User reviews

"The Benchwarmers" is about 3 older guys named Gus (Rob Schnieder), Richie (David Spade) and Clark (Jon Heder) who start a baseball league against the bullies in the neighborhood. After a huge crowd comes out to support the team, the guys decide to enter a competition with the bullies. The winner will get a brand new stadium. Lots of immature laughs ensue…

After walking out of "The Benchwarmers" I realized one thing. That this movie is exactly like the trailer and television spots made it out to be. This means that if you didn't find the trailer funny or amusing avoid this film because the odds are you won't like it. I, however, did enjoy the film. It's not a great masterpiece or anything like that but more of an immature film that you can laugh at and remember what it is like being a kid.

I took three of my little brothers to see the film with me and all of them really enjoyed it. Just hearing them laugh and get such a kick out of it made the film just a tad better for me. This movie is childish by its very nature. All the characters in the film reminded me of watching little kids which in my opinion was amusing seeing grown men act this way. It was funny and amusing not to mention contained a whole slue of memorable quotes that people will be quoting for many days to come.

While I enjoyed most of the movie and I can appreciate it for what it is, a stupid fun comedy, I must admit some jokes were used too much. The fart jokes came by the truckload in this film and while a few were amusing, most of them weren't. Also the amount of gay sexual undertones in this movie was too much as well. When the film first tried a gay joke, it kind of worked but as the movie continued on, the gay jokes just got worse and worse and weren't funny.

Rob Schneider for once plays a different role here. While I have always been a fan of his cheesy and overly stupid roles, I am glad to see him play a different role. He played a more mature character and for once in his career, this role didn't involve him becoming something like a woman, an animal, or a male gigolo. I enjoy Schneider much more than I probably should admit and I am glad to see he expanded his role choice for once. David Spade is really starting to grow on me. After seeing him alongside Chris Farley in "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep" I thought he was someone who I was going to enjoy for many years to come. But then "8 Heads in a Duffle Bag" and "Lost & Found" came out and I lost interest in him. It wasn't until 2003 when I began to like David Spade again after seeing "Dickie Roberts" and ever since then he has been growing on me again. I think it's is whole sarcastic sense of humor that I enjoy. Like his quote from the movie," I didn't know athlete had three syllables, that's AAMAAZZINNG". I kind of feel bad for Jon Heder because I like the guy but after "Napoleon Dynamite" I feel he will be playing the same role for the rest of his life. He plays a more talkative "Napoleon" in "Benchwarmers" and is a lot of fun. He is still amusing and most of his jokes work but I just wonder after a few more films will audiences be tired of him?

"The Benchwarmers" is a must for those who are fans of Schneider, Spade, or Heder. If you hate these guys or hate stupid immature comedies then avoid this movie. There is a specific target audience of adults this is geared towards and is a film that you will either enjoy (notice I didn't say love) or hate with a passion. Also it's a pretty safe film that many kids between the ages of 7 and 18 will probably enjoy more than anyone else. Every once in a while, I enjoy seeing a stupid childish comedy like "Benchwarmers" but I know what to expect when I go into it and I got just what I expected. Movies like this aren't screened to critics because studios know they will not like it. They are not the target audience. But for myself, I can still like art films and enjoy silly comedies that have no substance. If critics loosened up a bit or maybe had kids and took them to see some of these movies with them, they would realize how fun some of these films really are. "The Benchwarmers" is a fun hour and a half for those who can appreciate this film for what it is.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "The Benchwarmers" is a 7/10.

I was expecting The Benchwarmers to be an overall pretty bad unfunny movie, based on the reviews and average rating it has, with the possibility of occasionally succeeding in fleeting moments as is often the case with stupid comedies. In a sense, that's exactly what it amounted to although somehow the movie managed to be watchable even when many of the jokes were missing - to it's credit it's quite fast-paced (this contributes to the movie making even less sense, not that it matters).

The plot for The Benchwarmers has nothing original to offer - basically it's about three nerds (Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder) that play a bunch of baseball games against various teams of kids. The movie is never intended to be taken seriously so the abundance of clichés is forgivable. But where the movie fails is in the lack of original humour. Classics of the stupid comedy genre such as Zoolander and Dodgeball explored new ground whereas The Benchwarmers retreats to familiar styles of comedy with the occasional stroke of genius (or perhaps that should be idiocy).

Overall, I found the movie quite enjoyable. There were a few little parts I found quite hilarious and probably won't forget for quite some time to come. Even the standard reflective speech(es) near the end came across as sincere and not completely worthless. There are also a number of familiar faces (and cameos) which help move things along. Rob Schneider, David Spade, Nick Swardson and Jon Lovitz are all good in their parts whilst Jon Heder seems to be stuck in his Napolean Dynamite character. But unfortunately these are not enough to change the fact that this is not a good movie. It is decent enough entertainment for its running time though.

This movie was oddly delightful. I found it to be very entertaining, I certainly didn't find myself bored with the movie in any way. Although some of the side characters are contrived and somewhat monotonous in their weirdness factor, overall it does a very good job.

David Spade stole the show however, he did a very good job and needless to say his character was the real barrel of laughs within the film. My biggest complaint would have to be Jon Hedder (Napolean Dynamite guy). I must say he seemed to play the EXACT same character from Napolean Dynamite. All the complaints aside, this movie was entertaining and harmless fun.

When the owner of a minor landscaping service company Gus (Rob Schneider) sees the nerd Nelson (Max Prado) being abused by a group of baseball players, he defends the boy. The paperboy Clark (Jon Heder) tells that his friend Richie (David Spade) and he have never played baseball and Gus invites them to play in the late afternoon. However, they are challenged by the bullies and they defeat the guys. The millionaire and father of Nelson, Mel (Jon Lovitz), invites Gus, Clark and Richie to form a team called The Benchwarmers and they become the sensation of the league, with a legion of outcast cheering for the team. However, when the behavior of Gus in his childhood is discovered, the team and fans are affected.

I am a great fan of Rob Schneider, but "The Benchwarmers" is a silly and gross comedy. I know that his movies uses low level jokes and situations, but they are usually hilarious. Unfortunately the jokes in "The Benchwarmers" are not funny. Further, I am not a fan of baseball but I believe that even fans of this sport will not like this stupid and deceptive story. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Os Esquenta-Banco" ("The Benchwarmers")

The Benchwarmers is definitely worth a watch if you are interested in some light heated fun. An unlikely trio led by Rob Schneider put a baseball team together and challenge the local bullies. David Spade does a great comedic role as one of the incompetent team mates. The humor effortlessly flows and the film doesn't try too hard to be funny. The look and situations of the characters are a riot. The scene where Spade and Schneider were hitting mailboxes with a bat at the back of a car was easily one of the funniest scenes in the film. Physical and silly comedy when done well is a treat to watch.

Despite its humor it also touched on the serious topic of bullying and how its sadly prevalent. It was nice to see the bullies put in their place in the end.

It's an enjoyable experience where you don't have to think too much when watching it and enjoy a good laugh.

then this movie is for you. Three grown nerds decided to get back at the bullies from their childhood by participating in a baseball tournament with other kids and jocks. The winner gets a new stadium dedicated to them, being built by super rich nerd, Mel. Of course, being adults, the 3 nerds can hit better than the kids. Heder plays the most memorable character, Clark, who has serious IQ problems. There are a few funny scenes, but this movie is still pretty silly. There are also some surprising cameos. Reggie Jackson is in this as well as a couple of retired NFL players. Craig Kilborn even has a role as a grown up bully.

Best scene was the baseball player with his birth certificate saying he was 12. Funny.

FINAL VERDICT: If you like silly films with not much plot, then you should like this.

I saw this movie the other day. And I was pleasantly surprised. It amazes me that people come on here and complain about these type of movies like it is the worst movie ever. I like Rob Schneider and David Spade. I have liked many of the Adam Sandler movies also. This movie is from the same production companies of Sandlers movies. And I must say it is better than most of their recent offerings. I laughed out loud about 10 times and laughed silently many more times. Laughing out loud is something I generally don't do.

