Movies / Movie Reviews

Balls Of Fury

By Mitch Emerson
August 29, 2007 - 08:48

Title: Balls Of Fury
Starring: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon
Directed By: Robert Ben Garant
Produced By: Derek Evans, Ron Schmidt, Roger Birnbaum
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy and Sports
Release Date: August 29th 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language.
Distributors: Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom, Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler), is sucked into a maelstrom when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him for a secret mission. Randy is determined to smoke out his father's killer -- arch-fiend Feng (Christopher Walken). All roads lead to Feng's mysterious jungle compound and the most unique Ping-Pong tournaments ever staged. There, Randy faces such formidable players as his long-ago Olympics opponent, the still-vicious Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon). Can Randy keep his eye on the ball? Will he achieve the redemption he craves while wielding a paddle? Is his backhand strong enough to triumph over rampant wickedness? -Official Site

Balls Of Fury. It just rolls off the tongue doesn't it? What else could this be but a comedy? It could be a comedy by one of the writing team of Reno 911!, Ben Garant. Unlike Reno 911!: Miami , Balls Of Fury does deliver some comedy. While BOF isn't very memorable, I can see this being a hit at parties, especially if there's a ping pong table and a lot of beer. It seems that Garant has learned from past mistakes and made a credible, if not feasible entry into the comedy genre. I only wish that they would abandon the “useless sport” comedies. Is there really anything left?

What really kept me interested actually had nothing to do with the story. It was who is going to pop up next. A ton of cameos abound including, Robert Patrick, David Koechner and Dietrich Bader just to name a few. The brightest star in BOF has got to be Christopher Walken. He just chews up every scene he is in. Personally, I enjoy him in these roles much more than any of his more serious work. It's worth the price of admission just to hear him say, “Okey-dokey artichokey.” When Walken isn't stealing the limelight, Dan Fogler steps in as what I would call Jack Black lite. Same style of comedy and antics, just nowhere near as obnoxious. Other honorable mentions are George Lopez, just doing his thing, Maggie Q, as the love interest with a punch and James Hong as Master Wong, the blind teacher who must whip Daytona into shape.

Following the trend of comedies dealing with sports, I would place BOF right smack in the middle between Blades Of Glory as the worst and Major League as the best. Who wants to invent the drinking game to go along with this film?

www.ballsoffury.com

I think the movie is a big enough joke, so...
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Mitch E
mitch@comicbookbin.com

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20