''Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' is a 2004 American
sports comedy film written and directed by
Rawson Marshall Thurber
Rawson Marshall Thurber (born February 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker and actor.
Early life
Thurber was born in San Francisco, California. He is the son of attorney Marshall Thurber.
He is a 1997 graduate of Union College (Schenectady, New ...
and starring
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor.
Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
and
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
. The film follows a group of misfits entering a Las Vegas
dodgeball
Dodgeball is a team sport in which players on two teams try to throw balls and hit opponents, while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them with thrown balls, cat ...
tournament to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain. Theatrically released by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
on June 18, 2004, it received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $168.4 million on a $20 million budget.
Plot
Peter LaFleur owns Average Joe's, a small, dilapidated gym with low membership and staffing. When he
defaults on the gym's
mortgage
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...
, Peter’s cocky and vindictive business rival White Goodman, who owns Globo Gym across the street, purchases it, planning to
foreclose
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
Formally, a mortg ...
on and demolish Average Joe's to build a new auxiliary parking structure for his members unless Peter can raise $50,000 in 30 days. Goodman attempts to seduce attorney Katherine "Kate" Veatch, who is handling his account; repulsed, she cites
conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
(COI) to rebuff his disturbing advances.
Peter, gym employees Dwight Baumgarten and Owen Dittman, and members Steve "Pirate" Cowan, Justin Redman, and Gordon Pibb all band together to raise the required money. After an impromptu car wash suggested by Owen fails, Gordon suggests entering a dodgeball tournament in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
with a $50,000 prize. After watching a 1950s-era training video obtained by Justin featuring
Irish-American
, image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png
, image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state
, caption = Notable Irish Americans
, population =
36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
dodgeball legend Patches O'Houlihan, the team participates in the local qualifiers.
Girl Scout
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
Troop 417 easily defeats them, but are later disqualified due to one member's use of three separate types of
anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...
s and a low-grade beaver tranquilizer, effectively handing the win to Average Joe's by default.
Having spied on Average Joe's using a hidden camera in a cutout of himself, Goodman forms his own team, the Globo Gym Purple Cobras, surprising Gordon by revealing that his extremely personal friendship with the chancellor allowed him to bypass the mandatory qualification match. After watching their confrontation, Patches, now an elderly man who uses a wheelchair, approaches Peter, volunteering to coach the team. Patches' unusual training regimen involves having them dodge wrenches, oncoming cars, and his constant insults. Kate demonstrates skill at the sport but declines to join the team, citing COI. Goodman arrives at Kate's house uninvited and announces that he misled her bosses about her drinking on the job, thus getting her fired from her law firm and freeing him to date her. Enraged, but now free of COI, she rejects Goodman and joins the Average Joe's team.
Despite early setbacks, the team manages to advance to the final round of the tournament against Globo Gym. The night before the match, a falling sign in the casino kills Patches. Demoralized, and anxious that the team will lose without Patches's motivation, Peter angrily denounces Steve's pirate behavior, causing Steve's departure. Returning to his room, Peter encounters Goodman, who greedily offers him $100,000 for the deed to Average Joe's, claiming that Peter will inevitably cause its closure. The day of the final round, Justin assists his classmate and love interest Amber in a cheerleading competition after his bully and rival Derek becomes severely injured, leaving Average Joe's short of players. Peter briefly encounters
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
, who restores his morale, and rejoins his team, but he and Justin return too late; Average Joe's has already forfeited. After Gordon discovers that a majority of the judges can overturn the forfeiture, the tie-breaking vote from
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
reinstates the team.
After an intense game, Peter and Goodman square off in a
sudden-death match. Inspired by Patches' spirit, Peter blindfolds himself, evades Goodman's throw and strikes him in the face, winning the championship and the prize money. Goodman nullifies the victory, revealing that Peter sold Average Joe's to him the previous night, but Peter explains he used Goodman's $100,000 to bet on Average Joe's victory; with the odds against them at 50 to 1, he collects $5 million. Since Globo Gym is a
publicly traded company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (l ...
