Dodgeball on Blu-ray Disc Review
By Rachel Cericola
The Film
Man getting hit in the crotch with a hard rubber ball is funny. However, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn doing the slinging is pure comedy gold.
When "fitness" club Average Joe's faces foreclosure, Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn) and his not-so-merry band of gym members form a dodgeball team to save the place with the $50,000 prize. Hence, the name of the movie. However, if balls whizzing at the head and groin aren't enough opposition, it wouldn't be a "True Underdog Story" if we didn't have nemesis White Goodman (Ben Stiller), a competing club owner hell bent on driving the little guys into the ground.
Yes, it's ridiculous, and yes, it totally works.
Dodgeball is one of the best in the "frat pack" portfolio, thanks to a great supporting cast, including Stephen Root, Justin Long, Alan Tudyk, and the always funny Rip Torn.
The Picture
This film may be busting with personality, but it's not that pretty on the outside. Assuming you aren't laughing to the point of crying, you will notice quite a few imperfections on the 2.35:1 transfer. The movie didn't look that great in the theater; expect a similar appearance here. Still, once the crew hits Vegas, a lot of details will pop, especially when it comes to the colors on the Joe's fancy new uniforms and a very shiny David Hasselhoff.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track packs quite a punch, even when no punchlines are present. The dialogue is nice, the soundtrack flows well (Claude McLin's "Jambo" made the couch shake!), and the
ping of that hard rubber ball sounds oh-so-painful -- especially when deflecting off Long, in particular.
The Extras
Dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge! If you've seen any of the other standard-def releases of
Dodgeball, there's nothing new here. If not, the most amazing thing you might find in this crazy crop of extras is the
real voice of character actor Stephen Root (
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, TV's
NewsRadio and
King of the Hill). Also, we recommend that Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn deliver every DVD commentary track. It's actually interesting!
Final Thoughts
Hoosiers,
Breaking Away and
Rocky may all rank as some of the top sports movies of all-time. However, few of us have ever won a prizefight, competed in a bike race or even played varsity-level sports.
Everyone knows the fear and pain of a grade-school round of dodgeball. Still, it's not the painful nightmares that make this one a winner. When you find yourself quoting a movie, you know it's a good one. When you feel like you could watch that movie every day, it's a definite keeper.
Where to Buy:
Product Details
- Actors: Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, Rip Torn
- Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
- Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English, Spanish, French)
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Region: A
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: Unrated
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: December 9, 2008
- Run Time: 93 minutes
- List Price: $34.98
- Extras:
- Feature-Length Commentary by Writer/Director Rawson Marshall Thurber and Actors Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn
- Deleted Scenes
- Dodgeball Boot Camp: Training for Dodgeball
- The Anatomy of a Hit
- Justin Long: A Study in Ham & Cheese
- Dodgeball: Go for the Gold
- Bloopers/Gag Reel