My review is mostly for those of you that have liked some of the Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, or David Spade movies. I think this movie was better than Anger Management, Mr Deeds, The Longest Yard, The Animal among others. It was very funny at times and it was cute also.

Rob Schneider was the man of the group. He played it is the athlete in the group and the leader of the team of misfits. David Spade played a nerd in David Spade style. And Jon Heder was good as a Napolean Dynamite guy with a little more energy.

Sure this movie has it's flows especially in the storyline. Like if Rob Schneider is so much better than Heder or Spade why did the other teams not just walk him.....things like that. But take this movie as it is.....it is better than most Happy Madison productions of late. Schneider, Spade, and Heder fans don't ignore this movie because of comments by people who don't like them to begin with.

Where do you begin on rating such a lousy movie. This movie is a waste of your time and money. Do not go see this movie. This is not a movie that should even be rated pg13. That rating is too mild for this movie. It was extremely offensive in every way. The humor was purely gross and sets bad examples for kids even 14 and over on what is funny. The scene where they had the bench warmers practicing their batting by riding in a truck whacking mail boxes in a neighborhood, sends a message to teens that this practice is acceptable behavior. ALL of the sexual innuendo throughout the film was unnecessary and crossed the line. There was no reason to introduce any sexual innuendo in this movie. A scene where one of the coaches on the other team opens his front door of his house with his gay male lover barely dressed and then repeatedly showing the continuing saga of this relationship throughout the movie was reprehensible...totally unnecessary to the movie. Besides all this, it was extremely disgusting to watch on several occasions throughout the movie people farting, vomiting in somebody else's face, picking noses (and eating them). Nevermind the fact that in another scene they show an agoraphobic and effeminate man handing a 2 liter bottle of urine to his brother. Another scene in the movie, demonstrates to kids that drinking is OK-----the scene shows a man somewhere around the age of 30-40, masquerading as a 13 year old in order to play ball. The movie producers show this man drinking while waiting to play and while he was playing ball. This was very offensive.

I really think that's the only issue with this film. If you've been a fan of Adam Sandler's work (this is a Happy Madison production), you'll like this movie. Not only was it produced by Sandler, but it was co-written by one of his longtime buddies Allen Covert. If you go into this movie not knowing what to expect, that's your own fault. I know this movie won't be received well by critics, but when has ANYTHING that Sandler's done ever been? Ontop of that it features Jon Heder aka Napoleon Dynamite. To me, this was a huge added bonus. I love Sandler movies, and I loved Napoleon Dynamite. Many people feel Heder's a terrible actor, but I think his delivery is hysterical. I found myself laughing throughout this film, and thought it supplied Heder with more great one-liners that will be quoted for the next year. After saying that, some of you might turn your nose up at me and tell me that I wouldn't know what a good movie is, but I enjoy and cherish Casablanca, The Godfather: Part II, and Good Will Hunting as much as anybody, but forgive me if I like to enjoy a little mindless laughter at times. If you didn't like Billy Madison, The Hot Chick, or Napoleon Dynamite, you'll hate this movie, no doubt. But then why would you even go see it in the first place?

Entertaining feel-good faire about a landscaper (Rob Schneider) and his two nerd best friends (Jon Heder and David Spade) who take on the bullies of their state in a winner-take-all baseball tournament. The hook is that all the bullies are 12 years old or under. You pretty much get what you expect: stereotypical good guys vs bad guys , fart jokes, large breasted women WAY too hot to be interested in the likes of the downtrodden three, a good 80's-90's Adam Sandler-esquire soundtrack and numerous sight gags that make you squirm in your seat. What was unusual was the movie was actually pretty good. All the actors played their parts reasonably well and Heder was hilarious. (Although I half expected that there was some sort of product placement for a tanning system in this movie as everyone but Heder appeared to be way too healthy looking.) Definitely worth the price of a ticket.

I know Adam Sandler has become a very rich man by aiming low. However,this is worse than a punch to the balls, which I am sure Mr. Sandler and the amazing number of people who actually liked this movie would find rather amusing.

