Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"Dude, you're a little bitch!"

[year/rating] 1998 R [genre] Sports Comedy [director] David Zucker [starring] Trey Parker Matt Stone Dian Bachar Yasmine Bleeth

Tagline

Two guys invented a game... and turned the sports world upside down!

Summary Capsule

Two losers create new sport that combines baseball and basketball, then start their own franchise.

Mutant Meter

Movie Store [proceeds go toward monthly MRFH upkeep]

Check out this movie in VHS or DVD, and the soundtrack CD

Clare's Rating: I'm not going to re-recap the movie. Read the review below to find out the basic plot of the flick and then come back here. I can wait...
Clare's Review: Ok then. Allow me to give a wee precursor to my actual review by explaining the following: It has been well documented in the MRFH chronicles that on the playground of life, I'm definitely hanging with the kids who'd rather light ants on fire than ride the seesaw. It should also be noted that I grew up in an environment that reinforced the notion that all things can be made funnier with fart noises. So, yes. I have a number of college degrees. I speak three languages fluently. I actively enjoy foreign films and classical music. But I also happen to think BASEketball is screamingly funny. What can I say? I'm an enigma wrapped in mystery meat shrouded by wonder bread.

"It has been well documented in the MRFH chronicles that on the playground of life, I'm definitely hanging with the kids who'd rather light ants on fire than ride the seesaw."

As has been clearly stated in my previous reviews for South Park: BLU and Cannibal: The Musical!, I find Trey Parker and Matt Stone to be alarmingly entertaining. I was a little worried about BASEketball when I first rented it because, although I couldn't imagine anyone else in the universe playing Coop and Reemer, I knew that Parker and Stone hadn't actually written the screenplay and that David Zucker had pretty much lost me back at Airplane! but the ads were actually kind of funny and hell, what's $3 for a movie right?

Turns out BASEketball is so funny it nearly killed me. I had one of those really fun experiences where you take a sip of something carbonated (for this demonstration, gin and tonic) and then something really funny happens and you have to either spit the carbonated beverage out your nose and across the room or quickly become a monk and start meditating on the 8th plane in order to calm down fast enough not to have your brain explode. This happened twice actually, in between all the other times I was able to laugh without incident.

The first time was when Ernest Borgnine started singing "I'm too sexy" (Clare sips gin and tonic here) and then starts rubbing his nipples and dancing. (Gin and tonic leaves head, lands on sleeping cat. My kung fu is not very strong). The second time was when Coop and Reemer reconcile after having a big fight (gin and tonic is sipped), the music swells and a big sloppy wet kiss ensues. (Clare opts for mind control and nearly faints trying to keep her beverage in her head). The thing about the kiss wasn't really that it was unexpected or shocking. You could see it coming for days and I've seen dudes make out enough times not to find it all that noteworthy. It was more the level of commitment that Parker and Stone put into it that impressed me enough to lose control of my beverage maintenance.

Besides these two near fatal instances, the rest of the movie moves along so quickly that you may have to rewind to catch the myriad of jokes that are slung. By sheer volume alone there's bound to be SOMETHING to find amusing here. Plus there's about twenty minutes of out takes after the credits that include even more funny for your money. Yes, BASEketball is dumb. But dumb in a charming kind of way. And really, if something makes you laugh out loud, who cares? Get over yourself and go rent it.

Justin's Rating: The shot is good! A home run!
Justin's Review: I'll make it easy for you. There's really nothing personally likable about Matt Stone or Trey Parker. They exist to be as disgusting, vile, and tasteless as possible, up to the point of personally flipping off your mother at your wedding. They'd do that, of course, but there's a time consideration involved. So let go and just hate them — but it's okay to laugh as well, in the way you'd laugh at your cousin Ted when he lit a firecracker in his nose.

"Why do most clichés involve repetition? 'All in all', 'time to time', etc."

In BASEketball, there are these two losers (Stone and Parker pretty much playing themselves) who have basically done nothing with their lives. I'm sure you can relate. One night they're at a high school reunion party, and to show up two preppy jerks, they beat them at a game they make up on the spot. It's called BASEketball, and allows your average slobs to compete with super athletes by combining the best parts of both baseball and basketball. A few years later, and the game is in the pros, with Stone and Parker head of a team called the Beers. Joining them is one of the best additions to the cast, a squeak called Squeak (Dian Bachar). The rest of the movie is mainly a "downtrodden team vs. the evil big guys and get the girl while we're at it" bit.

