Today’s quick review: BASEketball. While at a party, immature slackers Joe Cooper (Trey Parker) and Doug Remer (Matt Stone) invent BASEketball, a new sport that caters to their specific skill set. Their game soon becomes a hit, growing from a neighborhood pastime to a national obsession. But their dream of a pure, authentic sport is threatened when Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn), the owner of a rival team, tries to commercialize their creation.
BASEketball is a sports comedy about a fictitious sport that catapults two losers to celebrity status. BASEketball takes aim at sports culture in America, presenting its titular sport as a grassroots alternative to the professional leagues that have become stale and corporate. The movie packs in plenty of jokes and finds a natural duo in Trey Parker and Matt Stone. However, its outlandish premise and uneven humor keep it from being a surefire hit.
BASEketball’s humor skews decidedly lowbrow. Raunchy jokes, regional stereotypes, childish innuendo, and bouts of slapstick form the bulk of the movie’s comedy, with some transparent social commentary and a few things done just for shock value thrown in for good measure. BASEketball has fun with its material and with the conventions of the sports genre, applying the usual underdog formula to an unconventional sport in a rather silly world.
In spite of some creative jokes, BASEketball struggles with its consistency. The extreme nature of its humor means that, even for viewers who are generally onboard, there are bound to be a few misses. The premise takes an unusual amount of work to set up, requiring a new sport, an abrupt rise to the top, and an alternate world where traditional sports have stagnated. The story comes across as contrived, even if that is part of the fun.
Try out BASEketball when you’re in the mood for something light, creative, and raunchy. The movie doesn’t score enough hits to join the best the genre has to offer, but its variety of humor and engaging leads make it a fun pick for the right viewer. Skip it if you’re looking for something innocent or tactful, or if you dislike crude humor.
For a more conventional sports comedy with a similar trajectory, try Major League. For one with a similar tone and more accessible humor, try Dodgeball. For an even raunchier comedy from the same creators, try Team America: World Police.
6.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for an inventive premise and mixed results.