the corporate-backed team from Goodman's high-end Globo Gym.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Peter LaFleur's gym, Average Joe's, is threatened by his rival White Goodman, who wants to demolish it. To save it, Peter's team enters a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament. They are coached by Patches O'Houlihan, a legendary former player. During the competition, they face off against Goodman's 'Purple Cobras.' After several hurdles, including the death of Patches and a temporary forfeiture due to missing players, the team reaches the final. In a sudden-death match, Peter defeats Goodman. It is revealed that Peter had already 'sold' the gym to Goodman but used the money to bet on their victory, ultimately winning enough to buy out Goodman's shares and take over the entire corporate chain. The film ends with a celebration of their victory and the reopening of Average Joe's.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- Germany; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rawson Marshall Thurber
- Writers
- Rawson Marshall Thurber · writer
- Cast and characters
- Vince Vaughn · Peter LaFleur; Ben Stiller · White Goodman; Christine Taylor · Kate Veatch; Rip Torn · Patches O'Houlihan; Gary Cole · Cotton McKnight; Missi Pyle · Fran Stalinovskovichdaviddivichski; Alan Tudyk · Steve "The Pirate" Cowan; Justin Long · Justin Redman
- Genres
- sports comedy
- Themes
- underdog story; competition; loyalty
- Tone and mood
- comedy; satirical
- Premise and plot tags
- sports; underdog; comedy
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics and was noted for its humor and the chemistry between the lead actors.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 55 · scale: 100 · review count: 34
- Awards and nominations
- BMI Awards · Best Film Music, Theodore Shapiro · 2005 · Won; MTV Movie Awards · Best Comedic Performance, Ben Stiller · 2005 · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The character White Goodman was an intentional copy of a character from the film Heavyweights.; The original ending featured Average Joe's losing the final match.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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