Balls Out (2014 film)

2014 American comedy film

Balls Out

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Andrew Disney
Written by| Bradley Jackson
Produced by|

* Russell Wayne Groves
* Andrew Lee
* David Ward
* Red Sanders
* Tucker Moore
* Bradley Jackson

Starring|

* Jake Lacy
* Beck Bennett
* Jay Pharoah
* Nikki Reed
* Kate McKinnon
* DC Pierson
* Nick Kocher
* Brian McElhaney
* Nick Rutherford
* Gabriel Luna

Cinematography| Jeffrey Waldron
Edited by| Kody Gibson
Music by| Alice Wood

Production
companies

* Ralph Smyth Entertainment
* Red Productions

Distributed by|

* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
* Orion Pictures

Release dates

* April 19, 2014 (2014-04-19) (Tribeca)
* June 19, 2015 (2015-06-19) (United States)

Running time

| 97 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

Balls Out is a 2014 American sports comedy film directed by Andrew Disney, based on a script by Bradley Jackson.[1] The film stars Jake Lacy, Beck Bennett, Jay Pharoah, Nikki Reed, Kate McKinnon, DC Pierson, Nick Kocher, Brian McElhaney, Nick Rutherford and Gabriel Luna, and focuses on a group of college seniors that decide to form an intramural football team before graduating.[2]

The film, originally titled Intramural, stars cast members of comedy groups Saturday Night Live, Derrick Comedy, BriTANicK, and Good Neighbor. The film was picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Orion Pictures and was given a limited release on film and video on demand on June 19, 2015.[3]

## Synopsis

[edit]

Caleb (Jake Lacy) is a fifth-year senior preparing to graduate. Not quite ready to settle into the life, expectations, and realities outside of his college, he decides that he wants to reassemble The Panthers, an intramural football team that had to shut down after one of the team members ended up getting partially paralyzed for life. Doing so is going to be far more difficult than he expected.

## Cast

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* Jake Lacy as Caleb Fuller
* Nikki Reed as Meredith Downs
* Kate McKinnon as Vicky Albrecht
* Beck Bennett as Dick Downs
* Nick Kocher as Grant Rosenfalis
* Brian McElhaney as Chance Gilman
* Gabriel Luna as Vinnie
* Will Elliott as George Irwin
* Kirk C. Johnson as Ace
* Sam Eidson as Jimmy Harris
* Nick Rutherford as Hank
* Jay Pharoah as Dan Albert
* DC Pierson as Bill Costas
* Michael Hogan as Mr. Albrecht
* Clint Howard as Philip Bronson
* John Merriman as Fireman
* Mike MacRae as Doctor

## Production

[edit]

The film's script was written by Bradley Jackson during his sophomore year at the University of Texas, where he was inspired to create the script after listening to his friends brag about their intramural sports games.[4] Jackson expressed his desire to have Andrew Disney direct the film, as he greatly enjoyed his work.[5] Nikki Reed was later confirmed to be performing in the film, as were Beck Bennett and Michael Hogan.[6] Jackson and Disney raised funds for the film through a successful Kickstarter campaign,[7][8] and filming began on July 12, 2013, in Austin, Texas and continued for six weeks,[9] ending on August 22, 2013.[10]

## Release

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The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2014.[11] The film went on to screen at the Montclair Film Festival on May 4, 2014.[12] and the Seattle International Film Festival on June 6, 2014.[13] The film was picked up by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Orion Pictures and was retitled Balls Out. The film was released in a limited release and video on demand on June 19, 2015.[14][15]

## Reception

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The film was met with positive reviews from film critics. It currently holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews.[16] Andy Webster of The New York Times praised the film for its self-aware humor and talented cast for having comedic timing, singling out Kate McKinnon as a standout, concluding that "she displays talent too vast for the small screen. Now watch her career rocket."[17] Nick Prigge of Slant Magazine gave a mixed review of the film, saying that it was at odds with itself of being either a straight sports film or a satire of the genre.[18] Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly said that while there's some funny commentary on the absurdity of sports films he found the film less a feature film and more a long television sketch.[19]

It won both the Cinema Dulce Best of Fest and Best Actor (Jake Lacy) awards at the Hill Country Film Festival[20] and the Best Guilty Pleasure Audience Award at the Seattle International Film Festival.[21] It also won the Best Sport Comedy award in The Vancouver Sun's 2015 Sports Market Movie Awards.[22]

## See also

[edit]

* List of American football films
* Searching for Sonny, the 2011 film directorial debut of Andrew Disney

## References

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1. ^ Burton, Brad; Burton, Kim-Williams (August 8, 2013). "Intramural Shooting in Austin With a Cast of Comedy Heavy Hitters". Screen. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
2. ^ Ragland, J. Parker (August 9, 2013). "For all the athletes who never could..." Fort Worth Business Press. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
3. ^ Sneider, Jeff (May 13, 2015). "'SNL'-Packed Football Comedy 'Balls Out' Lands Distribution From Orion Releasing". TheWrap. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
4. ^ Guerrero, Dorothy (October 31, 2013). "Almost Famous". The Alcalde. Texas Exes. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
5. ^ Mejia, Lisa (September 13, 2013). "Viewing the World Through Words". Austin Fusion Magazine. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
6. ^ Sneider, Jeff (July 24, 2013). "'Twilight' Star Nikki Reed Leads Cast of Football Comedy 'Intramural'". TheWrap. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
7. ^ Luippold, Ross (July 24, 2013). "Kate McKinnon, Jay Pharoah Shooting Indie 'Intramural' In Austin This Summer". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
8. ^ Riese, Monica (August 9, 2013). "Kickstart Your Weekend With the 'Intramural' Team". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
9. ^ Kay, Jeremy (July 24, 2013). "Intramural shoots kicks off". Screen Daily. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
10. ^ Champion, Matthew (September 2, 2013). "That's a Wrap: Austin Sports Film Intramural Completes Production". The Austinot. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
11. ^ Kemmerle, Karen (April 20, 2014). "Andrew Disney on 'Intramural,' Test Audiences And Why Film School Matters". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
12. ^ "MFF 2014: COMEDY". Montclair Film Festival. April 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
13. ^ "Intramural". Seattle International Film Festival. Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
14. ^ "Balls Out the Movie". Orion Pictures. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
15. ^ Sneider, Jeff (May 13, 2015). "'SNL'-Packed Football Comedy 'Balls Out' Lands Distribution From Orion Releasing". TheWrap. Retrieved May 13, 2015.
16. ^ "Balls Out (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
17. ^ Webster, Andy (June 18, 2015). "Review: 'Balls Out,' a Sports-Movie Satire Packed With 'S.N.L.' Talent". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
18. ^ Prigge, Nick (June 15, 2015). "Balls Out". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
19. ^ Anderson, Kyle (June 18, 2015). "'Balls Out': EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
20. ^ "HCFF AWARDS". Hill Country Film Festival. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
21. ^ Seattle Times staff (June 9, 2014). "SIFF 2014 films returning to Seattle". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
22. ^ "The Sport Market Movie Awards 2015". The Vancouver Sun. Postmedia Network Inc. February 20, 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2015.

## External links

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* Official website
* Intramural at IMDb
* Kickstarter campaign