Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

2004 sports comedy film by Rawson Thurber

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Rawson Marshall Thurber
Written by| Rawson Marshall Thurber
Produced by|

* Ben Stiller
* Stuart Cornfeld

Starring|

* Vince Vaughn
* Ben Stiller
* Christine Taylor
* Rip Torn

Cinematography| Jerzy Zieliński
Edited by|

* Alan Baumgarten
* Peter Teschner

Music by| Theodore Shapiro

Production
company

Red Hour Productions

Distributed by| 20th Century Fox[1]

Release date

* June 18, 2004 (2004-06-18)

Running time

| 92 minutes[1]
Countries|

* Germany[1]
* United States[1]

Language| English
Budget| $20 million[2]
Box office| $168.4 million[2]

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (stylized as DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story) is a 2004 sports comedy film written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, and Rip Torn. The film follows a group of unlikely misfits who enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament, needing the prize money to save their cherished gym from being taken over by a corporate health fitness chain.

Theatrically released by 20th Century Fox on June 18, 2004, the film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $168.4 million on a $20 million budget.

As of 2023[update], a sequel is in development.[3][4]

## Plot

[edit]

Peter LaFleur is the owner of Average Joe's, a small, dilapidated and understaffed gym. When he defaults on the gym's mortgage, his cocky and vindictive business rival White Goodman, who owns Globo Gym across the street, purchases it. Unless Peter can raise $50,000 in 30 days, Goodman will foreclose on and demolish Average Joe's to build a new auxiliary parking structure for his members. Goodman attempts to seduce attorney Kate Veatch, who is handling his account; repulsed, she cites conflict of interest (COI) to rebuff his disturbing advances.

Peter, gym employees Dwight Baumgarten and Owen Dittman, and members Steve "The Pirate" Cowan, Justin Redman and Gordon Pibb, all decide to raise the required money. After an impromptu car wash suggested by Owen fails, Gordon suggests entering a dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas with a $50,000 grand prize. Justin obtains a 1950s-era training film for the group featuring Irish-American dodgeball legend Patches O'Houlihan. A Girl Scout Troop easily defeats them at the sub-regional qualifiers the following day, but are disqualified due to one member failing a drug test, resulting in Average Joe's winning by default.

Having spied on Average Joe's using a hidden camera in a cutout of himself, Goodman forms his own dodgeball team, the Globo Gym Purple Cobras, and surprises Gordon by revealing he bypassed the mandatory qualification match due to his camaraderie with the chancellor. After watching their confrontation, Patches, now an elderly wheelchair user, approaches Peter, volunteering to coach the team. Patches' unusual training regimen involves having them dodge wrenches, oncoming cars, and his constant insults. Despite her skills at the sport, Kate declines to join the team, again citing COI.

Goodman arrives at Kate's house uninvited and reveals that he misled her boss about her stealing and drinking on the job, thus getting her fired from her law firm and freeing him to date her. Enraged, she rejects Goodman and joins the Average Joe's team.

Despite early setbacks, the team advances to the final round against Globo Gym. The night before the match, a falling sign in the casino kills Patches. Returning to his room, Peter encounters an uninvited Goodman, who greedily offers him $100,000 for the deed to Average Joe's, claiming that Peter will inevitably cause its closure.

Demoralized and anxious that the team will lose without Patches's motivation, Peter chastises Steve's pirate behavior upon returning to the group, causing Steve's departure. On the day of the final, Justin assists his classmate and love interest Amber in a cheerleading competition after his rival Derek becomes severely injured, leaving Average Joe's short of players.

A brief encounter with Lance Armstrong restores Peter's morale, 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, a tie-breaking vote from Chuck Norris reinstates the team.

After an intense game, Peter and Goodman engage 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 deflatingly reveals that Peter sold the gym 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. Peter then announces his intention to invest in the controlling stake of the publicly traded Globo Gym, allowing him to own it and its subsidiaries, which now include Average Joe's, and fire Goodman. Steve returns, appearing more normal, but revives his pirate persona when Peter reveals their winnings as "buried treasure". Joyce, a friend of Kate's who flew from Guam to witness the final match, arrives and kisses her passionately, shocking Peter; Kate then reveals her bisexuality and kisses Peter similarly.

During the credits, Peter advertises youth dodgeball classes at a newly renovated and popular Average Joe's. Meanwhile, Goodman, now morbidly obese, is seen watching the commercial on television, blaming Norris for his plight.

