The humor in Dodgeball may be a bit dodgy, especially in its Unrated form, but at least it's there.
But it's really the O'Houlihan character (played in the present by Torn and in flashback by Hank Azaria) who steals the picture. "Remember, dodgeball is a sport of violence, exclusion, and degradation," O'Houlihan proclaims in a 1950's dodgeball training film. He throws wrenches at his players to sharpen up their dodging skills ("If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball"), and he comes replete with a full assortment of insults: "You couldn't hit water if you fell out of a boat!"
Pete's motto: "Aim low."
To spice things up, the filmmakers have thrown in a few cameos--Lance Armstrong, Chuck Norris, David Hasselhoff, William Shatner, even writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who is here making his first feature-length film and figured he might as well be in it, too.
The theatrical release of "Dodgeball" was rated PG-13 so the crudity didn't get out of hand, but you still got a healthy dose of crotch and ball gags, as well as any number of fat jokes. In the Unrated version, the crudity is laced with a few more swear words. The movie is still not particularly offensive, just a little risqué.
Stiller's previous few movies, like "Duplex" and "Starsky & Hutch," elicited no laughs from me and no smiles whatsoever. "Dodgeball," on the other hand, made me break out laughing a half a dozen times and smile quite a lot. Nevertheless, as I've said before, humor is a funny thing, and what tickles one person may bore another.
Rated or Unrated, this one didn't bore me.
Video:
The picture quality remains the same as before, and it is quite good. The screen size measures an anamorphic ratio that is only a little short of the film's theatrical-release size of 2.35:1, and the transfer itself is reproduced at a relatively high bit rate. I found the video a touch dark overall, but with good color and above-average definition. Black levels are strong, grain is mostly absent, and halos or edge enhancement are so small as be virtually unnoticeable, and should not be an issue for most viewers.
Audio:
There is not a lot for the multiple speakers in a Dolby Digital 5.1 system to do in this kind of a movie, where dialogue is chiefly the rule, but the DD 5.1 sound is clean and clear. Speech is firmly anchored in the front center speaker, for better or for worse, and the stereo spread is modest at best. Yet when the surrounds are needed for a few vocals and crowd noise, they work efficiently and add to the fun of the proceedings.
Extras:
Most of the extras on the Unrated Edition are the same as you'll find on the regular edition. To begin, there's an audio commentary with the writer/director, Rawson Marshall Thurber, and the stars, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Sort of. To say it's different would be an understatement. The first half of the commentary has them clowning around and largely ignoring the film, and the second half has them walking away entirely and turning on an audio commentary by the Farrelly brothers for "There's Something About Mary." They figure since nobody listens to audio commentaries, it won't matter anyhow. It's all very silly.
Next, there are nine deleted or extended scenes in non-anamorphic widescreen, plus an alternate ending, about ten minutes' worth, all with optional commentary by director Thurber. Interestingly, Thurber tells us the alternate ending is the one he fought for but didn't get (fortunately). Following these items are four featurettes, "Dodgeball Boot Camp: Training For Dodgeball," "The Anatomy Of A Hit," "Justin Long: A Study In Ham & Cheese," "Dodgeball: Go For the Gold," and several segments with the Dodgeball Dancers, with a video introduction by Thurber, each featurette between two and four minutes long. Then, there is a three-minute gag reel filled with bloopers.
And as before there are Easter eggs. One of them is an additional audio commentary with Thurber, Stiller, and Vaughn; another is a commentary by director Thurber alone; and others provide more deleted scenes. At least, that's what I'm told. I hate Easter eggs and refused to look for them. Besides, what's the point of Easter eggs if somebody tells how to find them? You're supposed to discover them on your own, no? Or you could check out our Easter egg section for hints. Or, if you insist on pressuring me, press "Enter" every time White snaps his fingers in the movie. Maybe somebody on one of these egg commentaries explains what additions, subtractions, or substitutions were made in the Unrated Edition. I don't know.
The bonuses conclude with twenty-two scene selections as before, animated, but without a chapter insert; two theatrical trailers for "Dodgeball" and one each for "Garden State" and "There's Something About Mary"; and a DVD-ROM screenplay. English, French, and Spanish are the spoken language options, with English and Spanish subtitles. New to the package is a colorful, embossed slipcover. Don't know why.
Parting Thoughts:
No one is going to mistake the wacky humor in "Dodgeball" for something like the subtly sophisticated wit of the Coen brothers' "Intolerable Cruelty"; and few people will find the sheer number of outright laughs in "Dodgeball" that are found in the aforementioned Farrelly brothers' comedy, "There's Something About Mary." But "Dodgeball" is a giant step upwards from the likes of "White Chicks," "New York Minute," "The Girl Next Door," and other such contemporary Tinseltown travesties. The humor in "Dodgeball" may be a bit dodgy, especially in its Unrated form, but at least it's there.
