Why Dodgeball? That's what several people asked when they saw I was going to review this movie. Well, it looked like it might be funny, and besides, I have my own fond dodgeball memory. Please allow me to indulge. I was in 7th or 8th grade and we were playing dodgeball in gym. Since it is entirely possible that former classmates are reading my reviews,  I will leave names out to protect the innocent. Anyway, 'Eddie' was a bit of a nerd and really did wear those big black rimmed glasses. "Joey" and I were on the other team. Anyway, Joey nailed "Eddie" right between the eyes splitting his glasses right in the middle, breaking them in half and sending both halves careening in opposite directions. It was a moment straight out of a TV show or a movie and it was funny. It was hysterical!. Since that time, I have learned to be sensitive and try to think of 'Eddie' and what he might have been feeling at the time. But, I'm not going to lie, when I think of that moment, I still laugh. Dodgeball is a movie for the Eddie's of the world, those who have been nailed between the eyes one too many times and still want their retribution.

Part of me was a little scared to see Dodgeball. Let's face it, Ben Stiller hasn't been funny in a while (not in Along Came Polly and not in Envy). But this time, Stiller delivered. Playing the egomaniacal, White Goodman who runs the multimillion dollar Globo Gym, Stiller is all blow-dried feathered coif and over-the-top 'seriousness'.'

Vince Vaughn plays good guy and bad businessman Peter LeFluer. He runs the Average Joe gym across the street from the giant Globo Gym. When bank lawyer (Christine Taylor) informs him that he has 30 days to come up with $50,000 or his gym will go into foreclosure, he and his group of Average Joe members/misfits join a dodgeball tournament in a last ditch effort to save the gym.

Vaughn wisely chooses to underplay Peter which is good because Stiller's White is so hyper. But there are lots of funny performances in Dodgeball. Stephen Root (from News Radio) as the mild-mannered loser and Average Joe teammate is pathetically funny. Rip Torn revels in his role as crusty dodgeball legend and coach, Patches O'Houllihan. He gets to deliver sage lines like "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."

As you can tell by my little story at the beginning, I think getting nailed by a dodgeball is hysterical. And, Dodgeball does not disappoint. There are tons of shots of people getting the crap beat out of them by a red rubber ball. Surprisingly, the dodgeball scenes at the end of the movie are credible. There is some good sports editing. Plus, the teams they play against in the finals are all amusing. Gary Cole and Jason Bateman hold their own as dodgeball commentators. Bateman as the vacuous athlete turned commentator and Cole as the serious commentator who talks about dodgeball as if it's some sort of lyric poem.

The pace is quick and the jokes keep coming. Plus, there are quite a few celebrity cameos who add to the fun. There are a few movies you should dodge this summer, but Dodgeball isn't one of them.