Benchwarmers, The DVD Review

"The Benchwarmers" reviews

DVD

The Benchwarmers

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-09-22 15:55:43

Provider

DVD Review

Some movies are lambasted by critics but lapped up by crowds who have little interest in whether the fart gags are integral to the plot. The Benchwarmers is one such film, it would appear, given its plethora of jokes that nod to bogies, midgets, vomiting, breasts, diarrhoea and small penises.

Produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions, and penned by stand-up comedian Nick Swardson and Happy Madison regular Allen Covert, it stars Rob Schneider (Gus), David Spade (Richie) and Jon 'Napoleon Dynamite' Heder (Clark) as three hapless pals competing in a Little League baseball tournament against a host of bullying teams in their area. Jon Lovitz, meanwhile, plays a geeky billionaire, Mel, who supports the team and flaunts the geeky possessions of his youth, from the Knightrider car to a Batmobile.

Unsophisticated it may be, then, but it has its moments, like the scene in which the trio have their hands taped to their bats in a bid to teach them the basics of baseball. As for co-writer Swardson, he turns up as Richie's agoraphobic brother, who's convinced the sun is a monster that is on his trail, while the team's statistician is a 10-year-old who has a spitting problem when he speaks. Which, improbably, is hilarious. No, it is.

Not that that will be enough to appease most critics who will no doubt berate it for its puerility. Thing is, when it works, as it does infrequently, The Benchwarmers proves that sometimes there's no substitute for daft.

Bonus features include commentary from director Dennis Dugan, and stars David Spade & Jon Heder, deleted scenes, blooper reel (of course), Nerds vs Bullies, Play Ball and Mr. October featurettes.