The Benchwarmers

Infobox Film
name = The Benchwarmers


caption = "The Benchwarmers" film poster
director = Dennis Dugan
producer = Adam Sandler
Jack Giarraputo
writer = Allen Covert
Nick Swardson
starring = David Spade
Rob Schneider
Jon Heder
Jon Lovitz
music = Waddy Wachtel
cinematography = Thomas Ackerman
editing = Peck Prior
Sandy Solowitz
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = April 7, 2006 (USA)
runtime = 85 minutes
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
imdb_id = 0437863
mpaa_rating = PG-13 for crude and suggestive humor, and for language

"The Benchwarmers" is a 2006 comedy film that was released on April 7, 2006. It stars Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Jon Heder and is directed by Dennis Dugan. It is produced by Happy Madison Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures.

Plot

Gus Matthews (Rob Schneider), Clark Reedy (Jon Heder) and Richie Goodman (David Spade) are three grown men and neighborhood friends. Clark and Richie were also the unpopular kids who were constantly bullied by jocks and always benched at the little league baseball games, because of their less-than-stellar athletic abilities and Clark's mental problems. When a nerdy boy named Nelson (Max Prado) and his friends are kicked off a nearby baseball diamond by a team of bullies, Gus and Clark chase the bullies away. When Gus and Clark return with Richie to play again and get back their feel for the game, the bullies return and demand that they leave. Gus challenges the bullies to play them for the field, and the three friends win. Later, Nelson's father Mel (Jon Lovitz) - a billionaire nerd sympathizer tells the trio that he's impressed with their win, and explains his plan to hold a round-robin with all the little league teams in the county, plus their team. The winners will be given access to a new multi-million dollar baseball park that he's building. Wanting to capture the spirit and fun they never had when they were kids, the three decide to form the Benchwarmers and join the tournament. They prepare to compete with all the other teams, despite the fact that they're three adults squaring off against nine kids per team.

Near the end of the story, Gus, the star of his team, an excellent pitcher and a huge home run hitter, is exposed for being a brutal bully as a child, not a victim of bullies. He had bullied one child so intensely that the kid, a boy named Marcus, had to be sent to an institution. At his wife's suggestion, Gus apologizes to Marcus who becomes the Benchwarmers' third-base coach. At the end of the story, Gus, Clark, and Richie do not play; rather, they let a team of Nelson and other nerdy kids play in the final game, to give them a chance to compete. The final game is played against a team with a heartless jock coach, Jerry ("Craig Kilborn"), who practically torments his players. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Benchwarmers are losing, 42-0, when Jerry's team throws Nelson of the Benchwarmers a "fat" pitch down the middle. When Nelson hits the ball, Jerry's team lets him score a run while Jerry goes crazy. In the end, all of the kids, as well as Gus, Richie, Clark, Marcus, and every other adult appearing in the movie (except Jerry) have a party when they learn Gus is going to be a father.

Also appearing in the movie for a few scenes is former New York Yankees superstar Reggie Jackson who plays himself as Mel's childhood friend, and helps the Benchwarmers train.

Cast

*Rob Schneider as Gus Matthews
*David Spade as Richie Goodman
*Jon Heder as Clark Reedy
*Jon Lovitz as Mel Carmichael
*Craig Kilborn as Jerry McDowell
*Molly Sims as Liz Matthews
*Tim Meadows as Wayne
*Nick Swardson as Howie Goodman
*Erinn Bartlett as Sarah the Salad Girl
*Amaury Nolasco as Carlos
*Bill Romanowski as Karl
*Sean Salisbury as Brad
*Matt Weinberg as Kyle
*John Farley as Swimmer Boy
*Reggie Jackson as Himself
*Tony Falcone as Himself
*Max Prado as Nelson Carmichael
*Joe Gnoffo as Marcus Elwood
*Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Elwood
*James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader
*William Daniels as the voice of KITT
*Lochlyn Munro (cameo) as Construction Worker
*Rachel Hunter (cameo) as Clark's first kiss
*Terry Crews (cameo) as Daddy Warbucks
*Dan Patrick (cameo) as Poker Player
*Patrick Schwarzenegger as Jock Kid in Game #3 who gets spit on (Arnold Schwarzenegger's son)

Music

#Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
#Hey Boy - Teddybears STHLM
#Jerk It Out - Caesars
#Never Known - O'Doyle Rules
#Theme from Knight Rider
#Cobrastyle - Teddybears STHLM
#Walk of Life - Dire Straits
#Hit or Miss - New Found Glory
#Alright - Supergrass
#Life is Good - Junk
#That's Good - Devo
#Stand Up and Win - Spymob
#Gasolina - Daddy Yankee
#Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
#I Got You - The Waking Hours
#Good - Black Lab
#Times Like These - Foo Fighters "(Song used in the trailer)"

Allusions

*A stadium in the film is said to have elements of all the greatest ballparks in America. As depicted in the movie, it has the legendary facade from Yankee Stadium, the Ivy and Brick wall from Wrigley Field, and a swimming pool, which may be based on Chase Field. It also features a Green Monster to replicate the one at Boston's Fenway Park.

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $25.5 million, ranking a strong second in the United States box office.

As of June 7, 2006, the film has grossed over $58 million in the United States box office.

External links

* [http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thebenchwarmers/ Official website]
*imdb title|id=0437863|title=The Benchwarmers
*rotten-tomatoes|id=benchwarmers|title=The Benchwarmers
*mojo title|id=benchwarmers|title=The Benchwarmers
* [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808665832/info The Benchwarmers at Yahoo Movies]
* [http://movies.aol.com/unscripted_the_benchwarmers_movie?ncid=AOLMOV00050000000006/ The Benchwarmers at AOL movies]
* [http://www.moviehole.net/interviews/20060411_interview_david_spade.html David Spade interview for Benchwarmers]