The Benchwarmers is a 2006 American sports-comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan. It stars Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Jon Heder. It is produced by Revolution Studios and Happy Madison Productions and is distributed by Columbia Pictures.
In July 2018, Revolution Studios and Universal 1440 announced a direct to DVD sequel, titled Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls, which will be released on January 25, 2019. Jon Lovitz will reprise his role as Mel Carmichael.
Plot[]
| Spoiler Warning: The following contains important plot details of the entire film. |
Gus Matthews, Richie Goodman, and Clark Reedy are three adult "nerds"; Clark and Richie were the unpopular children who were constantly bullied and were always left on the bench at their baseball games, because of their athletic abilities. When a nerdy boy named Nelson and his friends are kicked off a nearby baseball diamond by a team of bullies, Gus and Clark chase the bullies away. When Gus and Clark return with Richie to play again and get back their feel for the game, the bullies return and demand that they leave. Gus challenges the bullies to play them for the field, and the three friends, despite Clark and Richie's poor abilities, win the game. Days later, one of Clark and Richie's bullies, Brad, challenges them to another baseball game with his team, but the three friends win again.
Later, