The Benchwarmers [2006]

See Larger Image	List Price: £15.99 Our Price: £6.97 Availability: Usually dispatched within 6 to 10 days Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Starring: Rob Schneider, Jon Heder, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows Directed By: Dennis Dugan Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5035822128132 Format: PAL Label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Region Code: 0 Release Date: 2006-09-25 Running Time: 82 Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Theatrical Release Date: 2006
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Editorial Reviews: Credit The Benchwarmers for achieving the impossible: It makes the 2005 remake of The Bad News Bears look like a masterpiece. They're essentially the same film, with the same lowbrow PG-13 humor (mostly involving bodily functions, broad slapstick, little people, nerds, geeks, and nose-picking), but this baseball comedy earns a few brownie points for its heart-warming message about including non-athletic kids (i.e. "benchwarmers") in Little League baseball, if only to boost their confidence and give them a moment of ball-field glory. It's a pleasant sentiment intended to encourage under-achievers to feel good about themselves, and that makes this loose-and-goofy vehicle for Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder an easygoing time-killer. Parents with good taste should be warned that his movie has no taste at all (it's hopelessly mired in the swamp of fart jokes and juvenile sight-gags), and is there really a need for mild profanity in a movie like this? That said, there are a few laughs in the efforts of Schneider and his ultra-nerdy pals as they form a team of rejects and go to bat against an enemy squad of current and former school-bullies, led by former late-night talk-show host Craig Kilborn. In addition to Schneider and Spade, Saturday Night Live alumni Jon Lovitz and Tim Meadows show up for an easy paycheck, and director Dennis Dugan handles the dumb-and-dumber shtick as if he were on vacation, sipping margaritas and shamelessly going for the easy laughs. If that's what you're looking for, you've come to the right place. --Jeff Shannon
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: I shouldn't have laughed at this... Comment: ...but I did! I watched it as there was not much else on but tbh I wasn't expecting much. I definitely wasn't expecting it to be as brilliant as it was! Ok, so it's not a thought provoking-cutting edge-oscar nominated film, but it had me laughing out loud at parts and gasping in slight horror/surprise at some of the more unexpected ones. The idea is simple and you've heard it all before; 3 self proclaimed 'losers' join forces to get back at those who tormetned them when they were younger, and in this case that just happens to be by beating them at baseball (a sport they happen to have never played). So it sounds ridiculous and like a million other films, but the characters are superbly crafted to be funny and likeable- and the 'baddies' take on typical macho and mean form. But along the way there are some classic moments, and the mentioned simplicity is actually what makes it so enjoyable. An easy watch with a lot of laughs and alot of heart. As long as you don't take it too seriously, then a definite film to cheer you up or just chuckle at with mates over and over again. Customer Rating: Summary: Surprisingly funny and enjoyable Comment: You know what? I actually liked this movie. And that is something I never thought I'd be saying about a Rob Schneider flick. Thank god it doesn't go overboard with gross-out like his other movies. The presence of children in this film probably prevented that. I saw Duece Bigalow European Gigalo before this and it truly was despicable. He's likable enough as an actor but previous movies just go totally overboard with the gross-out factor. David Spade and Jon Heder offer good comedic support, but as always the show is stolen by Jon Lovitz. The scene where he arrives up driving the original bat-mobile had me in convulsions, as did the postbox target practise. He just seems to be totally himself in every movie. No acting required. A total underappreciated genius at work. With the amount of rubbish in cinemas and on dvd today, i was shocked to enjoy this movie. It's no Spinal Tap, or Young Frankenstein but by today's standards, it is well deserving of 5 stars. Customer Rating: Summary: A really funny film from start to finish Comment: I wasn't all that enthused about watching The Benchwarmers, but the film had me laughing from the very start and really surprised me with its home run of an ending, as it featured a really effective twist on an otherwise wholly predictable story. Underdog movies like this are a dime a dozen, but The Benchwarmers is really one of the better ones. With Saturday Night Live alums every where you look (and a little helping hand from Adam Sandler as co-executive producer), this movie has the comedy covered. Sure, it's decidedly juvenile in nature, but guess what? The film's main target audience is juveniles. Whether we like