BALLS AND SKATES:
THE ODDBALL SPORTS STORY
“We’re gonna skate to one song, and one song only.”
The way your mind has been conditioned, you probably read the above line, and expect to hear a Jay Z and Kanye West beat immediately kick in, and an awesome song to follow.
The way your mind has been conditioned, you probably read the above line, and expect to hear a Jay Z and Kanye West beat immediately kick in, and an awesome song to follow.
Perhaps you read that line and pictured Will Ferrell, whose voice, synonymous with that line is amongst the most famous in the country.
Surely the first thing you thought of wasn’t “Blades of Glory,” the much-seen, but not much-remembered comedy from 2007, which starred Ferrell and “Napoleon Dynamite” ’s Jon Heder as an odd couple of professional figure skaters.
The figure-skating epic has found a recent second life on cable, playing often on channels such as TBS. The film surely has received a bump from the West-Jay Z megahit, which turned a throwaway line into a one that many will never forget.
Surely the first thing you thought of wasn’t “Blades of Glory,” the much-seen, but not much-remembered comedy from 2007, which starred Ferrell and “Napoleon Dynamite” ’s Jon Heder as an odd couple of professional figure skaters.
The figure-skating epic has found a recent second life on cable, playing often on channels such as TBS. The film surely has received a bump from the West-Jay Z megahit, which turned a throwaway line into a one that many will never forget.
“Blades,” is just one of many films that have come out in the past twenty years or so that takes a focus into the world of oddball sports.
In 1998, Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a sport of their own, and brought it to the silver screen: “Baseketball”.
Parker and Stone, the creators of television’s “South Park,” took a rare turn to film, taking a satirical look at the 1990s world of sports, putting many clichés and others on their head.
The sport of “Baseketball,” in the films’ universe, is an instant hit. It takes off and instantly becomes the most popular event on television. Top sportscasters Bob Costas and Al Michaels appear as themselves in the film, broadcasting the newly-minted game with a bit of a twist:
In 1998, Trey Parker and Matt Stone created a sport of their own, and brought it to the silver screen: “Baseketball”.
Parker and Stone, the creators of television’s “South Park,” took a rare turn to film, taking a satirical look at the 1990s world of sports, putting many clichés and others on their head.
The sport of “Baseketball,” in the films’ universe, is an instant hit. It takes off and instantly becomes the most popular event on television. Top sportscasters Bob Costas and Al Michaels appear as themselves in the film, broadcasting the newly-minted game with a bit of a twist:
A little more mainstream, most are familiar with 2005’s “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”
With Vince Vaughn as the protagonist, and Ben Stiller playing White Goodman, a cocky villain unlike most of his other roles, much of “Dodgeball” is as its full title describes: an “underdog” story.
The film, however, features one of the most interesting and comical portrayals of an obscure sport: the entire tournament that takes up the majority of the film is broadcasted by the fictional network, “ESPN 8: The Ocho”.
The absolute best part of “Dodgeball” is the pairing of Cotton McKnight and Pepper Brooks (Gary Cole and Jason Bateman) as the broadcasters calling the Dodgeball games.
Cole is a completely convincing straight man, calling the middle-school-esque game of Dodgeball as if it were Major League Baseball. Meanwhile, Bateman plays off him as a completely absurd color commentator, chiming in almost exclusively with nonsensical statements.
With Vince Vaughn as the protagonist, and Ben Stiller playing White Goodman, a cocky villain unlike most of his other roles, much of “Dodgeball” is as its full title describes: an “underdog” story.
The film, however, features one of the most interesting and comical portrayals of an obscure sport: the entire tournament that takes up the majority of the film is broadcasted by the fictional network, “ESPN 8: The Ocho”.
The absolute best part of “Dodgeball” is the pairing of Cotton McKnight and Pepper Brooks (Gary Cole and Jason Bateman) as the broadcasters calling the Dodgeball games.
Cole is a completely convincing straight man, calling the middle-school-esque game of Dodgeball as if it were Major League Baseball. Meanwhile, Bateman plays off him as a completely absurd color commentator, chiming in almost exclusively with nonsensical statements.
Even aside from your typical baseball,basketball,hockey, and football, sports are everywhere. When I walk past the lawn of Old Main, the main administration building at Penn State, I see a different sport practicing on the lawn that I didn’t know existed previously. I’ve seen a tightrope walking club. I’ve seen a competitive jump rope group. I’ve even seen a Quidditch team.
Now, these movies aren’t all successes. 2007’s “Balls of Fury” focuses on some type of epic Ping Pong journey. It has Christopher Walken in it, which should count for something, but is just simply an awful movie. But when they play their cards right, the studios, directors, and actors have a winning formula when they figure out how to make any sport into a sports comedy.
Now, these movies aren’t all successes. 2007’s “Balls of Fury” focuses on some type of epic Ping Pong journey. It has Christopher Walken in it, which should count for something, but is just simply an awful movie. But when they play their cards right, the studios, directors, and actors have a winning formula when they figure out how to make any sport into a sports comedy.
