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Balls of Fury - Review

Written by Taryn Shick

Wednesday, 29 August 2007

Starring: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon
Directed By: Robert Ben Garant
Produced By: Derek Evans, Ron Schmidt, Roger Birnbaum
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy and Sports
Release Date: August 29th 2007 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language.
Distributors: Rogue Pictures (Focus)

Balls of Fury is “a huge comedy with tiny balls.” The film follows the events surrounding an underground table tennis, a.k.a. ping-pong, tournament. Randy Daytona (Fogler) is a former Olympic table tennis champ who falls from glory and must prove his worthiness by competing in the tournament. He is also attempting to assist the FBI in capturing a wanted man who happens to run the underground tournament.
The film has a great cast. Lopez is likeable as FBI agent Rodriguez. Maggie Q is fun to watch acting but more so when she kicks butt. There are fun cameos and bit parts. We get Patton Oswalt as an obnoxious ping-pong champ. Thomas Lennon plays Daytona’s arch nemesis, displaying a German accent and his penchant for tight shorts ala Reno 911! Jason Scott Lee is a thug-like character. He stands on the opposite side of his role as Bruce Lee in Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story, acting as perpetrator rather than victim of the code that Asian masters ought not to train outsiders. Aisha Tyler surprises with a role as the evil assistant, creating a presence reminiscent of Grace Jones.
But the two best roles are James Hong as Master Wong and Christopher Walken as Feng. They are just hysterical in a wonderfully endearing way. Balls of Fury belongs to the old dudes. The best moments of the film come from them.
But there are plenty of laughs and even great martial arts displays. The film does seem to just push on a little too quickly. I’m not sure why exactly it does, but the pacing of the film feels rushed. But it doesn’t do so enough not to be amusing.
The film takes an odd sport and makes fun of it yet shows respect for it at the same time. The result is a unique comedy experience. Balls of Fury is a goofy good time.
Grade: B+

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