## Cast

[edit]

* Vince Vaughn as Peter LaFleur, the very laid-back and casual owner of Average Joe's Gym whose lack of attention leads to its foreclosure.
* Ben Stiller as White Goodman, the arrogant 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. He used to be morbidly obese back in the 1980s.
* Christine Taylor as 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 losing her job thanks to Goodman.
* Gary Cole as Cotton McKnight, one of the TV announcers for the dodgeball tournament
* Rip Torn as Patches O'Houlihan, a retired seven-time ADAA dodgeball All-Star, now confined to a wheelchair, who coaches the Average Joe's team.
* Hank Azaria as young Patches
* Missi Pyle as Fran Stalinovskovichdaviddivichski, a professional dodgeball player from Romanovia, playing for the Globo Gym team, and Owen's newfound love interest
* Alan Tudyk as Steve "The Pirate" Cowan, a regular customer at Average Joe's who dresses, talks, and acts like a pirate
* Justin Long as Justin Redman, a high school student and regular customer at Average Joe's
* Stephen Root as Gordon Pibb, a regular customer at Average Joe's
* Chris Williams as Dwight Baumgarten, an employee at Average Joe's
* Joel David Moore as Owen Dittman, an employee at Average Joe's
* Julie Gonzalo as Amber, a cheerleader at Justin's high school who he is infatuated with, and becomes his wife
* Jamal Duff as Me'Shell Jones, White Goodman's "Fitness Consigliere" who carries out Goodman's orders
* Jason Bateman as Pepper Brooks, the color commentator for the dodgeball tournament TV broadcast
* Al Kaplon as The Referee
* William Shatner as The Dodgeball Chancellor who oversees the dodgeball tournaments
* Trever O'Brien as Derek, another cheerleader at Justin's high school and Amber's ex-boyfriend
* Rusty Joiner 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 as Mr. Ralph, a man who hosts the sub-regional qualifiers event
* Scarlett Chorvat as Joyce, Kate's girlfriend
* Lori Beth Denberg as Martha Johnstone, an overweight cheerleader at Justin's high school
* Cayden Boyd as Timmy, a boy in the dodgeball instructional video
* Suzy Nakamura as Gordon's wife
* Bob Cicherillo as Rory (uncredited)[5][6]
* Patton Oswalt as the following uncredited roles:
* A video store clerk
* The narrator of a video that Goodman watches while fondling a piece of pizza

Cameo appearances

* Lance Armstrong as himself, he gives Pete a pep talk enough for him to continue in the tournament[7]
* David Hasselhoff as himself, he was depicted as the coach of the Blitzkrieg[8]
* Chuck Norris as himself, he is also depicted as a member of the dodgeball judiciary board[9]

## Production

[edit]

Ben Stiller's character, White Goodman, was an intentional copy-and-paste of his character Tony Perkis Jr. from the film Heavyweights. Stiller opted to simply redo his performance believing that no one had seen that film, but learned too late that the movie had a large cult following. He added that Perkis was "definitely a first or second cousin to [Goodman]" and had no regrets over doing an alternate portrayal of him.[10]

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.[11][12]

## Copyright lawsuit

[edit]

In 2005, two New York City screenwriters, David Price and Ashoka Thomas, filed suit in federal court against Fox and Thurber, claiming the copyright of an unproduced screenplay they had written, Dodgeball: The Movie, was infringed upon 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.[13] 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 denied the defense motion for summary judgment and ordered a jury trial.[14][15] The suit was later settled out of court.[16][17]

## Reception

[edit]

### Box office

[edit]

In its first week, the film grossed over $29 million, and would go on to a domestic gross of $114.3 million,[18] and a worldwide total of $168.4 million.[2]

### Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 166 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Proudly profane and splendidly silly, Dodgeball is a worthy spiritual successor to the goofball comedies of the 1980s."[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 55 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[21]

Slant Magazine dismissed the film as "a less-than-one-joke film",[22] while TV Guide remarked that Ben Stiller "doesn't know when to stop".[23] Other critics, such as The Boston Globe, praised Stiller's satirical take on male virility and praised the chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Christine Taylor.[24] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal 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, mea culpa. Rawson Marshall Thurber's debut feature, starring Ben Stiller opposite Vince Vaughn, is erratic, imbecilic if not completely idiotic, inconsequential in even the small scheme of things, and thoroughly entertaining".[25] Roger Ebert gave the film a three stars out of four rating in his Chicago Sun-Times review and writes "in a miraculous gift to the audience, 20th Century-Fox does not reveal all of the best gags in its trailer."[26]

### Awards

[edit]

* 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, and Starsky & Hutch [all 2004]) – Nominated

## Legacy

[edit]

### Sequel

[edit]

On April 22, 2013, it was announced that 20th Century Fox had started developing a sequel to the film, with Clay Tarver writing the script and Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn returning to star.[27] However, Ben Stiller later stated that he was not aware a Dodgeball sequel was happening.[28] A reunion video featuring the cast entitled Play Dodgeball with Ben Stiller was released online in June 2017, announcing a competition to raise funds for the Stiller Foundation.[29]

On April 27, 2023, it was announced that 20th Century Studios had re-begun production on a sequel, with actor Vince Vaughn set to return, and possibly serve as a producer on the new film.[30]

### ESPN8: The Ocho

[edit]

Main article: 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. In the spirit of the programming depicted in the film, it consisted of lesser-known and unconventional sports and competitions—including trampoline dodgeball, darts, disc golf, kabaddi, and roller derby.[31][32] The stunt was reprised the following two years on ESPN2, and also included airings of Dodgeball.[33][34]

Due to a lack of live sports programming during the COVID-19 pandemic, ESPN announced on March 22, 2020, that it would reprise the stunt earlier than scheduled on ESPN2.[35] 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.