it or not, growing up involves a lot of fart jokes, underwear incidents, and name-calling. The comedy is actually one of the most realistic aspects of the film, if you ask me. So here's the deal. After watching some bully athletes torment three kids for daring to play some baseball on "their" public field, Gus (Rob Schneider) decides to drag out the old mitt and play a little ball with two of his really dysfunctional buddies, Richie (David Spade), who sports a 3 Stooges-inspired haircut and works at the local video store, and Clark (Jon Heder), a really dumb paper-delivery guy. When the snotty ball players show up again, Gus challenges them to a game - and he, Richie, and Clark actually win, thanks to Gus' baseball prowess. Other challenges roll in, and before you know it local nerd-turned-billionaire Mel (Jon Lovitz) puts together a statewide round robin tournament, with the winner earning a fancy new stadium for his town. All of those who have suffered at the hands of bullies, young and old alike, start turning up to cheer on their "Benchwarmers" 3-man baseball team. Now you might think that, in the end, something happens to Gus and his severely baseball-challenged teammates somehow manage to win the day for all of the nerds and geeks supporting them. You might think that, but you'd be wrong - sort of, anyway. The way the ending comes off is no less corny than the rest of the movie, but it is rather delightfully different and serves to reinforce the message of the whole story. It's sort of a shame that the movie has to be PG-13, since even younger kids will get a big kick out of it, but I don't know that I would have done anything differently (well, a little less projectile vomiting, maybe). Kids can be as crude as they are cruel (and I can pretty much assure you that your little eight-year-old angel will understand every crude gag in this film). I'm just thankful the beef stew thing wasn't around when I was a kid - if you don't know what I'm talking about, just nod your head and move on because I can assure you it's nothing you would want to have stored in your personal memory banks of childhood. As for the other stuff like pulling someone else's pants down, taking a shot in the groin, losing control of a bat and hitting all sorts of things with it - it doesn't matter how old these gags are, they're still funny, dadgum it (when they happen to someone else, at least). Some of the jokes do get stretched a little too far, but I think I laughed at every one of them. The film also has a few interesting cameos. I was thrilled when my all-time favorite player, Reggie Jackson, showed up - and he brought lots of comedy with him as he tried to turn the utterly hopeless Richie and Clark into ball players. Molly Sims and Erinn Bartlett add some nice eye candy - even though there's no way, in any universe, that the salad girl would fall for David Spade's mop headed character. Still, it's nice to dream. It's also nice to laugh, and you should be doing plenty of that as you watch this film play out. Customer Rating: Summary: 5 stars hands down!! Comment: I saw this film last night and I can honestly say I haven't laughed so much in ages! Looking at the other review, I can say that I think it's all necessary because it just all adds to the nature of the film. Believe me, I HATED Napoleon Dynamite... It just didn't ring any bells at all. Somehow, Jon Heder acts the same way and it's a completely different effect! Rob Schneider isn't the best one in this film, he's just obviously the main character and he plays it well enough. I agree with "ChibiDragon" about Jon Lovitz, because he's fantastic here... eccentric and arguably the driving force behind the activity in the story line. So, if you have a sense of humour, you're gonna love this film! It's best watched with a few friends just for atmosphere and yes, it does help if you're an Adam Sandler fan as it's a Happy Madison production. Buy and Enjoy! Customer Rating: Summary: weeeeeeeeell..... Comment: Ok, I heard some stuff about this film so I thought I'd buy it. I've only seen Jon Heder in Napoleon Dynamite and in that film he's very awkward. He's the same in this as well. Not that it's a bad thing, but it makes me think can he play as anything else? Rob Schneider and others make a baseball team for the geeks and losers even though as a kid, HE was a bully. Not sure I can believe that when looking at Rob rofl. David Spade gets a love interest in a pizza hut girl and it's all very sweet to watch. He'd be better looking though if he shaved the moustache and stopped using a bowl for a haircut lol. Jon Lovitz also appears in this film and he has to be the best character! What with his Number seven robot that can make any sandwich! Like a tuna skittle sandwich with pudding skin. Yuck. Some parts in the film were not needed. Like the vomiting. I don't mind some, but twice? Please. I didn't even like it in Little Britain. Also the kid that kept spitting when talking, well maybe I didn't get it, but I didn't find it funny. So yeah, it's good, but nothing special. I'd say at least watch it once if your an Adam Sandler fan. More Reviews