Peter (Vaughn) owns a small local gym, The Average Joe’s, which is bought by rival corporate chain Globo Gym, owned by ridiculously eccentric White Goodman (Stiller) after Peter defaults on the Average Joe’s gym mortgage.
To save their cherished gym, the Average Joe’s must defeat the Purple Cobras of Globo Gym in the Las Vegas International Dodgeball Open Championships.
Watch the official movie trailer below:
“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story – Trailer” by YouTube Movies
In the Las Vegas tournament both the Purple Cobras (Globo Gym) and Average Joe’s have to defeat a number of other teams before their final match against each other.
It happens quick but one of the teams Globo Gym plays against is the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (at about 56:45).
Though the film’s title tells you it’s all about Dodgeball, Stiller says that most of the cast hated filming the dodgeball scenes.
“It’s a game for the young. It’s one thing when you’re eight, but when you’re 38, it gets really exhausting. After three or four minutes, you’re fried.”
Stiller’s then wife, Christine Taylor, also stars in the film and remembers it not being particularly enjoyable either.
“Awful. Awful, awful, awful. I wish I could say that I got good. I wish I could say that the dodgeball that you see in the film is the dodgeball that I actually played in real life but it’s not even close. Like, I am awful.”
It also probably didn’t help that her own husband hit her not once, but TWICE in the face with a dodgeball.
FUN FACT: Ben Stiller was nominated for Worst Actor in the 25th Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies) in a whopping 5 movies that year-by far the most of any actor that year-for his roles in Along Came Polly, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Envy, and Starsky & Hutch but lost to George Bush playing himself in Fahrenheit 9/11. (That’s a win though, right?)
Nevada Filming Locations
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story was filmed in various places in California and in Las Vegas, Nevada. The entire second half of the film takes places in Las Vegas as the teams compete in the tournament.
During the tournament, The Average Joe’s stayed at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino so there are a number of scenes featuring the hotel.
Although the Las Vegas International Dodgeball Open Championships in the film takes place in Las Vegas, the actual competition scenes were shot inside a basketball gym at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach, California.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25th_Golden_Raspberry_Awards
https://www.si.com/vault/2004/06/21/8212514/qa-ben-stiller-the-38yearold-actor-stars-in-dodgeball-a-true-underdog-story-which-opens-on-friday
http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/06/17/interview-ben-stiller-and-christine-taylor?page=3
http://madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2004/dodgeball_production_details.htm