As very few of you probably know, I’m actually a coaching minor in my real life. So a movie that has to do with coaching can not only entertain me, it can also inform me. Always learning, that’s me, because “Knowledge is Power” or something like that.
But you may be asking yourself, “Tennis? A movie about tennis? Who wants to watch a movie about tennis?” But think about it, tennis hasn’t really had many movies made about it, so that helps it feel fresh even if it has basically the same story line as every other sports movie. And if that’s not enough of a reason to watch it, well then you’ll love it for the laughs.
This is one of the funniest movies of the year. Even if we are in the third week of the year. It’s got everything – subtle lines under the breath, short people jokes, poop jokes, vomit jokes, stripper jokes, and of course an eight-year-old talking like a sailor. She has four or five lines in the movie, every one of them is completely demented, and everyone one of them is hilarious. And a quick IMDB on her, Ryan Simpkins, turns up that SHE’S WON AN ACTING AWARD!! She won Best Actress at the New York City Horror Film Festival for her work in Surveillance. So she’s more than a dirty mouth.
And then there is Sean William Scott. He’s had a try at a more serious role, or at least a different kind of funny role. But in Balls Out he’s back to the over-the-top raunchy, funny guy that we’ve grown to expect of him. And if you don’t like him, there’s a great reason for you to watch, there are numerous references to him getting effed in the A, so you’ll have that to enjoy. And anyone who enjoys Scott, well, he’s in top form. Good timing, swears a lot which is his big thing, and is just plain funny.
But it’s not just SWS that’s funny, it’s the entire script. The writers did a great job coming up with funny situations and funny lines. And going along with the script, the actors fit their roles well. Randy Quaid is good in his role as the first tennis coach even if his role is small, the assistant coach plays the unsure, geeky, teacher brilliantly and everyone else does fine to. Emilee Wallace, who plays Jenny Tuttle, could use some work on crying when angry because that was the one scene that kind of sucked. Maybe she can go talk to Ryan and get some tips.
The coach in me likes this movie too. He uses some unorthodox methods of getting his players ready through training or extra things, but sometimes a coach has to do what’s best for the team. He seems like a good, caring coach who knows how to get through to the kids. Obviously this is a movie and it was all scripted to work that way. And his coaching style is one of the little thefts from another movie that I noticed. At one of the meets, SWS gets himself thrown out of the meet on purpose much like Gene Hackman in Hoosiers. Which really, just made me like this movie more.
Balls Out is presented in 2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and Dolby Digital 5.1.
(10:31) Tennis Anyone? The Making of Balls Out. Basically just talking about how fun it was to make.
(6:12) worth of deleted and extended scenes. Most of which are pretty funny.
(2:21) Of outtakes. There are some green screen shots to mix it up. Fun. And the little girl swears again, which makes it better.
A ton of previews. Private Valentine: Blonde and Dangerous, The Lodger, Vacancy 2: The First Cut, The Devil’s Chair, Deep Winter, Anacondas: Trail of Blood, Red Sands, Grudge 3, Screamers: The Hunting(No, not that kind of screamer), Against the Dark, Zombie Strippers, Resident Evil: Degeneration, Boogeyman 3, 10 Items or Less: Seasons 1&2.
Sean William Scott being Sean William Scott. It’s a raunchy, foul-mouthed laugh fest. But if you’re one of the people who don’t like SWS, you probably won’t like it. It’s basically a college-guy movie or teen humor if you want to call it that, but everyone else will find something to laugh at as there’s plenty here to love, very close to must own status.
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Green Street Films Presents Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach. Directed by Danny Leiner. Starring Sean William Scott, Randy Quaid, and Brando Eaton. Written by Andrew Stock & Rick Stempson. Running time: 93 minutes. Rated R. Released on DVD: January 13, 2009. Available at Amazon.com.
