2008 Woodie Awards
Walken could not stop "Balls" from failing to perform
Table tennis flick retells old jokes and forgets to make a seemingly funny concept laughable for audiences
Dana Johnson
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Intermission
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I'm sure the concept behind this week's box office release, "Balls of Fury," looked like a hit on paper.
Even the idea of taking table tennis seriously is one every person who has ever played the game has laughed at, which is really where most of the sales of this film have come from.
"Balls of Fury" follows a former child prodigy in the world of table tennis, Randy Daytona, as he tries to recapture his former glory, while going undercover for the FBI, in an underground tournament held by a Chinese crime lord.
The movie evolves as Randy Daytona achieves his goals by making it to the tournament with the help of an elderly blind man and his gorgeous niece.
It's hard for the audience not to predict that the niece and Randy would fall in love, and when they do, it's done over night and with little spark, leaving the audience wonder why they are risking their lives for each other in the final fight scene.
The movie had basic comedy concepts behind it that have been the butt of all jokes in high schools around the nation for years.
Everything Asian is funny is a common theme in the movie.
When they cast Dan Folger as Randy Daytona, I'm sure they were looking for a Jack Black type. Folger literally works up a sweat trying to put over this thin script.
The movie also amplifies negative stereotypes of homosexuals and other minority groups, which isn't done tactfully enough to make the audience laugh.
Christopher Walken does not actually show up in Asian drag until halfway through the movie playing Feng the Chinese crime lord.
Feng was the center point of the movie's advertisement for good reason. Walken played the only character worth advertising.
But the character came into the film far too late to save this mostly unfunny, extremely silly ping pong comedy. Even Christopher Walken's delivery couldn't save lines like "Kill them both - we're missing Antiques Roadshow," and "I won't bite... in any way that would show."
Most audience members are drawn to this movie because of it's basic concepts and because it was directed by Robert Ben Garent who collaborated on the popular cable show "Reno 911!"
Any positive feedback this movie is getting is because so many audience members wanted it to be good, especially for the ever-growing movie ticket prices they are paying to see it.
They may lie and say it's good so they don't have to believe they wasted their time and money.
Even the idea of taking table tennis seriously is one every person who has ever played the game has laughed at, which is really where most of the sales of this film have come from.
"Balls of Fury" follows a former child prodigy in the world of table tennis, Randy Daytona, as he tries to recapture his former glory, while going undercover for the FBI, in an underground tournament held by a Chinese crime lord.
The movie evolves as Randy Daytona achieves his goals by making it to the tournament with the help of an elderly blind man and his gorgeous niece.
It's hard for the audience not to predict that the niece and Randy would fall in love, and when they do, it's done over night and with little spark, leaving the audience wonder why they are risking their lives for each other in the final fight scene.
The movie had basic comedy concepts behind it that have been the butt of all jokes in high schools around the nation for years.
Everything Asian is funny is a common theme in the movie.
When they cast Dan Folger as Randy Daytona, I'm sure they were looking for a Jack Black type. Folger literally works up a sweat trying to put over this thin script.
The movie also amplifies negative stereotypes of homosexuals and other minority groups, which isn't done tactfully enough to make the audience laugh.
Christopher Walken does not actually show up in Asian drag until halfway through the movie playing Feng the Chinese crime lord.
Feng was the center point of the movie's advertisement for good reason. Walken played the only character worth advertising.
But the character came into the film far too late to save this mostly unfunny, extremely silly ping pong comedy. Even Christopher Walken's delivery couldn't save lines like "Kill them both - we're missing Antiques Roadshow," and "I won't bite... in any way that would show."
Most audience members are drawn to this movie because of it's basic concepts and because it was directed by Robert Ben Garent who collaborated on the popular cable show "Reno 911!"
Any positive feedback this movie is getting is because so many audience members wanted it to be good, especially for the ever-growing movie ticket prices they are paying to see it.
They may lie and say it's good so they don't have to believe they wasted their time and money.