David Zucker, one of the geniuses behind the Airplane! and Naked Gun movies, would like you to believe that this is an outright satire on the sports industry. That's true for perhaps the first ten minutes; after that, don't expect more than a pretty boistrous comedy.

The game itself is what deserves your attention. Each of the teams have a particular theme that goes hand-in-hand with the city it represents (such as the San Fransisco Ferries or the Dallas Felons), and come complete with a squad of barely legal cheerleaders. One of the best parts of BASEketball is that the opposing team is allowed to psyche out the person who's shooting the basket. Here's where Stone and Parker really shine: they come up with some of the most hilarious and outrageous strategies which will surely gross you out. My favorite is when they play the audio book version of "The Horse Whisperer" and put the guy in a coma.

All in all, it's a fairly enjoyable film that goes over the line from time to time. (Side note: why do most clichés involve repetition? "All in all", "time to time", etc.) Keep an eye out for the scenes where Parker and Trey do some brilliant bits of satire, including bits from Braveheart, South Park, and others. And the way they pick on Squeak (and the way he reacts) is irresistable to snicker at, sometimes for days after seeing this movie. BASEketball won't disappoint if you need a film to make you laugh with a few friends. Just, um, make sure you don't make this your first date movie.

"I call her... Belinda" Quick test: are you looking at the foreground or the background? Godzilla! Run!

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• Corporate sponsorship for stadiums
• There's a stairway through elevator doors - huh?
• Two times in the film, (maybe more) Parker and Stone use voices from South Park. Mr. Garrison's voice is heard in the locker room scene, and Coop taunts a fat Dallas Felon with a "surprisingly" accurate impression of Cartman.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Yes, there's a small scene following the credits

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Coop and Reemer's "short whiny friend" Squeak Scolari is played by Dian Bachar who's been in every movie Parker and Stone have made that isn't animated. More recently he's been doing the voice for Chris, Satan's extremely sensitive boyfriend, on South Park.

The strangely knowledgeable rock song Coop listens to in his car is sung by Trey Parker.

The movie is based on a real-life game that director David Zucker created with his friends, literally played in the driveway of his home. Many of the reappearing teammates are friends of Zucker and actual original players of the Zucker-driveway game, asked by the director to be in the movie to pay homage to origins of BASEketball.

Groovy Quotes

Tiffany: You guys haven't changed a bit since high school!
Coop & Remer: Cool!
Tiffany: No, it's not!

Remer: Dude, I can't believe they fired you for not turning off our gas for six weeks.
Squeak: It was losing the truck that pissed them off the most.

Coop: If you want unanimous consent, you're gonna have to get it from one of the other owners.

Coop: Who's this guy?
Reemer: He's my entertainment lawyer. He's helping me with my movie contract.
Coop: Now you're such a big shot you're gonna act in a Hollywood movie?

Reemer: Dude, I know you're feeling jealous right now. But don't blame me because I have a sweet ass! I can't help it!

Reemer: Dude, you're a little bitch!

Squeak: I swear if you guys rip on me 13 or 14 more times... I'm outta here!

Cooper: What is something you really want?
Joey: Chelsea Clinton.
Cooper: That's a tough order, dude.
Reemer: You'd have a better shot at Bill.

Reemer: Wake up bitch! You're my new best friend!

DVD Review

Not a ton of extras here, but still a neat-o little DVD. There's a "Spotlight on Location" documentary, a Reel Big Fish "Come on Eileen" music video, the trailer, production notes, and cast & crew info. Nothing spectacular, for a DVD, but definitely above average.

Soundtrack Review

Not a bad little album, with a LOT of cover tunes. Ska band Reel Big Fish contributes two songs, including a cover of a-ha's "Take On Me," while Cherry Poppin' Daddies swing with "Jump In The Line (Shake Shake Senora)," and Smash Mouth's "Why Can't We Be Friends." [clare] It's good stuff. I'm particularly fond of Reel Big Fish's version of A-Ha's classic Take on Me. Can anyone explain to me why ska covers are always cool as ****?

If you liked this movie, try these:

• South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
• Orgazmo
• Cannibal: The Musical!