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#REDIRECT [[Love or Something Like It]]
{{unreferenced|article|date=November 2006}}
{{Infobox Film
| name = Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
| image = Movie_poster_Dodgeball_A_True_Underdog_Story.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
| director = [[Rawson Marshall Thurber]]
| producer = [[Stuart Cornfeld]]<br>[[Ben Stiller]]
| writer = Rawson Marshall Thurber
| narrator =
| starring = [[Vince Vaughn]]<br>[[Christine Taylor]]<br>[[Ben Stiller]]<br>[[Rip Torn]]
| music = [[Theodore Shapiro]]
| cinematography = [[Jerzy Zielinski]]
| editing = [[Allan E. Baumgarten]]
| distributor = [[20th Century Fox]]
| released = {{flagicon|USA}} [[June 18]], [[2004 in film|2004]]
| runtime = 92 min
| country = [[USA]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| budget = $20,000,000
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| website = http://www.dodgeballmovie.com/
| amg_id = 1:290345
| imdb_id = 0364725
}}
'''''Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story''''' is a [[2004 in film|2004]] [[comedy]] from [[20th Century Fox]], written and directed by [[Rawson Marshall Thurber]].
'''Taglines:'''
*A True Underdog Story.
*Grab Life by the Ball.
*Grab Life by the Balls. (Australia and Europe)
*Go balls deep.
==Cast==
{| class="wikitable"
!Character
!Portrayed by
|-
!Peter LaFleur
|[[Vince Vaughn]]
|-
!White Goodman
|[[Ben Stiller]]
|-
!Kate Veatch
|[[Christine Taylor]]
|-
!Patches O'Houlihan
|[[Rip Torn]]
|-
!Justin Redman
|[[Justin Long]]
|-
!Gordon Pibb
|[[Stephen Root]]
|-
!Owen
|[[Joel Moore]]
|-
!Dwight
|[[Chris Williams (actor)|Chris Williams]]
|-
!Steve (the Pirate)
|[[Alan Tudyk]]
|-
!Fran Stella Noskovich Der Vinivisckvy
|[[Missi Pyle]]
|-
!Me'Shell Jones
|[[Jamal Duff]]
|-
!Cotton McKnight
|[[Gary Cole]]
|-
!Pepper Brooks
|[[Jason Bateman]]
|-
!Young Patches O'Houlihan
|[[Hank Azaria]]
|-
!Tournament Referee
|[[Al Kaplon]]
|-
!Blazer
|[[Brandon Molale]]
|-
!Dodgeball Chancellor
|[[William Shatner]]
|-
!German Coach/[[David Hasselhoff]]
|Himself
|-
![[Lance Armstrong]]
|Himself
|-
![[Chuck Norris]]
|Himself
|-
!Joyce
|[[Scarlett Chorvat]]
|-
!Amber
|[[Julie Gonzalo]]
|-
!Number ''Double-Zero'', [[Martha Johnstone]]
|[[Lori Beth Denberg]]
|-
!Derek
|[[Trever O'Brien]]
|-
|}
==Plot==
[[Image:DodgeballBenStiller.jpg|250px|left]]
Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) is a poor man who makes his money by running Average Joe's, a failing gym with only a few members. The members, Steve the Pirate, Justin, Gordan, Dwight and Owen, are heavily loyal to both the gym and its owner. Peter discovers that White Goodman (Stiller), owner of the glamorous Globo-Gym, has purchased Average Joe's defaulted mortgage. White Goodman makes it publicly known that he used to be obese but thanks to working out is now healthier than ever before. Peter must raise $50,000 in 30 days to buy back his gym. If he fails to do so, Goodman will foreclose upon Average Joe's and a parking structure will be built over the gym for Globo-Gym members. Working on this transaction is lawyer Katherine (Taylor), whom White attempts, and fails, to woo with charm. Back at Average Joe's, some money-making schemes are tried, including a car wash. These ultimately fail, although Gordan discovers that they can win the money needed to pay White by winning a dodgeball competition in Las Vegas. However, White has sent up a spy camera in a cardboard cut-out of himself to the gym and knows of their plans to enter this contest.
Peter and the rest of the Average Joe's members face off against Girl Scout Troop 417 in a regional qualifying match and are quickly defeated due lack of experience. However, before the troop can be announced as the winners, one of their players is revealed to have tested positive for steroids (and a low-grade beaver tranquilizer). Therefore, the troop is disqualified and Average Joe's is handed the win.
