7th September, 2008 Login • Register
Search This Site
The Benchwarmers (2006) DVD Review
The Benchwarmers (2006) DVD Credits:
The Benchwarmers (2006) Directed by:
Dennis Dugan
The Benchwarmers (2006) Written by:
Allen Covert, Nick Swardson
The Benchwarmers (2006) Cast:
Jon Heder, Craig Kilborn, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Amaury Nolasco, Rob Schneider, David Spade
The Benchwarmers (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Benchwarmers (2006) DVD Release Date:
24th July 2006
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD
The Benchwarmers (2006) Synopsis:

"The Benchwarmers" tells the story of three guys who try to make up for their lack of athleticism when they were younger by forming a three-man baseball team to challenge a full squad of elementary school baseballers. They develop a large following of left-out kids as they head for a high-stakes, winner-take-all game with the best team of kids in the state.

The Benchwarmers (2006) DVD Review:

From the very conception Happy Madison Productions has created films about underdogs, usually in the shape of a child-like Adam Sandler. Since Sandler has arguably begun making more important films, Rob Schneider rose into the tough nice guy role along with sidekicks David Spade and Jon Heder, to make a film specifically about the underdogs in little league baseball. It isn’t a high concept, but it works for the comedy and actually ends up being one of the funnier films to come out of the production company in quite some time. There is something more honest about the humor in The Benchwarmers. It isn’t claiming to be a large film, but in its simplicity is the heart which is missing from most of the comedies caked with bathroom humor.

Rob Schneider plays the likeable hero in The Benchwarmers as a simple man who hates to see kids bullied. When he spots a child being picked on trying to play baseball, he challenges the bullies to a game and he beats them. Word gets around and before long he and his two goofy friends (David Spade and Jon Heder) are taking on all of the little league teams in town. Soon there is much more at stake than they expected and all of the kids that are bullied look to them to win. Mostly the film is predictable mush, but it is the moments of great comedic timing that make the film work.

Many will criticize Heder in this film, saying that he is playing the same character that he played in Napoleon Dynamite, which is somewhat true. The fact of the matter is that Spade is playing the same role he has played dozens of times before, and Schneider isn’t exactly original either. The film is filled with characters we have seen before, but most of them are natural and by the end of the film it is easy to get caught up in the film and forget about past roles.

The DVD special features include two commentary tracks, which are both good in their own way. The first is with director Dennis Dugan, and the second is with David Spade and Jon Heder. One commentary track is perfect for a fun and entertaining viewing while the other has more of a technical focus. There are also a number of deleted scenes, which are slightly better than most deleted scenes without ever becoming anything really worth mentioning. There is also a short featurette with footage of Reggie Jackson on set, a featurette about bullies with interviews with cast and crew, a featurette about baseball with the same sort of interviews, and a few other small features.

Our Rating: Extras Rating: User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

The Benchwarmers (2006) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

Content Management System provided by P J Thomson - Freelance Web Design - PHP/MySQL Development