Parents' Guide to

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Think Bad News Bears crossed with Happy Gilmore.

Movie PG-13 2004 96 minutes
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 11 parent reviews

Nicole W.
Nicole W. Adult
October 26, 2020
age 15+
2 people found this helpful.
ohya
ohya Parent of 13-year-old
August 19, 2010
age 12+
2 uses of f--k that CSM didn't notice

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing
2 people found this helpful.
See all 11 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Pete (Vince Vaughn) is about to lose his gym, the comfy hang-out "Average Joe's," to White (Ben Stiller), the owner of the uber-exercise facility known as Globo Gym (slogan: "We're better than you are!"). To save the gym, he needs $50,000 in 30 days. And that just happens to be the purse for the winner of the big dodgeball tournament that one of Average Joe's regulars finds in the pages of his Obscure Sports Quarterly magazine. So Pete and his gang of misfits decide to take their shot. The group includes Justin (Justin Long), Stephen Root (Office Space), and Steve the Pirate (Alan Tudyk), a guy who refers to himself in the third person and thinks he is a pirate. After winning the qualifying regional title on a technicality, they are approached by the world's greatest dodgeball coach (Rip Torn), who reminds them that "dodgeball is a sport of violence, exclusion, and degradation" and in just three weeks turns them into a lean, mean, fighting machine. Or at least into a group that can duck when a wrench is thrown their way. And they pick up a new team member who can throw very, very hard. Then it's off to the big game, with preliminary skirmishes before facing the Globo team, men-mountains who all have names like "Laser" and "Taser" plus a unibrowed woman with very bad teeth.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (11):
Kids say (48):

DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY is pure silliness -- lots of balls slamming into lots of people, some funny surprise cameo appearances, Ben Stiller's clueless bully persona, and insult humor. Gary Cole and Jason Bateman have some good moments as sportscasters and Hank Azaria is fun to watch in an old instructional film the team uses to learn how to play. Most of the laughs are less in the "wow, that's funny category" than in the "I can't believe they tried that" category, as when a uniform mix-up has the Average Joes appearing at a match in bondage gear, but there aren't many real clunkers. Pete's slacker demeanor never gives Vaughn a chance to make use of his greatest asset, the slightly ADD vibe he showed to such advantage in Swingers and Clay Pigeons. And Christine Taylor (Stiller's real-life wife) deserves better than a role that is essentially the same one she played in Zoolander. But it all moves pretty quickly and is over before it wears out its welcome.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about some of their own experience in feeling like an underdog. What should Pete have done when White made him an offer?

  • Families could also talk about perseverance, and the comment made by one character that "if a person never quits after the going gets rough, they won't have anything to regret for the rest of their lives."

  • Peter is a very reluctant leader to his team. Why do they look up to him so much? Do you think it was wrong for him to admonish them for doing so?

  • What authentic underdog sports stories do you enjoy?

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