Afterward, the team goes out to celebrate but are interrupted by White and his newfound dodgeball team, who taunt the Average Joe's. Later, a dodgeball legend called Patches O' Houlihan (Torn) decides to coach the team using questionable and painful methods. Katherine watches and demonstrates excellent skill at the game, triggering the team to try and convince her to join. She declines, since she works for White and it would be a "conflict of interests". However, White visits her at her house and reveals that he got her fired so she would date him. She rejects his advances just as Peter arrives. A minor confrontation ensues and Katherine ends up hitting White. He leaves quickly, leaving Peter to try and convince Katherine to join their team again. This time she gladly accepts.
In Las Vegas the team are supposed to get new uniforms, but the orders get mixed up and they have to wear dominatrix clothing for their first match, since they have to wear matching uniforms according to dodgeball rules. They win largely due to Katherine and go onto the next round. The Purple Cobras (White's team) also win their matches with relative ease. At the semi-finals, Average Joe's is whittled down to Gordan, who isn't very good at dodgeball at all. However, he gets angry after seeing his wife flirting with a man in the crowd (Hasselhoff) and manages to defeat the other team single-handedly using the anger inside him, passing Average Joe's into the finals against the Purple Cobras.
The night beforehand, the team's confidence takes a severe hit when Patches is inadvertently killed in a freak accident when a "Luck Of The Irish" slot machine sign crushes him. Without their coach, the team starts to fall apart. White meets with Peter and offers him one hundred thousand dollars to hand over the Average Joe's deed and forfeit the upcoming finals match. Peter leaves the hotel and runs into Steve the Pirate. Frustrated at White's actions, he grabs Steve by the collar and says, "you are not a pirate," thus depressing him and making him question who he is. Elsewhere, Owen sleeps with Fran, a member of the Purple Cobras whom he had been attracted to throughout the movie.
The day of the match, Justin is pulled away by a girl from his school (whom he has a crush on) to compete in a cheerleading competition because one of their members fell from the indoor rollercoaster ride and broke every bone in his body. Steve is nowhere to be seen and Peter also fails to show up, having checked out of his room before the others could find him. The team is worried they might have to forfeit due to lack of players. Justin returns after the cheerleading competition but Average Joe's still does not have enough players to play. We then see Peter drinking at a bar, miserable as can be. Suddenly, Lance Armstrong takes a seat next to him and inadvertently motivates him to return to the game and play. Peter returns to the match.
Just as the Average Joe's are about to forfeit, Peter arrives and it comes down to a vote to see if the Average Joe's are still eligible to play. A three person vote is then carried out and it comes down to a 1-1 vote. The camera pans over to the 3rd judge, Chuck Norris, who votes yes and allows the finals to begin. At one point, Justin is the last player to remain, although he recovers and manages to summon Peter and Katherine back into the game before being eliminated. Peter falls over and becomes a prime target, but Katherine takes the shot for him. As she is leaving the court, White purposefully throws another ball at her, resulting in a warning against him and, in a deleted scene, 10 seconds in the Shame Triangle. At the start-off, Peter manages to hit one of the two remaining Globo-Gym team members, but is hit by White. Luckily, White commits a double fault by stepping over the line on the throw, leading to a Sudden Death match between Peter and White. Peter blindfolds himself with a bandana that Patches had given him. He feels Patches' presence and manages to hit White sqaure in the face, scoring a victory for Average Joe's.
After initial celebration, it turns out that Peter did sell Average Joe's the night before, meaning that they would lose the gym anyway. Peter replies by revealing that he had bet on Average Joes to win (at 50-to-1 odds), meaning that he now had five million dollars to buy back his gym and buy out Globo-Gym. White protests angrily that he would never sell Globo-Gym, although Peter states that he will simply invest the money in a controlling stake of Globo-Gym, buying him out. And since Globo-Gym is a publicly traded company, White can't do anything to stop the sale. Steve returns, having cut his hair and changed his clothes. Peter convinces him that he is a pirate by showing him his "buried treasure", which overjoys Steve. Finally, Average Joe's goes on to become a success, while White returns to being obese and scoffs at the TV ad for Average Joe's stating "I should've won that tournament...f***in' Chuck Norris".
==Humorous entities and elements featured in the screenplay==
*[[Image:ESPN8.png|250px|right]]'''ESPN 8''' ('''"The Ocho"'''): "If it's almost a sport, we've got it here!" This network is a jab at ESPN's growing empire of sports TV networks, which in 2004 numbered 5, not counting secondary services such as the Spanish-language "ESPN Deportes". In addition, the title is a reference to the nickname of "The Deuce" for [[ESPN2]] when it first appeared. ESPN's family of networks and services currently totals well over eight, including ESPN, ESPN2, [[ESPNews]], [[ESPNU]], [[ESPN Classic]], [[ESPN Deportes]], [[ESPN Broadband#ESPN Motion|ESPN Motion]], [[ESPN 360]] (which contains seven channels of its own), [[ESPN.com]], and [[ESPN Radio]].
