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‘Dodgeball’ With Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz, and Danny Kelly

August 6, 2024 · Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004) · Comedy · Sport · 1:40:54

IMDb ↗Letterboxd ↗

Categories

Picking Nits

Craig Horlbeck▶ 8:10Vegas is the last place you'd be shocked to see a guy in a costume - he just got out of doing a show
Danny Heifetz▶ 8:07The dodgeball throw was incredible - he should have been on the team (questioning why the coach was so mean)
Danny Kelly▶ 8:08Why is he (the coach) so mean?

Most Rewatchable Scene

Craig Horlbeck▶ 20:16Lists nine rewatchable scenes including opening montage, meeting Peter and Average Joe's customers, White tasing his nipples, sub-regional qualifiers against Girl Scouts, White crashing bar celebration, training scene with Patches, and others
Danny Kelly▶ 23:21White crashing their celebration at the bar

What's Aged the Worst

Craig Horlbeck▶ 40:32Lance Armstrong reference/content in the movie
Danny Heifetz▶ 40:47The prominence of Livestrong and how everyone wore the yellow bracelets
Danny Kelly▶ 40:34Lance Armstrong reference (agrees with Craig's pick)

Apex Mountain

Danny Heifetz▶ 41:03Lance Armstrong — Lance Armstrong - this was his absolute peak

Big Kahuna Burger Award

Craig Horlbeck▶ 44:09White stuffing the hot dog in his mouth as soon as he loses the final man
Danny Heifetz▶ 44:27The pizza down the pants

Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

Craig Horlbeck▶ 45:13LaFleur sucks - he's a bad gym owner who hasn't collected membership fees in 13 months, accepts bribes, sexually harasses Kate, and is generally not invested in running the gym
Danny Heifetz▶ 48:14Ben Stiller is the best nepo baby in Hollywood - he got a head start but stands on his own merit and talent
Danny Kelly▶ 46:32Justin Long could have been his generation's Matthew Broderick - a lovable doofus with charisma who had the range and talent for bigger stardom

Butch's Girlfriend Award

Danny Kelly▶ 50:07The Owen character

Is There a Better Title?

Craig Horlbeck▶ 57:03No, it's a great title

Dion Waiters Award

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:04:53Jason Bateman — Jason Bateman as Pepper Brooks
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:05:17Patton Oswalt — Agrees Patches is disqualified, supports Patton Oswalt comparison to Peyton Pritchard half-court shot
Danny Kelly▶ 1:05:04Patton Oswalt — Agrees with Pepper Brooks but also suggests Patton Oswalt doing voiceovers

Casting What-Ifs

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:05:57Glen Powell — Christine Taylor is 'fine' but forgettable (5/10); suggests Glenn Powell for White Goodman, Adam Driver for Peter, and Bill Hader for Vince Vaughn role in 2024 recasting
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:07:15Jennifer Aniston — Suggests Jennifer Aniston as alternative to Christine Taylor but acknowledges she was probably too big for the role
Danny Kelly▶ 1:06:02Courteney Cox — Christine Taylor works well and was effective; suggests Courtney Cox as alternative; Andy Samberg for White Goodman in 2024 recasting

Is This Movie Better With

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:09:23Tony Romo — Tony Romo for director's commentary - would pay pay-per-view for it
Danny Kelly▶ 1:09:26Tony Romo — Tony Romo for director's commentary - thinks Romo bases his persona off Pepper from the movie

Half-Assed Internet Research

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:10:39Movie kickstarted dodgeball boom across the country; actors had rigorous training with injuries including Justin Long going blind; Rip Torn had no idea what movie he was in and was mean to Justin Long, had a handler to prevent him from leaving set; shot at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach using sports camera operators
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:11:14Their generation had foam dodgeballs instead of rubber ones because the rubber balls were phased out for being too dangerous
Danny Kelly▶ 1:11:03The sound effects are amazing and perfect - dodgeballs hitting faces transports him back to middle school; you can see Rip Torn had no idea what movie he was in when watching his line delivery

Overacting Award

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:13:51Gordon's wife

Hall of Fame Plaque

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:20:28The two announcers from The Longest Yard for fake sport movie announcers
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:20:40Cash in suitcases scene - 'You ever see what a hundred thousand dollars looks like? It's just like ten bills. One rubber band.'
Danny Kelly▶ 1:20:22Bob Uecker as announcer - calls it an all time performance for announcers in movies

