Official Synopsis:
Caught cheating and banned for ten years, paintball's first superstar, Bobby Dukes (The Daily Show with John Stewart's Rob Corddry), is back to prove himself on the field that made him famous. But Bobby's dreams of recapturing his paintball glory are abruptly impaired when he finds that no one will join his team. To the paintball community he is and always will be a cheater. Assembling a team of misfits and paintball outcasts, Bobby is determined to win back his title...and his soul.
Our Take:
I think I've finally figured out what the problem with improvised film and television is. I think what happens is when people are on set and they're interacting and connecting and vibe-ing, if you will, you improv stuff that seems outrageously funny at the time. You watch it played back, and you're remembering how much fun you had while you were doing it, so you think it's genius. There's only one problem with that; it is so often anything but genius.
I think Rob Corddry is one of the funniest things about The Daily Show, so I leapt at the chance to see him do something different. The problem with Blackballed is that it just isn't funny. Unfortunately, with an improvised script based on a barely-there plot, without the funny there ain't much else going for it. There are a few chuckles here and there (VERY few), but for the most part it's like you're on the outside of a bunch of people laughing at an inside joke.
The DVD does come with a number of extra features, for better or for worse.
* Commentaries - There are two commentary tracks: one with stars Rob Corddry, Paul Scheer, and Rob Riggle; and one with filmmakers Brant Sersen, Brian Steinberg, and Chris Lechler.
* Outtakes (12 minutes) - A collection of bloopers, goofs, and ad-libs.
* Deleted Scenes - Three deleted scenes, with a total running time of about 14 minutes.
* Bobby Dukes' Video Diary (4 minutes) - Bobby Dukes shares his feelings with us.
I really wanted to like Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story. I love paintball, I dig Rob Corddry (and Ed Helms from the Daily Show pops up, too), but Blackballed just doesn't work for me. I'm sure there's an audience for it out there somewhere, but I'm not it.
Overall Picture:
Movie: D
DVD: B+
- Mike Spring
Editor
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