“”Balls of Fury”” is exactly what you’d expect it to be: stupid, silly and chock full of scenes guaranteed to make your eyes roll.
However, it’s also what you might not expect – unique, creative and laugh-out-loud funny, with hilarious supporting performances and a cleverly written script penned by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant of “”Reno 911″” fame.
Dan Fogler plays Randy Daytona, a former ping-pong playing child prodigy who is brought out of obscurity by the FBI to assist in what is possibly the most random mission of all time: help bring down a leader of a Chinese triad, who just so happens to be hosting a high-stakes ping-pong tournament.
While on his way to achieving athletic greatness, Randy encounters a variety of quirky characters, all of whom contribute positively to the film’s overall quirkiness. I am quite certain that there has never been kung fu, ping-pong, secret agents, rope bridges, dancing pectorals and a triple shot of Def Leppard all in one movie. Now, thanks to “”Balls of Fury,”” that’s one more thing I can cross off my list of things to see before I die.
Yet as random and ridiculous as the movie is, all the parts somehow, miraculously, fit together without being distracting. It’s unlike
“”Balls of Fury””
Rating: PG-13
Length: 90 min.
Intrepid Pictures
anything I’ve ever seen, and the end result is a film with average comedy and off-the-chart originality. An unusual achievement, but an achievement, nonetheless.
Originality isn’t enough to drive a film, though, especially a comedy. While the script is unique, no one is going to go see “”Balls of Fury”” because of its super-crazycreative screenplay. They will see it with the hope that it will deliver lots of laughs and some memorable performances.
Well, one out of two ain’t bad, right?
George Lopez is subtle but fantastic as Ernie Rodriguez, a pencil-pushing FBI agent who yearns to rid the world of vendejos while seducing beautiful women at the same time. James Hong is extremely amusing as a blind Chinese trainer who spends most of the money he earns from his ping-pong academy on old and crusty prostitutes. And Lennon is a riot as Karl Wolfschtag, a vain and obnoxious opponent.
Fogler is very well suited to his role as Randy, but his character is just too mundane for him to really hold his own with the other actors.
The main problem with “”Balls of Fury”” is that Randy isn’t enough of a proactive character. He is shunted to the side to make way for the more eccentric and entertaining supporting characters. Even though he is likable and funny, he doesn’t contribute enough humor to make “”Balls of Fury”” a truly uproarious picture.
That being said, the film is pretty funny and very entertaining. It’s worth seeing, but it’s definitely not on par with similar movies in the genre, such as “”Dodgeball”” or “”Caddyshack.”” It’s just not ballsy enough.