Blackball Review
By Christopher Null
And apparently, this oddity merited being the subject of a feature film from National Lampoon, the former cultural touchstone that has now become the bottom feeder of American lowbrow humor.
Paul Kaye (essentially the British Breckin Meyer) is Cliff Starkey, a lawn bowls amateur (and deadbeat) who fights his way to the top of his local tournament -- which just so happens to include the game's creator, Ray Speight (James Cromwell). Meanwhile, he's sleeping with Speight's daughter (Alice Evans) and developing a name for himself as the bad boy of lawn bowls, thanks to the help of a nasty agent (Vince Vaughn).
Directed by Mel Smith (High Heels and Low Lifes), this silly romp is a massive departure from fare like Animal House and Dorm Daze, with nary a frat party, a co-ed, or even a university in sight. Presumably, Smith is hoping we find the inherent comedy in lawn bowls, with the idea of throwing a rough-hewn party crasher into the croquet-like sport. Well that's funny for a few minutes, but Starkey's absurd shots (blindfolded, through his legs, what have you) can't carry the film alone. This leads us into the tepid love story and an even sillier national competition, which takes place inside a hyper-modern lawn bowls arena.
It didn't work for Dodgeball and it doesn't work here. In fact, it's more than a little boring, to be honest. How Cromwell and Vaughn got caught up in this I'll never know. My guess is they were given a different script and were kidnapped, forced to appear in this humorless bit of nonsense.
Facts and Figures
Year: 2003
Run time: 96 mins
In Theaters: Friday 5th September 2003
Box Office Worldwide: $48 thousand
Distributed by: First Look
Production compaines: Midfield Films
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5
Rotten Tomatoes: 38%
Fresh: 5 Rotten: 8
IMDB: 5.5 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Mel Smith
Producer: James Gay-Rees
Screenwriter: Tim Firth
Starring: Paul Kaye as Cliff Starkey, Vince Vaughn as Rick Schwartz, Johnny Vegas as Trevor, James Cromwell as Ray Speight, Bernard Cribbins as Mutley, Alice Evans as Kerry, Terry Alderton as Bouncer, Meredith MacNeill as Suzi, Imelda Staunton as Bridget, James Fleet as Alan the Pipe, Ian McNeice as Hugh The Sideburns
Also starring: Mark Little, David Ryall, James Gay-Rees, Tim Firth