2014 will mark the tenth anniversary of “Dodgeball,” which makes us feel very, very old. And the movie is a curious one, a comedy with a ludicrous concept fronted by Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller that was made for peanuts, and had zero expectations, that somehow became a box office smash and a behemoth on home video as well. And for all of these years, a sequel has been kicked around as an idea without ever getting anywhere. Until today.
THR reports that Fox and Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films have tapped some guy named Clay Tarver to pen the script for “Dodgeball 2,” so yeah, we’re still not any closer to this being a reality in the near future. Tarver is no stranger to movies with an odd promise, as he’s been penning stuff about a nerdy basketball team at Caltech (also for Ben Stiller) and something about competitive barbershop quartets. And oh yeah, he co-wrote the thriller “Joy Ride” with J.J. Abrams, so there’s that. As for plot details, there are none — though in 2009, a story set in the world of cycling had been mooted — but whatever it is, both Stiller and Vaughn’s characters would return and team up.
And listen, we like dumb comedies as much as the next person but here’s the thing about “Dodgeball”: it’s actually not that good. Yes, it’s amusing and has some decent laughs, but it also has lots of stuff that doesn’t work (the ragtag team are mostly a faceless bunch and not really that funny), and while we enjoy it as a hungover-on-Sunday-afternoon watch, beyond that, is anyone aching for this to return? It’s not “Anchorman” or even “Zoolander” in terms of greatness, so yeah, take your time Fox…
