Home > Movies > Movie Review > Balls of Fury

Balls of Fury

What’s next, movies about air hockey and Skee-Ball?

By Matt Pais

August 29, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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Nineteen years after his ping-pong defeat results in the murder of his father, Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) strives for revenge against Feng (Christopher Walken), the man who killed Randy's dad and is now the target of an FBI investigation led by Agent Rodriguez (George Lopez).

Big question: Can writers Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant rack up more laughs than they did with the spotty feature-length "Reno 911!: Miami"?

Skip it: Watching a movie called "Balls of Fury" requires less brainpower than completing a maze on a kids' menu, and "Balls" generally ignores cleverness in order to maximize shots to the groin. This is a comedy for anyone who cracks up at the sight of someone falling down an elevator shaft or being smacked in the face—or if your favorite movie is "Beerfest."

Catch it: If you want to take ping-pong lessons, you can probably afford it. All it takes is "your strength, your honor, and a check for $300."

Bottom line: A few gags (like a waterslide built over a cemetery) connect, since if you hit enough balls you're eventually going to score some points. Taking no risks at all while avoiding anything too offensive, "Balls of Fury" has neither balls nor fury, and is likely to elicit the same shrug you give as you pass over ping-pong on ESPN.

Bonus: Aspiring entertainers now know exactly when they've hit rock bottom: if, like Rick the Birdmaster (David Koechner), you're performing in the middle of the afternoon, opening for a guy playing one-person ping-pong and singing Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise" with backup vocals by a cockatoo. Yes, you heard right.

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