Film Review

21 November 2008 19:09 BST

Balls of Fury

Directed by Robert Ben Garant, out December 26th, in cinemas, starring Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, Maggie Q, George Lopez, James Hong and Thomas Lennon, running time 90 mins.

In a Nutshell:

Dumb, Stupid, Kind-of-funny, Dumb, Stupid.

What's it all about?

A disgraced ping-pong hopeful turned Vegas nightclub act, Randy Daytona, is suddenly propositioned by the FBI to participate in a top secret mission to topple a mob-boss who killed his father. There are many slapstick gags, kicks to the nuts and racial jokes along the way to the final showdown.

Who's in it?

Dan Fogler (Good Luck Chuck, School for Scoundrels) plays Randy Daytona as a sort of Chris Farley/Jack Black crossover, only less funny and more pitiful. Christopher Walken's (Hairspray, Man of the Year) appearance as the rob-wearing mob boss Feng is welcome, but he just doesn't really seem totally into it. George Lopez (Tortilla Heaven, Where's Marty?) is equally kind-of-funny as the quirky FBI agent, but he at least seems more into the character. Thomas Lennon of Reno 911's Lt Dangle fame gives an entertaining performance as Daytona's nemesis, Karl Wolfschtagg. James Hong (Shanghai Kiss, Adventures of Johnny Tao) plays a supremely stereotypical blind asian ping-pong master Wong. Maggie Q plays his kung-fu daughter.

As an example:

"It is better to die like a tiger, than to live like a pussy" - Master Wong

"Less talkie-talkie, more ping-pong." - Feng

"Ping Pong... is not the Macarena. It takes patience. She is like a fine, well-aged prostitute... it takes years to learn her tricks.
[chuckles]
She is cruel, laughs at you when you are naked, but you keep coming back for more, and more! Why? Because she is the only prostitute I can afford." - Master Wong

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars

None.

What others say

"...this is two parts Blades of Glory and one part Enter the Dragon, though it's missing Will Ferrell's absurd improvisational humour and, well, Bruce Lee." - John Larsen, Sun Publications

"Opens without a pulse, fires intermittent blanks throughout, musters up momentum with a silly sense of humor that eventually, just barely, wins over its audience." - Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card

So is it any good?

Not really. Granted, I laughed aloud more than some of the other people in the theatre, probably in virtue of my being younger than them, but the film still fell short with a few chuckles and a lot of cringes. I thought that Walken would make more of an impact, but it often seemed as though he himself (and much of the rest of the cast for that matter) didn't think the movie was funny, making any attempt at humour bittersweet.

The biggest problem was probably with Fogler who was just unlikeable - I didn't care whether he succeeded or failed at his mission. It might even have been funnier to see him lose to Walken in the end. On the other hand, Lennon as Wolfschtagg was probably the highlight of this film in his outrageous unitard and horrific German accent. Lennon certainly has a knack for playing a total douche, and he does so in this film with utter ferocity. Probably because he co-wrote it.

Furthermore, all the racial jokes about asians wore thin towards the end of the movie with Master Wong being the constant punching bag regarding his confucious-like wisdom and simultaneous idiocy.

This film will appeal to 13-18 year olds if anyone else, as it seems that the humour is more geared in this direction (butt jokes and all). Additionally, such audiences will be less likely to mind the predictability of the gags and will take home some of the one-liners to share with their friends. For me, however, they were not so memorable.

4/10

Spencer Thanhouser

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