, as Kate explains, Peter purchases a
controlling interest
A controlling interest is an ownership interest in a corporation with enough voting stock shares to prevail in any stockholders' motion. A majority of voting shares (over 50%) is always a controlling interest. When a party holds less than the majo ...
in it, thus regaining Average Joe's, then publicly fires Goodman. Steve returns, now appearing more normal, but revives his pirate persona when Peter reveals their winnings as "buried treasure". Joyce, a friend of Kate's who caught an earlier flight from Guam to witness the final match, arrives and kisses her passionately, shocking Peter, but Kate then reveals her
bisexuality
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
and kisses Peter similarly. Kate becomes Peter's girlfriend, Justin and Amber get married with a baby on the way, and Owen begins dating Fran Stalinovskovichdaviddivichski from the Globo Gym team. Later on, Peter opens youth dodgeball classes at a newly renovated Average Joe's, while Goodman becomes depressed and morbidly obese, blaming Norris for his plight.
Cast
*
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor.
Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
as Peter "Pete" LaFleur, the very laid-back and casual owner of Average Joe's Gym whose lack of attention leads to his gym being foreclosed.
*
Christine Taylor
Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''The Wedding Singer'', ''Z ...
as Katherine "Kate" Veatch, a very athletic real estate and tax lawyer who is assigned by the bank to sort out the finances at Average Joe's Gym and ends up joining the Average Joe's dodgeball team after White has her dismissed from her job.
*
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
as White Goodman, the arrogant and cocky owner of Globo Gym who is trying to buy out Average Joe's so that he can demolish it and build a parking lot and aggressively pursues a relationship with Kate despite her constant rejections.
*
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...
as Patches O'Houlihan, a retired seven-time ADAA dodgeball All-Star who coaches the Average Joe's team.
**
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Sna ...
as young Patches
*
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. Long is known for his film roles, notably appearing in '' Jeepers Creepers'' (2001), ''Dodgeball'' (2004), ''Accepted'' (2006), ''Idiocracy'' (20 ...
as Justin Redman, a high school student and regular customer at Average Joe's.
*
Stephen Root
Stephen Root (born November 17, 1951) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the television sitcom ''NewsRadio'', as Milton Waddams in the film ''Office Space'' (1999), and provided the voices of Bill Dauterive and Buck Stricklan ...
as Gordon Pibb, a regular customer at Average Joe's.
*
Alan Tudyk
Alan Wray Tudyk ( ;; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' with Sandra Bullock (2000), ''A Knight's Tale'' with Heath Ledger (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' with Vince Vaughn (2004) ...
as Steve "Pirate" Cowan, a regular customer at Average Joe's who dresses, talks, and acts like a
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
.
*
Joel David Moore
Joel David Moore (born September 25, 1977) is an American character actor and director. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Moore studied acting in college before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a film career. His first major role was as Owen ...
as Owen Dittman, an employee at Average Joe's.
*
Chris Williams as Dwight Baumgarten, an employee at Average Joe's.
*
Missi Pyle
Missi Pyle (born November 16, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in a number of successful films, including ''Galaxy Quest'' (1999), ''Big Fish'' (2003), ''Bringing Down the House'' (2003), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog S ...
as Fran Stalinovskovichdaviddivichski, a professional dodgeball player from
Romanovia.
*
Jamal Duff
Jamal E. Duff (born March 11, 1972) is an American actor and former American football player in the National Football League (NFL).
Early years
Duff was born in Columbus, Ohio, but as a child, moved west with his family to Tustin, California, ...
as Me'Shell Jones, White Goodman's "Fitness
Consigliere
Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...
" who carries out White's orders.
*
Gary Cole
Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American television, film and voice actor. Cole began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. On television, he has had starring roles in the T ...
as Cotton McKnight, one of the TV announcers for the dodgeball tournament.
*
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman (born January 14, 1969) is an American actor, director and producer known for his roles of Michael Bluth in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox/Netflix sitcom ''Arrested Development (TV series), Arrested Development'' and of Mart ...
as Pepper Brooks, the
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...
for the dodgeball tournament TV broadcast.
*Al Kaplon as The Referee
*
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
as The Dodgeball Chancellor
*
Julie Gonzalo
Julieta Susana "Julie" Gonzalo (; born September 9, 1981) is an Argentine actress. On television, she has played Parker Lee on ''Veronica Mars'' (2006–2007; 2019), Maggie Dekker on ''Eli Stone'' (2008–2009), Pamela Rebecca Barnes on the soap ...
as Amber, a cheerleader at Justin's high school that he has a
crush on.
*Trever O'Brien as Derek, another cheerleader at Justin's high school and Amber's boyfriend.
