I finally saw Dodgeball, after much encouragement to do so by co-workers and friends. And, while I'm a pretty big Ben Stiller fan, this one just didn't quite do it for me.
I loved a lot of the slapstick... Is there anything funnier than seeing a grown man laid out by a ball? Something is keeping America's Funniest Home Videos on the air, after all! But I was truly disappointed by Mr. Stiller's performance.
Before you get on my case and point out that I was supposed to hate Stiller's White Goodman... Duh! I got that. What I didn't get, however, was why Ben had to re-hash a bunch of old roles instead of coming up with something original.
White was nothing more than Derek Zoolander, with a dash of the mean retirement home orderly from Happy Gilmore, and a bit of Tony Perkis (Heavyweights), psycho fitness instructor, thrown in for good measure. I mean, seriously... You know that a movie with the game of dodgeball at the core of its plot is going to need a little substance, but I was just never there.
I'll admit that I laughed quite a few times, especially at the end when Stiller was a grossly overweight failure, armchair dancing after the credits, but the rest of the movie didn't leave a mentionable impression on me.
I can only hope that this was one of Ben's "contractual obligation" movies, and that he has more fun and festivities in store for later in 2005. With that said, I think it's time I went to Meet the Fockers...
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