Pete's motto: "Aim low."
To spice things up, the filmmakers have thrown in a few cameos--Lance Armstrong, Chuck Norris, David Hasselhoff, William Shatner, even writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who is here making his first feature-length film and figured he might as well be in it, too.
The theatrical release of "Dodgeball" was rated PG-13 so the crudity didn't get out of hand, but you still got a healthy dose of crotch and ball gags, as well as any number of fat jokes. In the Unrated version, the crudity is laced with a few more swear words. The movie is still not particularly offensive, just a little risqué.
Stiller's previous few movies, like "Duplex" and "Starsky & Hutch," elicited no laughs from me and no smiles whatsoever. "Dodgeball," on the other hand, made me break out laughing a half a dozen times and smile quite a lot. Nevertheless, as I've said before, humor is a funny thing, and what tickles one person may bore another.
Rated or Unrated, this one didn't bore me.
Video:
The picture quality remains the same as before, and it is quite good. The screen size measures an anamorphic ratio that is only a little short of the film's theatrical-release size of 2.35:1, and the transfer itself is reproduced at a relatively high bit rate. I found the video a touch dark overall, but with good color and above-average definition. Black levels are strong, grain is mostly absent, and halos or edge enhancement are so small as be virtually unnoticeable, and should not be an issue for most viewers.
Audio:
There is not a lot for the multiple speakers in a Dolby Digital 5.1 system to do in this kind of a movie, where dialogue is chiefly the rule, but the DD 5.1 sound is clean and clear. Speech is firmly anchored in the front center speaker, for better or for worse, and the stereo spread is modest at best. Yet when the surrounds are needed for a few vocals and crowd noise, they work efficiently and add to the fun of the proceedings.
Extras:
Most of the extras on the Unrated Edition are the same as you'll find on the regular edition. To begin, there's an audio commentary with the writer/director, Rawson Marshall Thurber, and the stars, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Sort of. To say it's different would be an understatement. The first half of the commentary has them clowning around and largely ignoring the film, and the second half has them walking away entirely and turning on an audio commentary by the Farrelly brothers for "There's Something About Mary." They figure since nobody listens to audio commentaries, it won't matter anyhow. It's all very silly.
Next, there are nine deleted or extended scenes in non-anamorphic widescreen, plus an alternate ending, about ten minutes' worth, all with optional commentary by director Thurber. Interestingly, Thurber tells us the alternate ending is the one he fought for but didn't get (fortunately). Following these items are four featurettes, "Dodgeball Boot Camp: Training For Dodgeball," "The Anatomy Of A Hit," "Justin Long: A Study In Ham & Cheese," "Dodgeball: Go For the Gold," and several segments with the Dodgeball Dancers, with a video introduction by Thurber, each featurette between two and four minutes long. Then, there is a three-minute gag reel filled with bloopers.
And as before there are Easter eggs. One of them is an additional audio commentary with Thurber, Stiller, and Vaughn; another is a commentary by director Thurber alone; and others provide more deleted scenes. At least, that's what I'm told. I hate Easter eggs and refused to look for them. Besides, what's the point of Easter eggs if somebody tells how to find them? You're supposed to discover them on your own, no? Or you could check out our Easter egg section for hints. Or, if you insist on pressuring me, press "Enter" every time White snaps his fingers in the movie. Maybe somebody on one of these egg commentaries explains what additions, subtractions, or substitutions were made in the Unrated Edition. I don't know.
The bonuses conclude with twenty-two scene selections as before, animated, but without a chapter insert; two theatrical trailers for "Dodgeball" and one each for "Garden State" and "There's Something About Mary"; and a DVD-ROM screenplay. English, French, and Spanish are the spoken language options, with English and Spanish subtitles. New to the package is a colorful, embossed slipcover. Don't know why.
Parting Thoughts:
No one is going to mistake the wacky humor in "Dodgeball" for something like the subtly sophisticated wit of the Coen brothers' "Intolerable Cruelty"; and few people will find the sheer number of outright laughs in "Dodgeball" that are found in the aforementioned Farrelly brothers' comedy, "There's Something About Mary." But "Dodgeball" is a giant step upwards from the likes of "White Chicks," "New York Minute," "The Girl Next Door," and other such contemporary Tinseltown travesties. The humor in "Dodgeball" may be a bit dodgy, especially in its Unrated form, but at least it's there.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]15982[/release]