areatw
It always amazes (and amuses) me when I read negative reviews of comedies like this one, describing them as 'stupid', 'silly' and so on. I can't believe anybody would watch a movie like this thinking they would get anything other than a ridiculous and intentionally dumb comedy. 'The Benchwarmers' knows what it wants to be and never tries to be anything else.This is one of those love/hate comedy films that some people with find hilarious and other will roll their eyes and switch off 20 minutes in. It will appeal mostly to those who enjoyed the likes of 'Napoleon Dynamite', and Jon Heder is once again hilarious in this film playing a character similar to Napoleon. I can understand why 'The Benchwarmers' isn't everyone's cup of tea, but anybody who enjoys light-hearted, harmless silly comedy will love this movie.
Python Hyena
The Benchwarmers (2006): Dir: Dennis Dugan / Cast: Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovitz, Nick Swardson: Lame comedy about those who have taken the backseat to the success of others. Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder form a baseball team to face those who have succeeded or sabotaged the opportunity for others. This story is getting older than time itself. We know the drill and so does director Dennis Dugan who, despite improving his ability, still makes terrible films. His resume includes such embarrassments as Problem Child and Happy Gilmore. He seems caught between an emotional theme and harsh humour and only really skilled directors can pull both off well. Here we are suppose to care but we will care more when the credits roll. Schneider actually tries to play it serious and seriously fails because he is unsympathetic. Spade works at a video store where his co-workers wonder who he is. Heder basically plays Napoleon Dynamite delivering the paper. Jon Lovitz plays a billionaire whose home should appeal more but even it doesn't take away from the fact that the film looks cheap. Nick Swardson plays yet another idiot. To stand out his character dines on sunscreen. Its theme of bullying takes a backseat to total idiocy and bathroom humour. Dugan made a lasting impression making a film that should have been benched long before production. Score: 2 / 10
SnoopyStyle
Gus (Rob Schneider) is a fair ballplayer but he was picked on as a kid. He's now a landscaper married to Liz (Molly Sims) who is only concern about having a baby. Richie (David Spade) is an annoying little video store clerk. Clark (Jon Heder) is the hopelessly idiotic newspaper delivery boy. They come to the rescue of a chubby geek being picked on by a little league baseball team. The three guy challenge and win against the kids team. The chubby kid's billionaire nerd dad Mel (Jon Lovitz) comes up with a tournament idea. The three guys play against all the kids baseball teams for the prize of a real ballpark.This is a really stupid premise. I'm not saying this is illogical or unrealistic. That goes without saying. This is a problem because the 3 guys aren't actually underdogs. They need to be underdogs in a sports movie sense. I'm not sure it's that much fun watching adults beating little kids. And quite frankly, I would just intentionally walk Gus every time.The only saving grace is that Rob Schneider is actually likable in this. He's not playing his usual jerk character. When Molly Sims pops up for the first time, I had to roll my eyes. After Rob plays his character for awhile, I can see the marriage happening. He just needs to play this character in a better movie. This is a poor mess that a late night writing session created. I bet somebody had a little much and thought it would be funny to have adults win against little kids baseball. It's not actually funny and only a couple of physical gags garner any chuckles.
Steve Pulaski
Clark (Jon Heder), Gus (Rob Schneider) and Richie (David Spade) are middle-age, hapless geeks who have constantly been belittled and treated like second-class citizens just because they're uncoordinated, socially and athletically inept, and overall anemic and soft. One day, on the baseball diamond, they stand up for a young boy named Nelson, who is similar to the men in the way that he always seems to be a target of embarrassment and the butt of every joke. After defending him and proving worthiness by winning a baseball game, the three men are approached by the boy's father, Mel (Jon Lovitz), who wants to assemble a baseball team called "The Benchwarmers," which consists of one nonathletic soul after another. The men bite and make a bold attempt at trying to live up to Mel's standards, whatever they may be.Unfortunately, writers Allen Covert and Nick Swardson do not make a bold attempt at making The Benchwarmers a creative, funny comedy. At a paper-thin eighty-five minutes long, I counted two small laughs and maybe a smile, which is far, far too unsubstantial for a comedy in this day and age. It doesn't help that it tries to tackle the incredibly difficult comedy act of slapstick, which I'm beginning to wonder if that form of comedic talent was buried with Chris Farley in the late 1990's.A large part of the reason that Benchwarmers fails as a farce and as a satire is that, for one, it capitalizes on humor that is monotonous and immature. The second part is it's a failed satire on players that are actual benchwarmers in their own leagues. Instead of presumably giving a film to relate to, the writers find it much easier to sneer at their attempts at succeeding and their earnest passion for a game they may not be good at.The film was released by Happy Madison, a studio I've long been at odds with when it comes to reviewing their films. Adam Sandler, the company's founder, often makes films where he puts the audience in the unruly position of laughing down at the characters and making them either incredibly unlikable or just not very interesting from a human standpoint. Not even interesting in the sense of being comedy vehicles. The result with Benchwarmers is three popular comedians doing work that should be written and performed by second-rate improv actors. Not these names. And don't get me started on Nick Swardson, playing Richie's brother, a sheltered albino with an uncompromising fear of the sun and the outside.On a final note, this was directed by Dennis Dugan, the director, or perhaps victim, of many Sandler films in the 2000's. Even though I can't immediately recall a film directed by him and pioneered by Sandler I've liked, I can say that this won't be the first one I think of when I think of his worst pictures. After all, in 2006, I'm sure he couldn't foresee the film he'd later get tangled up in, like Just Go With ItYou Don't Mess With the Zohan.Starring: Jon Heder, Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Jon Lovitz. Directed by: Dennis Dugan.