The humour is so weak. It is a "nerd's revenge" movie that is so far fetched that your brain must take a two hour vacation. First of all, what 40 year old would play competitively against a bunch of 12 year olds? Secondly, there is no way that the dweeby character David Spade plays is going to interest that hot 25 year old Pizza Hut chick unless she has a loser fetish. Thirdly, they have to get moralistic in an attempt to make this more than a fart and nerd joke movie. Also, with so many ex-Saturday Night Live performers, you don't even have to watch it to know it will suck.

Avoid at all costs, unless movies aimed at immature 12 year olds appeal to you.

I don't know what that Dutchmen's ax is (that he obviously needs to grind), but I am guessing that he never saw the movie. Jon Lovitz doesn't have a "cameo"...he has a substantial part in the film.

I watched it today at an advanced screening and laughed my ass off. It is nicely paced and I had a smile on my face throughout the entire film. I am not a big fan of Spade, but I liked him in this roll and Schnider actually shows some range...go figure!(Good director? probably...but, will have to see Schnider in his next movie) Cute chicks, some laughs, baseball, fart jokes, and Lovitz drives a couple of cars that can't be topped for coolness. Get some popcorn, a soda and don't expect "The Natural" ...you will have a great time at Benchwarmers.

I tried to watch this movie tonight, and when I say "Tried" I am referring to the fact that it was so full of poop jokes, unfunny physical gags, horrible writing and stale acting, that I had trouble paying attention at all. The only group of people who would find this funny, believable, or interesting are small children. It is perplexing, then, why the writer would choose to include scenes where characters talk about ovulation and sex with Rob Schneider (a wholly disturbing prospect in itself).

The whole thing is shoddily written too. None of the dialogue is believable, and the whole premise of it is retarded. Not only is it presumptuous to label every kid who plays Little League a bully, but no horde of kids around the globe would be interested in a bunch of middle-aged losers who used to be nerds competing against school children, and only manage to defeat them because they have some old guy who can both pitch incredibly fast and hit home runs on every swing. Yes, that's right, it's not a tale of how hopeless nerds can be trained to use their brains and heart to defeat bully athletes, it's a tale of some old guy associating himself with some so-called nerds (who are really just losers, there's a difference) and single-handedly beating on little kids.

There's a reason that Jon Lovitz is doing SubWay commercials. He's an obnoxious one-dimensional joke of an actor. Seeing him on screen pretending to be an obnoxious billionaire who owns a sentient robot (yes, the movie stoops to that level), just makes me want to snap the DVD in half and go eat at Quizno's.

It was interesting, however, to see how unfunny Napoleon Dynamite can be. Avoid this movie. I give it 2 stars, because it sucked marginally less than "Sex and the Teenage Mind" and is therefore not the worst movie I've ever seen.

I had the pleasure of winning free tickets to a screening of this movie. As far as normal comedies go, I didn't give it a high rating. Some of it was just plain disgusting. Mostly it was funny. The actors did well, and in my opinion they all changed from their normal type characters. It's definitely worth the time to watch it. The audience in the theater got all involved and connected to the movie. We laughed, we gasped and at least 3 times, we all clapped for the characters and applauded at the end of the movie. It was a great atmosphere! You leave the movie feeling good and proud. When we walked out, a lady asked what my favorite part was, but I couldn't pick, it was all good, I liked the whole thing! The thing I really like about this movie is that despite it being a comedy, it teaches a lesson and makes you want to be a better person. I would definitely recommend this to friends and would see it again in a heartbeat.

A mediocre pretense coupled with appalling dialogue and unnecessarily ignorant and crude side plots makes for a movie experience worthy of requesting double your money back. I'm so sorry to say, but this was the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life. It's a pity, because I am a huge fan of John Heder, Rob Schneider, and David Spade... but this movie was a horrendous waste of everyone's time and money.

It negatively furthers "nerdy" stereotypes and contains unnecessary stupidity and ignorance in every aspect of the way it was made. The moral message it was trying to convey was overshadowed by the off-color references to homosexuality and cheap "kicked in the balls" type jokes. This is the kind of movie that encourages, instead of discourages, kids to make fun of homosexuals, little people, agoraphobics (or anyone with a social disorder for that matter), virgins, etc. Think long and hard about the behavior you want to teach your children before you take them to a movie like this.