*The American Dodgeball Association of America: The sanctioning body for the sport who has laid down the rules as follows:
**6 players with one ball each; no gender specifications
**Catching of the ball counts as a reversal (that is, the throwing player is out and another player on the catching team is allowed to come back on the field)
**No stepping beyond the red line which cuts the field horizontally in half
**Only ADAA balls can be used; personal balls are prohibited
**Sudden death: If all players but one from each team are eliminated, and one commits a double fault, one player from both teams will participate in this overtime from two triangles facing each other. The first player to hit his opponent wins; catching is irrelevant. If a player were to step out of the triangle, that player would be disqualified.
**All players on a team must wear matching uniforms.
**[[Dyslexic]] players are not allowed on court.
*''Obscure Sports Quarterly'': A quarterly magazine which reports on obscure sports, such as [[dwarf tossing|Midget Tossing]].
*'''Las Vegas University Learning Annex''': The host of the '''Las Vegas International Dodgeball Open'''
*''Über American Films'': The Film institute that produced and distributed the Dodgeball documentary from 1938.
*Peter's winnings in the movie's conclusion are visibly labeled "Deus Ex Machina."
==Teams shown playing at the Las Vegas International Dodgeball Open==
*[[Average Joe's]]
*[[Globo Gym]] [[Purple Cobras]]
*[[Skillz That Killz]], the inner-city champions for five years straight
*[[Lumberjack]]s
*Team [[Blitzkrieg]], the [[Europe|European]] champions, led by [[David Hasselhoff]]
*[[Kamikazes]], the [[Japan]]ese champions
*[[Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department]]
*[[Poughkeepsie]] State Flying Cougars
==Teams Mentioned but Not Shown==
*[[Wiktionary:MILF|MILFS]]
*[[Camel Toe|Moose Knuckle]]rs
*[[Clown]] Punchers
*Mulchers
*She-[[Mullet]]s
*[[Wedgie]]s
*[[Yeti]]s
*Pouncers
==Trivia==
{{toomuchtrivia}}
*The rivalry between The Average Joes and the Purple Cobras is a reference to that between the Joes and Cobras from [[G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero|G.I. Joe]]. "Purple cobra" is also slang for Penis.
*In the sudden death elimination round, when Peter throws, his left foot in fact leaves the triangle.
*In a DVD extra, director [[Rawson Marshall Thurber]] shows a joke "director's cut" with the movie ending in Average Joe's defeat. In that version the line "They came here for absolutely nothing" ended the movie, and the credits rolled. Thurber states on the commentary that due to poor screen testing, the studio forced him to replace that ending with their own up-beat one, the one seen in theaters. Thurber further states on this commentary that he was so incensed by the studio's actions that he "left the film for a week," and that he still believes the defeat of Average Joe's "was the right way to end the movie." He has also said that in the early drafts of the script, Average Joe's did lose, but Steve the Pirate was going to come back with a large amount of money he had won at [[Treasure Island Hotel and Casino|Treasure Island]] after a person driving through the [[Fremont Street Experience]] (That particular section of Fremont Street is closed to traffic in thee real world), played by <!---is that true?--->Thurber, told him to go back there. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
*If you pay heavy attention to the beginning of the movie, White Goodman states "Six years ago" on the Globo Gym commercial and in subtitles it reads, "White Goodman 1987." This implies the year is 1993, but this is clearly false, as evidenced by several portions of the film. A message on Peter's answering machine mentions overdue DVD rentals, a technology that was not available for several more years. The message mentions the film [[Mona Lisa Smile]], released over a decade later. In addition, Lance Armstrong refers to his "5 [[Tour De France]] victories", which clearly dates the film to [[2004]]. Also, it is mentioned that ESPN8 presented obscure sports since 1999. Some of the sights in Las Vegas shown in the movie, like the [[Fremont Street Experience]] and [[Monte Carlo Resort and Casino]] did not exist back then (the Fremont Street Experience opened in [[1995]] and the Monte Carlo opened in [[1996]]). It is also possible that the Globo Gym "commercial" was a re-run produced in 1993, rendering the point moot.
*The treasure chest containing the winnings that save the day bears a plaque that reads [[Deus Ex Machina]].
*In the unrated edition, Peter La Fleur, Kate Veatch and her bi-sexual friend Joyce engage in group kissing after Average Joe's victory.
*When White is knocked to the floor in the final match, [[Cotton McKnight]]'s call of "''Down goes Goodman, down goes Goodman''!" is a reference to [[Howard Cosell]]'s famous call of "''Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!"'' in the [[1973]] heavyweight boxing title fight between [[Joe Frazier]] and [[George Foreman]]. He also says "''Do you believe in unlikelyhoods?''" which is a reference to the famous call of the [[1980]] "[[Miracle on Ice]]" where [[Al Michaels]] screams "''Do you believe in miracles?"''
