Ready to Rumble (PG-13, 2000)

In READY TO RUMBLE, David Arquette and Scott Caan play Gordie and Sean, two likeable doofuses who worship "the King" -- wrestling champion Jimmy King (Oliver Platt), who seems to have appropriated his accent and substance abuse problem from that other King, Elvis. Horrified when the King is defeated by Diamond Dallas Page, they resolve to help him regain the title. This process leads them to encounter a van full of nuns singing Van Halen's "Driving with the Devil," a sultry Nitro Girl named Sasha (Rose McGowan), a tough old wrestling coach (Martin Landau), and the King's bitter ex-wife (Caroline Rhea) and snaggle-toothed son.

For all those out there who can't wait for the next Adam Sandler movie, and especially for those who find those Adam Sandler movies a little too intellectually challenging, we now have "Ready to Rumble," a sort of Bill and Ted's Excellent Wrestling Adventure.

Arquette and Caan are hard to resist. Most actors who play clueless characters can't resist show-boating to let us know how clever they are. Arquette and Caan just open themselves up to the inner dope. Their simple exhuberence, loyalty, and sweetness keep this movie from feeling too sour or tired. The able support of character actors like Platt, Landau, Joe Pantoliano (as the wrestling promoter), the sadly underused Rhea, an assortment of wrestling superstars like Goldberg and Sting and some good music help to keep it moving. This may also be the only soundtrack in history to feature both Kid Rock and Aaron Copeland.