You'd all be better off eating your ten dollar bills... it would be way more entertaining.

Gus, Richie, and Clark are three of life's wallflowers. Richie, for example, still works in a video store and has never kissed a girl while Clark has a paper route and thrills to macaroni and cheese dinners from mother. When they spot a baseball team full of bullies doing their thing on a group of sweet nerds, they hatch a plan. The three of them will take on any little league team that has swelled heads and cold hearts. Nevermind that only Gus can hit and pitch, the trio do quite well and create havoc for the bad news bears everywhere. They even get a sponsor who promises a lovely new baseball field to the winner of the benchwarmers vs. bullies season. But, are there secrets that will destroy the benchwarmers noble ideals? This is a funny movie, without a doubt. The three stars, Schneider, Spade, and Heder, are a winning and wacky combination, to say the least. The gentleman who plays Richie's agoraphobic brother is a scene-stealing guffaw machine as well. The movie has top notch production values in costuming, scenery, script and more. The only problem, in-your-face throughout the film, is the bathroom humor that goes too far. Parents should be cautioned about this gross-out material before the family sits down to watch the movie together. Nevertheless, Benchwarmers has some good messages and giggles galore. It should be a hit with older children and fun-loving adults everywhere.

I absolutely love this whacky comedy/nerdy movie maybe cause I have autism I connect with it differently! Denis Dugan has made a bunch of silly comedies this is one of the most ridiculous out there not appreciated much and it's understandable. I love the humor so much and how it flows; I never get tired of it maybe cause I respect quirky beings. Benchwarmers is wonderfully fun for what it is!

I generally avoid movies with a lot of gross or body humor, and movies with the three major stars in it, and would naturally have avoided this one, except that Jon Heder was in it, and I thought I would give it a try. I was not disappointed. He pulled off being an idiot without recreating his Napolean Dynamite character. He was funny.

There were other elements of humor that were random, silly and funny. I found myself laughing out loud, but unembarrassed. Many of the scenes caught me off guard. I was pleased that the movie had less trashy language than I expected, and actually less body humor than I expected.

If you like random, silly movies, this would be a good choice, and if you are Jon Heder fan, you might really enjoy this movie.

I'm not a very difficult person, and I'm not very hard to please when it comes to movies. I don't mind watching a harmless, gross-out comedy once in a while, and I laugh at most of the jokes, even those that aren't supposed to be that funny (heck, I found Date Movie hilarious...that should give you an idea on how easy it is to make me laugh). However, this was just plain awful. I mean, when Rob Schneider is the best element of a movie (which isn't saying much), you know you're in for something really, really stupid. The jokes are so unfunny, it's painful.There's only so much you can do with farts and bodily fluids... Even the kids at my screening didn't laugh. I usually adore David Spade because of his bratty attitude and caustic humor, but his character in Benchwarmers is completely uninteresting. As for Jon Heder... What happened to the young, promising actor who made audiences laugh with his character of Napoleon Dynamite? It seemed like you had such a beautiful career ahead of you! But now, it's only a matter of time until you hit rock bottom and join the "Unfunny actors who have lost all credibility because they keep making bad movie choices" club which your co-star Schneider has been part of for quite some time now. But I have faith in you Jon! I know that you can still redeem yourself! As for the plot, it is a rehash of something we've seen thousands of times, and you'll be lucky if you don't fall asleep. Saying that it's harmless is an understatement : it's too boring and bland to have any kind of impact.

This movie has good humor and isn't just comedy because towards the end of the movie it becomes more serious. I think if you want to laugh and be pretty interested in a movie at the same time, this is a movie for that. Also, this movie can get repetitive if you watch it more than once because it doesn't make you think that much. Overall, I think is a 7/10 because it has a wide variety of characters and is very creative. I get why it has a 5/10 because it is pretty immature. My favorite part is when Carlos plays in the semi-final, hits a home run and goes around the bases with the Dominican Republic flag. All in all, that is my opinion on The Benchwarmers.