*Thurber states that he based the red and yellow colors of the Average Joes' uniforms on those worn by Hickory High School in the film ''[[Hoosiers]]''.
*In the restaurant, when White Goodman says "Ball me!" meaning "Pass me a ball", the line may have been inspired by the way J.J Hunsucker would say "Match me!" to ask for a light in [[The Sweet Smell Of Success]]. Or, perhaps a reference to the popular phrase "Beer me."
*After his appearance in the film, [[Rip Torn]] became league commissioner on the third season of the TV series [[Extreme Dodgeball]].
*[[Candice Michelle]] and [[Jen England]], dodgeball dancers in the film, later qualified for the [[WWE Diva Search]]. Michelle was later eliminated from the 2004 Diva Search competition but became a [[diva (professional wrestling)|diva]] for [[World Wrestling Entertainment]] anyway. England (dancer on the right side (facing from the camera) of the back row), meanwhile, made it to the finals of the 2006 Diva Search before being eliminated.
*After introducing "Blade" (played by [[Rusty Joiner]]), a member of his team who bears a striking resemblance to [[Val Kilmer]], Blade clicks his teeth together in the manner of Iceman in ''[[Top Gun (film)|Top Gun]]''.
*Vaughn's character's name, Peter LaFleur, may be an homage to hockey legend [[Guy Lafleur]]. The surname literally means "the flower" in French.
*It is worth noting Jason Batemen, as Pepper Brooks, says "''Right you are''" to Gary Cole, as Cotton McKnight, several times. This may be a nod to the Spike TV show [[MXC]] where fictional character Vic Romano often says to (also fictional) Kenny Blankenship "''Right you are, Ken''".
*The Joes hang out at a bar called "[[Dirty Sanchez]]".
*There is a reference to the poem [[Jabberwocky]] by [[Lewis Carol]], during the final match.
*At the end of the film's credits roll, there is an additional scene containing the obese White Goodman character, during which Stiller as the obese White Goodman character mutters about how Chuck Norris' vote influenced the outcome of the dodgeball match, and also proceeds to do a mysterious parody act accompanying a portion of the "My Milkshake" song from the film soundtrack (which appeared during the car-wash scene). Stiller, as the obese White Goodman character, also coughs while stuffing food into his mouth, and mutters something about "Pizza Bagels". Stiller, as the obese White Goodman character, also makes reference to perceived intellectual deficiencies in the quality of the storylines of screenplays in the "American Cinema". These antics were also featured in the cinematic release of the film.
*"Go Balls Deep" is also a slang term referring to the practice of the most extensive penile-vaginal penetration possible during sexual intercourse, ostensibly in order to maximize the chance of conception occurring as a result.
*[[Gary Cole]] (Cotton McKnight) and [[Christine Taylor]] (Kate Veatch) also starred together in two other movies: [[The Brady Bunch Movie]] and [[A Very Brady Sequel]] as [[Mike Brady]] and [[Marcia Brady]].
*This is the second film [[Ben Stiller]] has been in where his character is a crazed fitness/nutrition guru. He had a similar role in the film ''[[Heavyweights]]''.
=== [[Easter Egg (virtual)|Easter Eggs]] ===
On the [[DVD]] "Special Features" menu, if the viewer 'scrolls' among the various selectable items using the appropriate buttons or options on the DVD playback equipment, the lettering denoting the various viewing options will alternately highlight. Press 'Enter', or 'Select', or the equivalent for your equipment. If the Easter Egg option is selected, a video clip containing Stiller, as the obese version of White Goodman, will appear, during which the obese White Goodman character instructs the viewer that if the viewer presses enter each time the White Goodman character snaps his fingers during the course of the movie (''not'' the accompanying featurettes) the viewer will receive an [[Easter Egg (virtual)|Easter Egg]].
This is true. The selection of the appropriate button or option on the DVD playback equipment when the White Goodman character is seen to snap his fingers--not precisely when the character does, but 2 or 3 seconds thereafter--results in a short video clip being played. Apparently, this feature does not function with all types of DVD playback equipment, however.
== External links ==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.dodgeballmovie.com/ Official movie web site]
*{{imdb title|id=0364725|title=Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|id=dodgeball_a_true_underdog_story|title=Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story}}
*{{mojo title|id=dodgeball|title=Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story}}
[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:Sports comedy films]]
[[Category:Dodgeball]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Super 35]]
[[Category:Sports films]]
[[Category:Frat Pack]]
[[Category:Films shot in Las Vegas]]
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