Trilogy Week #24 - Ridiculous Pro Sport Movies

We all have memories of our favorite sport moments. Be it football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. And we've seen the movies that follow these favorite sports. But what about the unknown pro sports. Well these three film makers decided to shed some light on some obscure sports, in these three movies. Maybe the popularity of these films would raise some awareness, and bring some new fans to these sports. Well they didn't, so now all we have left are the faded memories of these stupid pro sports left to laugh at.

Title: Over the Top

Year: 1987

Director: Menahem Golan

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, David Mendenhall, Susan Blakely

Rated: PG

Running Time: 1hr. 33min.

My Review: First of all, look at this poster. What do you think you're going to get out of this film. A non-stop thrill ride featuring Sly Stallone. Well you're not, this movie is the complete opposite of that. It's a film about a dad trying to reconnect with his son. Awww, how sweet. Oh, yeah and there is a pro arm wrestling tournament in there somewhere also. This movie is pretty boring, the title should have been changed to "Piece of Cake". Because ever dilemma, problem, is easily solved. How will Sly get his son to like him?.... let him drive your big rig! problem solved. Piece of cake. How to successfully win an arm wrestling contest?... just flip your hat backwards, open your hand in the middle of the match, and close it again. Piece of cake. There is no drama, suspense, excitement, action. This isn't Sylvester Stallone's worst roll, but if his character ever ran into Rocky, or Rambo, they would beat the shit out of him. A cheesy 80's film with nothing much going for it. But it's campy enough to keep it enjoyable to laugh at. 5 out of 10

Title: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Year: 2004

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber

Cast: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 1hr. 32min.

My Review: The best way to describe this movie is "Stupid Fun." You cannot take this film seriously. I mean it's about a pro dodgeball tournament. The best parts of this movie is Ben Stiller and Rip Torn. The cast knows how stupid this premise is, so they're just having fun with it. If you try to rationalize, or try to take this movie for something less stupid than you think it should be, then this movie will be lost on you, and you will hate it. A great movie to watch a 2 a.m. after you just when to get some mexican takeout. 6 out of 10 

Title: BASEketball

Year: 1998

Director: David Zucker

Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bacher, Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Vaughn

Rated: R

Running Time: 1hr. 43min.

My Review: The best out of these three movies in my opinion. A satirical comedy on the ridiculousness of "all" pro sports. This movie is one of my favorites. You might think the premise of this movie might be a little far fetched. But there used to be pro-extreme basketball on trampolines. Or extreme indoor football. To me this movie works because of Trey Parker, and Matt Stone. if they weren't in this movie, the movie would've just fallen into obscurity, and would be forgotten. This is the first and only film that Trey and Matt, have been in, that they did not write and direct. But it feels like one of their films. If you like South Park, you will love this movie. 8 out of 10