BASEketball (1998)

Good movie but grossly overrated

A Disappointing Continuation

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The term 'guilty pleasure' is one that definitely applies to "BASEketball". While I'll readily admit that the film is very stupid, juvenile and gross at times, it's also, in a VERY low-brow way, entertaining. So my advice is just turn off your brain and enjoy.The film is set in the very near future. The premise is that pro sports have folded, as the players have become bigger and bigger egomaniacs--so much so that the fans have abandoned the games and the franchises have all folded. Two losers, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the guys behind "South Park"), create a game they play in their driveway. And, against the odds (and all common sense), it soon becomes so popular that pro sports are reborn in the form of BASEketball--a dopey game that defies description. Can these two lovable losers somehow manage to keep this new league from becoming just like the sports of old--commercial and cheap? The film abounds with disgusting an inappropriate material. You'll see Matt Stone shooting milk from his man nipples, animals becoming road kill (don't worry, they are NOT real animals), an amazing nude scene with Parker and Stone and some of the most disgusting and awesome kissing in film history. This is NOT a film for little kids, nuns or your mother!! By the way, pay attention for the very oddly specific music as Parker drives his VW. You'll know what I mean....

Considering the makers of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are the stars of this movie, one can expect it to be quite sick and twisted. In fact it is as the humour ranges from foul toilet humour to absolute stupidity, which is the expertise of David Zucker, the maker of the Naked Gun series and similar movies. Unlike the Naked Gun movies, it isn't simply a payout of similar types of movies with bizarre happenings in the movie, it actually has more of a firmer plot, but it is still quite funny.The main characters are basically losers who have amounted to nothing while all of their high school buddies are successful. Then they reveal to them a game that they play in their driveway, and soon more and more people become interested in it and it suddenly becomes a national phenomena. The one thing is that it is never to become like the other sports, controlled by money and sponsorship, but rather it is to be completely independent and played for the sake of playing a sport. The plot that emerges is rather simple, but it is simply there to tie the movie, and the farce that it makes towards professional sports, together.Basketball is practically a payout of professional sports. The complex rules mimic all of the rules of the professional sports, and it makes a hard hitting comment about the commercialism of sport. It pays it out at the beginning and does the same at the end as well, especially when Trey Parker sells out and becomes a sponsored goon.The movie itself is quite shallow and the theme very blatant, but what it does it that it shows us straight out the patheticness that sport has become. Unlike other movies, it doesn't pussyfoot around with subtle messages, but is very blatant and open about it. In the end though, it is simply an hilarious farce.

Most of the jokes in here are of the stupid variety. It could have been a funny movie but this is more miss than hit.It starts off well with a somewhat clever plot about then invention of a new game - a game of horse with baseball rules. Oh, and there is also the novelty of one player doing everything he can to psych the other player out, making him miss the target.From then on it turns into a parody of the old plot of greed vs. the love of the game. It is a pretty easy target but like in the game, the director gets psyched out and misses. There are too much emphasis on the division of the two friends, Remer and Coop, played by two less than stellar actors, Matt Stone and Trey Parker.I realise that I am probably in the minority here but just felt that the jokes fall flat too often, especially with Matt Stone, who plays his character as if he doesn't have a clue at all. Watch the reaction from Robert Vaughn whenever he tries to engage Stone in his shady deals. Peter Graves in Airplane said some pretty outrageous things too but it was played more straight. Stone comes off as a raving lunatic which I don't think was intentioned.As for Parker, he may have the right look for a movie actor, but he seriously lacks the talent and he is basically the whole show here. The supporting cast are left looking like idiots, basically letting Parker push them around. Yasmine Bleeth is particularly out of her league as a comedienne which of course makes Parker look like a genius. Ernest Borgnine is again embarrassed in a supporting part that gives him nothing to do but look stupid. I haven't seen an Oscar-winning actor sink so low as he has done again and again, in movie after movie.Do you think you will get a laugh? Maybe once or twice, but this is definitely a movie that should have been heavily rewritten and they should have replaced Parker and Stone.

Finally, a comedy that actually makes you laugh THROUGHOUT the whole movie! These days, it seems like most of the comedies are boring and lame, and don't really have jokes that make you laugh; it's all forced. But I actually laughed while watching BASEketball.The story is about two best friends who take a game that they created and and played in their backyard, to an official national sport. They then face problems along the way and try to solve them.The primary characters are Joe Cooper - played by Trey Parker - and Doug Remer - by Matt Stone. They are both portrayed splendidly and humourisly. The acting didn't lack anything and it was near perfect! Joe Cooper is the serious, responsible one that has his principles and goals. Whereas Doug Remer is the loose, spoiled one. In a way, they're a perfect match.The secondary characters are Jenna Reed - played by Yasmine Bleeth - and Squeak Scolari - by Dian Bachar. They add a lot to the story, and make it all the more better. Jenna works for a foundation that helps sick kids, and both Joe and Doug are attracted to her. Squeak is hilarious, and is Joe and Doug's teammate and friend.The story is unique, like the sport, and funny. It was really well written and produced. Certainly one to talk about for decades, and one of a kind.You should definitely watch this movie! It would be a waste if you don't, since it's one of the funniest movies ever.