The program was held again on ESPN2 on August 3, 2023.[36][37] The channel also received a cameo in the 2024 Paramount+ mini-series Knuckles.[38] By 2023, ESPN8 had become a permanent channel, airing as a FAST channel on multiple streaming platforms including The Roku Channel and DirecTV Stream.[39][40]

## See also

[edit]

* ESPN8 The Ocho
* List of American films of 2004

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
2. ^ a b c "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
3. ^ "Dodgeball 2 and The Dangerous Trend of Comedy Sequels Made 20 Years Later". MovieWeb. May 5, 2023. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
4. ^ "Dodgeball 2 is happening with original star Vince Vaughn returning". Digital Spy. April 29, 2023. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
5. ^ "Getbig Interview: Bob Cicherillo". Get Big. January 11, 2004. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
6. ^ "MuscleMemory: Bodybuilders in the Movies". MuscleMemory. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
7. ^ "Lance Armstrong ruined 'Dodgeball'". USA Today. January 15, 2013. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
8. ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Dodgeball". IFC. October 6, 2015. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
9. ^ Sternbergh, Adam (July 15, 2004). "Chuck Norris As Himself". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
10. ^ Otto, Jeff (June 16, 2004). "Interview: Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor". IGN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
11. ^ Horton, NP (January 11, 2019). "50 Best Alternate Movie Endings". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
12. ^ Harrison, Mark (July 8, 2019). "32 Movie Endings That Were Changed by Test Screenings". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
13. ^ "Complaint". United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. June 2005. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
14. ^ Glaberson, William (July 22, 2007). "Dodgeballs and Jokes May Seem Too Close for Comfort". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
15. ^ Price v. Fox Entertainment Group Archived August 23, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, 499 F. Supp. 2d 382, (S.D.N.Y., 2007).
16. ^ "Intellectual Property". Davis & Gilbert LLP. 2011. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2011. "We successfully represented the plaintiffs in a high-profile copyright-infringement lawsuit in which two screenwriters alleged that the hit movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story infringed the copyright in their screenplay Dodgeball: The Movie."
17. ^ "Michael B. Carlinsky". Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. 2011. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2011. "Represented Fox Entertainment Group, Twentieth Century Fox and other defendants against copyright infringement claims arising out of the Ben Stiller movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story ... Obtained a favorable settlement."
18. ^ "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
19. ^ "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
20. ^ "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
21. ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
22. ^ "Film Review: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
23. ^ "Review of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". TV Guide. Archived from the original on July 31, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
24. ^ Morris, Wesley (June 18, 2004). "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Movie Review". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
25. ^ Morgenstern, Joe (July 15, 2005). "As Fast-Talking Con Men, 'Wedding Crashers' Wilson And Vaughn Take the Cake (2005)". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 8, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
26. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 18, 2004). "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
27. ^ "'Dodgeball' Sequel in the Works at Fox (Exclusive)". TheHollywoodReporter.com. April 22, 2013. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
28. ^ Flint, Hanna (February 23, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Ben Stiller says there isn't a Dodgeball 2 in the works". Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
29. ^ Ihnat, Gwen (June 14, 2017). "The rival teams from Dodgeball reunite for charity in new video". The AV Club. Archived from the original on June 16, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
30. ^ Grobar, Matt (April 27, 2023). "'Dodgeball' Sequel In Works At 20th With Vince Vaughn Returning; Jordan VanDina To Write The Script". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
31. ^ "ESPN is creating ESPN8: 'The Ocho' for one glorious day". SB Nation. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
32. ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "'ESPN8: The Ocho' to replace ESPNU — if only for a day". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
33. ^ Steinberg, Brian (August 8, 2018). "Bold strategy, Cotton: Inside ESPN's crazy plans to turn 'The Ocho' into a business". Variety. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
34. ^ "ESPN is bringing back 'The Ocho'". SBNation.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
35. ^ "ESPN8 'The Ocho' is back, normally you have to pay double for that kind of action, Cotton". AL.com. March 19, 2020. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
36. ^ "'ESPN8: The Ocho' bringing back 'seldom seen sports': How to watch cornhole, corgi races". USA TODAY.
37. ^ "How to watch ESPN8: The Ocho, 2023 edition". ESPN.com. August 2, 2023.
38. ^ Knight, Rosie (April 27, 2024). "Knuckles Pays Homage to Hollywood Comedies Throughout the Ages". IGN. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
39. ^ Roku. "ESPN8 The Ocho on The Roku Channel". Roku. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
40. ^ https://www.directv.com/insider/espn-8-the-ocho/#:~:text=You can watch ESPN8: The Ocho 24/7 for,free on DIRECTV Channel 4108.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Kring-Schreifels, Jake (June 18, 2024). "Go Balls Deep: The Oral History of 'Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'". The Ringer. Retrieved September 18, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

* Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

* Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)
* The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2008)
* We're the Millers (2013)
* Central Intelligence (2016)
* Skyscraper (2018)
* Red Notice (2021)
* Voltron (TBA)

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