*
Rusty Joiner
Jason Russell "Rusty" Joiner (born December 11, 1972) is an American male fashion model, fitness model and actor.
Early life and education
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Joiner attended Georgia Southern Universi ...
as Blade, a member of the Globo Gym dodgeball team.
*Kevin Porter as Lazer, a member of the Globo Gym dodgeball team.
*Brandon Molale as Blazer, a member of the Globo Gym dodgeball team.
*
Curtis Armstrong
Curtis Armstrong (born November 27, 1953) is an American actor and singer best known for playing the role of Booger in the ''Revenge of the Nerds'' movies, Herbert Viola on the TV series ''Moonlighting'', Miles Dalby in the film '' Risky Busines ...
as Mr. Ralph
*
Scarlett Chorvat
Scarlett Chorvat (born August 25, 1972 in Bratislava, Slovakia) is a Slovak American actress. She moved to the U.S. at the age of five.
Chorvat started playing tennis semi-professionally at the age of 15, but moved on to become a model (person) ...
as Joyce
*
Lori Beth Denberg
Lori Beth Denberg (born February 2, 1976) is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work as an original cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' and for her role as Lydia Liza Gutman on The WB sitco ...
as Martha Johnstone
*
Cayden Boyd
Cayden Boyd (born May 24, 1994) is an American actor. He is best known for his child roles as Max in Robert Rodriguez's 2005 film '' The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl'' and Ben Reynolds in the 2007 film ''Have Dreams, Will Travel''.
Life
...
as Timmy, a boy in the dodgeball instructional video.
*
Suzy Nakamura
Suzy Nakamura (born December 2, 1968) is an American actress and improv comedian. She is known for her many guest appearances on sitcoms such as ''According to Jim'', ''Half and Half'', ''8 Simple Rules'', ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' and ''How I Me ...
as Gordon's Wife
*
Bob Cicherillo
Robert Michael Cicherillo (born December 1, 1965) is an American IFBB professional bodybuilder.
Biography
Cicherillo's first bodybuilding competition was the 1981 Natural America, where he placed 4th in the teen tall class. His first NPC (Natio ...
as Rory (uncredited)
*
Patton Oswalt
Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...
as Video Store Clerk and Narrator of a video that White watches while fondling a piece of pizza. (uncredited)
;Cameo appearances
*
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
as himself
*
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
as himself, and member of the ADAA Tournament Committee
*
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff (born July 17, 1952), nicknamed "The Hoff", is an American actor, singer, and television personality. He has set a Guinness World Record as the most watched man on TV. Hasselhoff first gained recognition on ''The You ...
as himself, and coach of the German team
Production
When the film was screened to test audiences, the original ending had Average Joe's lose to Globo Gym in the final match. After the ending was viewed negatively by the test audiences, the sudden death match and Average Joe's winning the dodgeball tournament were added alongside White going back to obesity.
Copyright lawsuit
In 2005, two New York City screenwriters, David Price and Ashoka Thomas, filed suit in
federal court against Fox and Thurber, claiming
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
of an unproduced screenplay they had written, ''Dodgeball: The Movie'', by Thurber and Fox. They alleged there were a number of similarities in the plots of the two screenplays, and that Thurber may have had access to their screenplay, which was finished a month before his and submitted to an agent whose assistant he was acquainted with.
Lawyers for the defendants dismissed some of the allegations as coincidental. They said that both screenplays were the work of writers who used common formulaic elements. Judge
Shira Scheindlin
Shira A. Scheindlin (; born 1946) is an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Early life and education
Scheindlin was born in Washing ...
denied the defense motion for
summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...
and ordered a jury trial.
Price v. Fox Entertainment Group
', 499 F. Supp. 2d 382, ( S.D.N.Y., 2007). The suit was later settled out of court.
Reception
Box office
In its first week, the film grossed over $29 million, and would go on to a domestic gross of $114.3 million, and a worldwide total of $167.7 million.
Critical response
Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
''
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
'' dismissed the film as "a less-than-one-joke film", while ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' remarked that
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
"doesn't know when to stop". Other critics, such as ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', praised Stiller's satirical take on male virility and praised the chemistry between
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor.
Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
and
Christine Taylor
Christine Joan Taylor Stiller (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for playing Marcia Brady in ''The Brady Bunch Movie'' and ''A Very Brady Sequel'', as well as roles in films like '' The Craft'', ''The Wedding Singer'', ''Z ...
