The Benchwarmers: Difference between revisions
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| distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]] |
| distributor = [[Columbia Pictures]] |
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| released = {{Film date|2006|4|7}} |
| released = {{Film date|2006|4|7}} |
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| runtime = |
| runtime = 85 minutes |
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| country = {{Film US}} |
| country = {{Film US}} |
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| language = English |
| language = English |
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Revision as of 04:34, 4 June 2012
| The Benchwarmers | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dennis Dugan |
| Written by | Allen Covert Nick Swardson |
| Produced by | Adam Sandler Jack Giarraputo |
| Starring | Rob Schneider David Spade Jon Heder Jon Lovitz Nick Swardson |
| Cinematography | Thomas Ackerman |
| Edited by | Peck Prior Sandy Solowitz |
| Music by | Waddy Wachtel |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | Template:Film US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33 million |
| Box office | $64,957,291 |
The Benchwarmers is a 2006 American sports-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. It stars Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder. It is produced by Revolution Studios and Happy Madison Productions and distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (December 2011) |
Gus, Clark and Richie (Rob Schneider, Jon Heder and David Spade) are three middle-aged 'nerds'; Clark and Richie were the unpopular children who were constantly bullied by 'jocks' and were always left on the bench at their baseball games, because of their less-than-stellar athletic abilities. When a nerdy boy named Nelson and his friends are kicked off a nearby baseball diamond by a team of bullies, Gus and Clark chase the bullies away. When Gus and Clark return with Richie to play again and get back their feel for the game, the bullies return and demand that they leave. Gus challenges the bullies to play them for the field, and the three friends, despite Clark and Richie's poor abilities, win the game. Days later, one of Clark and Richie's bullies, Brad (Sean Salisbury), challenges them to another baseball game with his team, but the three friends win again.
After winning the first game, Mel's friend, the former New York Yankees superstar Reggie Jackson, helps the Benchwarmers (mainly Clark and Richie) to train using unorthodox methods (childhood pranks and games such as ding-dong ditch, hot potato, and mailbox smashing). In the second game, just as the Benchwarmers are about to lose, Richie uses one of Reggie's unorthodox methods to hit a home run, winning the game.
The Benchwarmers then go from county to county (including Gus' hometown, Brookdale), winning the next two games to reach to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the rival team hires a drunken 50-year-old Dominican man named Carlos as the team's new pitcher by bribing the umpire. Carlos is more than a match for the Benchwarmers, but they manage to come back by making Carlos too drunk to play well. In the last inning, the umpire has Richie's agoraphobic younger brother, Howie (Nick Swardson), be on deck. Howie ends up being hit in the arm by Carlos, but forces in the winning run for the Benchwarmers, sending them to the finals.
Just when it is looking like the stadium is all theirs, a bully named Steven (Terry Crews) reports to the public that Gus was a brutal bully himself as a child, not a victim of bullies like Clark and Richie. He had bullied one child so intensely that the boy, named Marcus, had to be sent to a mental institution. Gus is kicked off the team as a result, but at his wife, Liz's (Molly Sims), suggestion, Gus apologizes to Marcus (Joey Gnoffo). Marcus arrives at the final game to reveal to the crowd that Gus had apologized and felt awful about what he did when he was kid, and Gus re-joins the team, announcing that Marcus is the Benchwarmers' new third-base coach.
In the final game, Gus, Clark and Richie do not play; rather, they let a team of Nelson and other children play, to give them a chance to compete. The final is played against a team with a heartless coach, Jerry (dubbed by Gus as "Fairy Jerry") (Craig Kilborn), who practically torments his players - and was Richie and Clark's main bully when they were children. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Benchwarmers are losing, 42–0, when Jerry's team, after realizing that the true meaning of baseball is to have fun, throws Nelson a "meatball" pitch down the middle. Nelson hits the ball, and Jerry's team lets him score a run, saying that Jerry is "the loser". The Benchwarmers storm the field, celebrating the fact that they were not shut out, and they give an enraged Jerry a taste of his own medicine, hanging him from the dugout fence by his underwear.
Cast
- Rob Schneider as Gus, one of the main protagonists, who was at first believed to be bullied as a child, but was, in fact, a bully himself.
- David Spade as Richie, one of the main protagonists, who was one of those (alongside Clark) bullied as a child.
- Jon Heder as Clark, one of the main protagonists, who was one of those (alongside Richie) bullied as a child.
- Jon Lovitz as Mel, a nerdy billionaire, who brings the Benchwarmers to the public eye.
- Nick Swardson as Howie, Richie's agoraphobic brother, who views the sun as a hideous monster, and refuses to leave the house. He also has a nasty habit of eating sun block.
- Craig Kilborn as Jerry, the main antagonist, who was Richie and Clark's main bully when they were children.
- Molly Sims as Liz, Gus's wife.
- Tim Meadows as Wayne
- Amaury Nolasco as Carlos
- Bill Romanowski as Karl
- Reggie Jackson as himself
- Max Prado as Nelson
- Danny McCarthy as Troy
- Sean Salisbury as Brad
- Matt Weinberg as Kyle
- John Farley as Swimmer Boy
- Terry Crews as Steven (Poker Guy #1)
- Dennis Dugan as Coach Bellows
- Joey Gnoffo as Marcus Elwood
Production
The Benchwarmers was shot in various locations in California, including Chino Hills; Chino; Chumash Park - 5550 Medea Valley Drive, Agoura Hills; Culver City; Glendale; Los Angeles; Orange; Pizza Hut - 5146 Kanon Road, Agoura Hills; Simi Valley; Watson Drug Store - 116 E. Chapman Avenue, Orange; and Westwood, Los Angeles.
Reception
The film received generally negative reviews from critics with a 12% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 66 reviews and 25 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 17 reviews.[1][2] The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes was "a gross-out comedy that is more sophomoric than funny, The Benchwarmers goes down swinging". However, the film received a more positive score of 71% on the site's audience rating.[1]
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $19.6 million, ranking second at the North American box office. The film grossed $59,843,754 domestically and $5,113,537 in foreign markets, totaling $64,957,291 worldwide.[3]
References
- ^ a b "The Benchwarmers (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ "The Benchwarmers Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- ^ "The Benchwarmers (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 2, 2009.