Hanks or Cruise

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:21:12Tom Cruise — Agrees with split casting - Hanks as Peter, Cruise as White Goodman
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:21:09Tom Cruise — Split casting - Cruise as White Goodman, Hanks as Peter
Danny Kelly▶ 1:20:56Tom Cruise — Cruise - mentions the Cruise and Stiller connection

Just One Oscar

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:31:09Rip Torn — Rip Torn (for playing Patches)
Danny Kelly▶ 1:31:13Rip Torn — Agrees with Rip Torn/Patches pick, praising his high-energy performance

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:31:56Why isn't dodgeball more of a thing? It should be in the Olympics
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:34:00Do you think Tom Brady ever took a low grade beaver tranquilizer? A hundred percent
Danny Kelly▶ 1:33:06Are there weird Nazi references with the ADAA? The association started in 1938 and has a chancellor - was it started by Nazis?

Best Double Feature

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:34:30Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby — Talladega Nights
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:34:59Zoolander — Zoolander (because of shared cast members including Ben Stiller)
Danny Kelly▶ 1:34:35Happy Gilmore — Happy Gilmore, Kingpin (slapsticky sports movies), and Wedding Crashers (for Vince Vaughn connection)

Coach Finstock Life Lesson

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:38:38Bet on yourself - always put 100 grand on a 50 to 1 underdog bet
Danny Kelly▶ 1:38:41Get in where you fit in, referencing Average Joe's gym and the motivational signs with messages like 'pain is weakness leaving your body' but modified to be more accepting

Who Won the Movie

Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:39:18Ben Stiller — Stiller
Danny Heifetz▶ 1:40:12Ben Stiller — Stiller

Movies Referenced (36)

Zoolander (2001)

14 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly▶ 14:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Wedding Crashers (2005)

11 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck▶ 16:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Terminal (2004)

7 mentions · Craig Horlbeck▶ 12:22IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Happy Gilmore (1996)

5 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz▶ 4:25IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Meet the Fockers (2004)

5 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck▶ 14:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tropic Thunder (2008)

5 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly, Danny Heifetz▶ 15:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Major League (1989)

3 mentions · Danny Kelly▶ 1:19:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Meet the Parents (2000)

3 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly▶ 1:15:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)

3 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck▶ 21:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fargo (1996)

2 mentions · ▶ 1:28:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Madagascar (2005)

2 mentions · Danny Heifetz▶ 1:40:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Men in Black (1997)

2 mentions · Craig Horlbeck▶ 25:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (4)

Todd Phillips

2 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly · Known for Joker, Due Date, Old School▶ 8:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Paul Bellany

1 mentions · Danny Kelly · Known for Stardust▶ 0:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Richard Linklater

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck · Known for Waking Life, Before Midnight▶ 1:11:51IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Brady

1 mentions · Danny Heifetz · Known for The Hot Chick▶ 1:33:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (66)

Vince Vaughn

30 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly · Known for Wedding Crashers, Couples Retreat▶ 4:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Ben Stiller

24 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly · Known for Tropic Thunder, Zoolander▶ 6:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Justin Long

21 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz · Known for Live Free or Die Hard, Jeepers Creepers▶ 9:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Chuck Norris

16 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz▶ 42:44IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lance Armstrong

12 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly · Known for Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story▶ 31:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Cruise

8 mentions · Danny Kelly, Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck · Known for Top Gun, Minority Report▶ 1:20:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tony Romo

8 mentions · Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz▶ 15:05IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rip Torn

7 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly · Known for Men in Black, Freddy Got Fingered▶ 25:45IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Stephen Root

7 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly · Known for Office Space, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story▶ 10:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Gary Cole

6 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly · Known for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Office Space▶ 31:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Owen Wilson

6 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Kelly, Danny Heifetz · Known for The Royal Tenenbaums, Bottle Rocket, Wedding Crashers▶ 4:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Will Ferrell

6 mentions · Craig Horlbeck, Danny Heifetz · Known for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Blades of Glory▶ 3:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (3)

Roger Ebert

2 mentions · Craig Horlbeck▶ 18:15IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Al Kaplan

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck▶ 1:02:48IMDb ↗Lb ↗

M. Scott Veach

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck▶ 44:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Patrick Longman

1 mentions · Craig Horlbeck · Known for Jason Bourne, Draft Day, Tropic Thunder▶ 33:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