. Joe Morgenstern of ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' initially declined to review the film, believing it was not worthy of his time. However, after reviewing the DVD, he changed his view, writing, "
Mea culpa
' is a Latin phrase that means "my fault" or "my mistake" and is an acknowledgement of having done wrong. The expression is used also as an admission of having made a mistake that should have been avoided, and may be accompanied by beating the br ...
, mea culpa. Rawson Marshall Thurber's debut feature, starring
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
opposite
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor.
Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
, is erratic, imbecilic if not completely idiotic, inconsequential in even the small scheme of things, and thoroughly entertaining".
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film a three stars out of four rating in his ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' review and writes "in a miraculous gift to the audience, 20th Century-Fox does ''not'' reveal all of the best gags in its trailer."
Awards
* 2004 ESPY Awards
** Best Sports Movie – Nominated
* 2005 BMI Awards
** Best Film Music, Theodore Shapiro – Won
*
2005 MTV Movie Awards
** Best Comedic Performance, Ben Stiller – Nominated
** Best On-Screen Team (Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Justin Long, Alan Tudyk, Stephen Root, Joel Moore and Chris Williams) – Nominated
** Best Villain, Ben Stiller – Won
*
25th Golden Raspberry Awards
**
Worst Actor, Ben Stiller (Also for ''
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'', ''
Along Came Polly'', ''
Envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
'', and ''
Starsky & Hutch
''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...
''
ll 2004 – Nominated
Legacy
Possible sequel
On April 22, 2013, it was announced that
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
has started developing a sequel to the film, with
Clay Tarver
Clay Tarver (born November 8, 1965, in San Antonio, Texas) is an American guitarist and writer. He was the co-showrunner and an executive producer of ''Silicon Valley''.
Biography
Music career
Tarver—who graduated from Harvard University in 1 ...
writing the script and Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn returning to star. However Ben Stiller has since stated that he wasn't aware a ''Dodgeball'' sequel was happening. A reunion video featuring the cast was released online in June 2017, announcing a competition to raise funds for the Stiller Foundation.
ESPN8: The Ocho
On August 8, 2017, ESPN paid homage to its lampooned portrayal in ''Dodgeball'' by airing a day-long "ESPN8: The Ocho" marathon on its college sports channel
ESPNU
ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...
. In the spirit of the programming depicted in the film, it consisted of lesser-known and unconventional sports and competitions—including trampoline dodgeball,
darts
Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...
,
disc golf
Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...
,
kabaddi
Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...
, and
roller derby
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States.
Game play consists of a series of short scrimmages (jam ...
. The stunt was reprised the following two years on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
, and also included airings of ''Dodgeball''.
Due to a lack of live sports programming during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
announced on March 22, 2020, it would reprise the stunt earlier than scheduled on ESPN2.
It did it on May 2, 2020, on ESPN, and then August 8, 2020 on ESPN2, as well as the Big Screen in ''
Fortnite Party Royale''. A collection of sports that were featured on ESPN8, as well as the ESPN8 broadcast on these said networks, were available on the ESPN app.
Home video
The DVD and Blu-ray releases all contain various outtakes and deleted scenes including an alternate ending as well as an infamous "Easter Egg" in the form of a spoof director's commentary.
The directors commentary track starts out in the traditional fashion with the director and co-stars but soon adds in extra characters and descends into a largely unrelated comedy experience. Halfway through a seemingly chaotic recording, it stops and is replaced by the directors' commentary for ''
There's Something About Mary
''There's Something About Mary'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly. It stars Cameron Diaz as the title character with Ben Stiller, Matt Dillon, Lee Evans, and Chris Elliott all playing men who ...
''.
See also
*
List of American films of 2004
This is a list of American films that were released in 2004 in film, 2004.
Box office
The highest-grossing American films released in 2004, by domestic box office gross revenue, are as follows:
January–March
April–June
July– ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgeball A True Underdog Story
2004 films
2004 comedy films
2000s sports comedy films
20th Century Fox films
American sports comedy films
Dodgeball mass media
2000s English-language films
Films set in the Las Vegas Valley
Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley
Films shot in Los Angeles
Films directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber
Red Hour Productions films
Films about ball games
Films produced by Ben Stiller
Films scored by Theodore Shapiro
American LGBT-related films
2004 LGBT-related films
LGBT-related sports comedy films
Bisexuality-related films
2004 directorial debut films
2000s American films