Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

6.5/10. Watched this Friday evening on DVD.

Since I bothered to see Starsky & Hutch and Anchorman, I decided to go ahead and see Dodgeball, too, and it turns out to be the funniest of the three.

That the movie manages to be so funny despite a dull-as-dirt leading performance by Vince Vaughn is a credit to its talented supporting cast, especially Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, Jason Bateman and Ben Stiller.

Which brings me to this and this. If there is such a thing as a "Frat Pack", then Ben Stiller is its most underappreciated member. At least at Box Office Mojo he managed to come in third. IMDb users rated him behind everybody except Luke Wilson!

Even if you think Vince Vaughn is hilarious, you have to admit that he always pretty much plays the same guy. Will Ferrell? I liked him in Melinda & Melinda, but only because Woody Allen took his yelly improv crutch away. And Owen Wilson and Jack Black? Do I have to?

I'll admit that Stiller's characters in There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents and Along Came Polly are interchangeable. But compare Derek Zoolander to David Starsky and White Goodman, his Dodgeball character. Or consider the "light" comedy of Flirting With Disaster and Keeping the Faith, and his dramatic turns in Permanent Midnight and Your Friends & Neighbors.

Stiller isn't just a performer, he's a creator, and a fairly diverse one at that. Which in fact may be the reason why he's not as appreciated as Vaughn and Ferrell, who are instantly recognizable when they appear onscreen. Meanwhile, when he's at his best, Stiller disappears.