2K Replay: DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY

 by Adam Riske

Nominated for “Best Comedic Performance” (Ben Stiller) at the MTV Movie Awards. He lost to Dustin Hoffman in Meet the Fockers. How did Dustin Hoffman win an MTV Movie Award?

• Best Scene/Moment: Any dodgeball game. They’re surprisingly cinematic. I could’ve watched those games for two hours.

• Best Song: “Still in Me” by The Bleacher Heroes.

• Best Merch: A “Vintage 2004 Dodgeball Movie Red Tee - Size XL” for $24.95. This is a t-shirt for the fictional gym Vince Vaughn runs (Average Joe’s) in the movie. It’s a good shirt to wear inside your house or maybe outside until the moment someone recognizes the logo and questions why you’re wearing it out in public.

• Director Grade: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story was directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber.
Great Movies: N/A
Good Movies: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
OK Movies: We’re the Millers
Bad Movies: Central Intelligence, Skyscraper
Unseen By Me: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Red Notice
Overall Grade: C

• Double It with This 2004 Movie: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

• Year 2004 Movies to Trailer Before Them: Along Came Polly, Meet the Fockers, Starsky & Hutch

• Color of Night or Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story? Tie.

• Mall Movie? Yeah, it’s a frat bro/jock comedy so the mall feels appropriate.

• Only in 2004: Pre-disgrace Lance Armstrong cameo as value add. In 2004, it was very funny. Nowadays, it’s just jarring.

• Scene Stealer (tie): Jason Bateman & Rip Torn.

• I Miss: Playing dodgeball.

• I Don’t Miss: Ben Stiller being in every third comedy during the early 2000s. Some of them were good, but it was a bit much.

• 2004 Crush (tie): Julie Gonzalo and Christine Taylor.

• 2024 Crush (tie): Julie Gonzalo and Christine Taylor.

• What I Thought in 2004: I loved it. I think I saw it in theaters three times, which in hindsight is interesting because I very rarely see movies more than once in theaters anymore. Ben Stiller was funny, the dodgeball scenes were fun, and I was happy that Vince Vaughn was making a comeback of sorts in movie comedies after several years starring mostly in thrillers and dramas.

• What I Think in 2024: I don’t think I love it like I used to, but I still had a good time revisiting Dodgeball. I admire how silly it is and it gives me a rush of nostalgia for the early 2000s. I’d recommend watching it again if you’re like me and used to enjoy the movie but haven’t seen it in a long time.