Summary

• The success of “The Nuts” was a surprise, beating a Spielberg film at the box office.
• The film’s humor and unique spirit helped overcome obstacles during production.
• The mixture of satire and heart makes “Voll auf die Nüsse” a timeless comedy classic.

2004s Dodgeball remains a classic of early 21st century comedy thanks to a strong concept and a great cast. The film parodies films about underdogs in sports and gets big laughs simply by putting grown-ups in a sport largely associated with children. It follows another group of scruffy underdogs who enter the national dodgeball championship in a bid to use the prize money to save their beloved gym. The film received great critical acclaim and, despite a relatively low budget, made a healthy profit. A Dodgeball The sequel has been announced for 2023, but at the time of writing there is no further information on its status.

This is all the more impressive because Dodgeball would almost not have been done at all. In fact, the project almost failed several times. But it also managed to enlist the help of some very talented people and maintain its unique spirit despite a Hollywood system that standardizes everything it touches. The film celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024, and its longevity is an oddly fitting reflection of its underdog characters.

“Voll auf die Nüsse” takes up clichés from sports films

Dodgeball The heroes are the average guys, the residents of a run-down gym who use it more or less as a refuge. Owner Peter LaFleur is one of Vince Vaughn’s patented slackers who can hardly be motivated to get out of bed in the morning but always has a word of encouragement for his friends. When corporate stinker and disturbingly dedicated fitness freak White Goodman (Ben Stiller) threatens to buy the place, You take part in a dodgeball tournament, the prize money of which can be paid out by the bank.

The humor of the film lives from the embellishment, both with the sport itselfand with the various clichés of the sports drama. It starts with the underdogs of the average guys, who are almost caricatural sad-sacks, and goes on to the classics like the victory after a deficit and the training montage, while the heroes slowly improve. Christine Taylor’s lawyer turns into a doppelganger and makes fun of Tatum O’Neal’s phenomenal pitcher in The bears are looseand the dodgeball tournament itself is a few sharp jabs at contemporary sports culture. This is a direct hit with Jason Bateman’s lunchtime co-commentator, who became a widely shared meme for his reaction to the average person’s apparent abstinence:

That’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for her!

The secret of the film lies in knowing how far to take satire and where to hide the human heart. Peter, despite his numerous faults, is likable because he doesn’t judge people and wants others to be happy. The rest of the crew are similarly lovable, both because of their unlucky luck and their basically decent nature. Even Steve the pirate (played by Resident Aliens Alan Tudyk) is essentially a joke that plays on simple stereotypes. The heroes are painfully aware of how ridiculous they look when they play the game, but they are willing to endure the humiliation to keep the gym. It helps Dodgeball wants the best of both worlds: loudly mocking sports movies while quietly delivering the exact embodiment of such a movie.

Dodgeball escaped some real-world challenges

Dodgeball was the idea of ​​screenwriter and director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who gained his first experience with a series of short films for Reebok featuring a fictional football player named Terry Tate. As he revealed in an interview with The Ringer, He loved sports movies and was keen to make a sports comedy, but was initially intimidated by the genre. “If I had written a bad comedy, I think it would have shaken me to my core,” Thurber told The Ringer.

Thurber persisted and wrote a screenplay entitled outsiderwhich introduced Ben Stiller as Goodman and Vince Vaughn as LaFleur, with no idea they would appear in a finished film. His attempts to sell the film were consistently rejected until he took it directly to Stiller’s production company Red Hour. Several writers there supported the script, and development took 18 months. Both Stiller and Vaughn were interested in the project, but despite their support, the film did not attract much interest from the studios. Many of them wanted to replace Thurber as director because he had never made a film before. Dodgeball in a state of limbo.

Fox executive Debbie Liebling came to the rescue by organizing a table reading of the script. She correctly concluded that the humor would come across much better if it was performed rather than simply read from a page. Vaughn and Stiller read their parts, accompanied by future actors Justin Long and Gary Cole. Patton Oswalt provided several voices for the reading, and the results convinced Fox to finance the project. Casting was very quick, and they secured Missi Pyle, Rip Torn and Stephen Root, among others. The production included a two-week dodgeball camp where the actors learned the game, and filming was so demanding that there was a risk of injury.

If I had written a bad comedy, I think it would have shaken me to my core.

The montage in which Long is repeatedly hit by a dodgeball was 100% effects-free, with the balls being fired at the actor from a throwing machine set at full speed. In addition, countless small decisions were made that helped take the film to a higher level. The Ringer interview reports that Stiller decorated the dodgeball field in black to give the small audience in the stands the impression that it was much larger. The dodgeball games themselves were filmed with cameramen who had worked on football and basketball broadcasts, which gave the action the feel of a real sporting event. This also led to unexpected controversy and might have turned out very differently if Fox executives had had their way.

One of the film’s best gags revolves around the fictional ESPN 8 channel, “The Ocho,” which takes on the vaunted sports network’s real-life distribution. The studio wanted to use its Fox Sports network instead, but producers insisted the joke would only work if it was ESPN. Their assessment proved correct, and “The Ocho” became one of the film’s best jokes. In fact, it was so good that the real ESPN switched its ESPNU feed to “Ocho Day” for 24 hours on August 8, 2017. In keeping with the spirit of the film, this included coverage of bizarre and lesser-known sports like Frisbee golf and roller derby. They repeated the homage several times on their channel, ESPN2.

Despite all adversities, “Voll auf die Nüsse” has become a comedy classic

The final obstacle to the film was none other than Steven Spielberg himself. Dodgeball Premiere on June 18, 2004, alongside Spielberg’s dramedy, The Terminalstarring Tom Hanks, and was not expected to be particularly successful. Producers hoped for second place at the box office, with the film serving as an effective counter to Spielberg’s highly anticipated film. Instead, The Terminal below average performance and Dodgeball The product secured the top spot with gross sales of $29 million in its first week on a budget of $20 million.

Dodgeball eventually grossed over $168 million worldwide and became a huge hit on DVD and cable. The credit for that probably goes to Thurber, who believed in the project and stood firm when others wanted to change it. Stiller and Red Hour helped the film, and the talented cast obviously recognized funny material when they saw it. None of this was to be taken for granted, however, and Dodgeball Surviving the production process is a testament to sheer persistence.

Of course, not everything has aged well. Some of the offensive jokes veer into problematic territory, and an otherwise hilarious cameo by cyclist Lance Amrstrong loses momentum in the face of his later infamy. Most of it can be forgiven as a product of its era, though, and the presentation is confident enough to suggest that the filmmakers knew what they needed to avoid. That might not have happened if the studio had gotten its way, or if it had decided not to take risks with a film that fell outside the norm.

Instead, it has stood the test of time and is now on a par with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy And Old School as one of the best comedies of its time. Dodgeball was put together with care and had enough people believing in it to overcome challenges that would have brought down most films. That alone is cause for celebration, and the fact that it holds up so well is almost a bonus. At the end of the day, exquisite slapstick usually lasts a long time.

“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” is currently streaming on Hulu.