Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Plot
Average Joe’s, a modest, run-down gym with only a few members, is owned by Peter LaFleur. When he defaults on the gym’s mortgage, the cocky White Goodman, who operates Globo Gym across the street, buys it and plans to foreclose and demolish Average Joe’s to build a new auxiliary parking structure for his members unless Peter can fund $50,000 in 30 days. Goodman makes an attempt to attract his account manager, attorney Katherine “Kate” Veatch; she is repelled and cites a conflict of interest (COI) to deny his unwanted overtures, telling him she does not date clients.
To raise the necessary funds, Peter, gym employees Dwight Baumgarten and Owen Dittman, and members Steve “Pirate” Cowan, Justin Redman, and Gordon Pibb join forces. After Owen’s recommended car wash fails, Gordon suggests entering a $50,000 dodgeball competition in Las Vegas. Girl Scout Troop 417 easily defeats them in a local qualifying match after Justin obtains a 1950s-era training video featuring Irish-American dodgeball legend Patches O’Houlihan, but they are disqualified due to one member’s use of three different types of anabolic steroids and a low-grade beaver tranquilizer, effectively handing the win to Average Joe’s by default.
Goodman establishes his own team after snooping on Average Joe’s with a hidden camera, stunning Gordon by disclosing he entered the game because of his friendship with the chancellor. Patches, now wheelchair-bound and aged, approaches Peter after seeing their brawl and offers to coach the squad. Patches’ unique training program includes hurling wrenches at the crew, forcing them to dodge oncoming cars, and insulting them continuously. Kate exhibits athletic ability but declines to join the squad due to a conflict of interest. Goodman shows up unannounced at Kate’s house and claims that he lied to her supervisors about her drinking on the job, causing her to lose her job and allowing him to date her. She rejects Goodman and joins the Average Joe’s crew, enraged but now free of the COI.
The team suffers early defeats at the event, but manages to proceed to the final round against Globo Gym. Patches is killed by a falling sign in the casino the night before the match. Demoralized and fearful of losing, Peter angrily informs Steve that he is not a pirate, prompting Steve to abandon the team. When Peter returns to his room, he is surprised to see an uninvited Goodman, who offers him $100,000 for the rights to Average Joe’s. Justin quits the day before the final round to assist his classmate Amber in a cheerleading competition, leaving Average Joe’s without players. Peter briefly meets Lance Armstrong, who boosts his spirits and gets him back on the squad, but he and Justin arrive too late; Average Joe’s has already surrendered the match. Gordon discovers a loophole in the rules: the forfeiture can be overturned by a majority of the judges. The tie-breaking vote is cast by Chuck Norris, allowing the team to play.
Following a thrilling game, Peter and Goodman compete in a sudden-death match to determine the winner. Peter blindfolds himself, successfully dodges Goodman’s throw, and strikes him in the face, winning the championship and the prize money, inspired by Patches’ spirit. Goodman discloses that Peter sold Average Joe’s to him the night before, but Peter reveals that he used Goodman’s $100,000 to wager on Average Joe’s to win, and he collects $5 million despite the odds being 50 to 1. As Kate explains, because Globo Gym is a publicly traded company, Peter buys a controlling part in it, reclaiming Average Joe’s position, and then publicly fires Goodman. Steve reappears, now looking more human, and apologizes to Peter, but his pirate image reappears when Peter shows him their riches. When Joyce, Kate’s girlfriend who flew in from Guam to see the final match, arrives and kisses her passionately, Peter is taken aback, but Kate then confesses her bisexuality and kisses Peter in the same way. Kate becomes Peter’s girlfriend, Justin and Amber marry and have a baby on the way, and Owen begins dating Globo Gym player Fran Stalinovskovichdaviddivichski. Goodman grows morbidly obese and sad, blaming Norris for his condition, while Peter opens youth dodgeball lessons at a freshly rebuilt Average Joe’s.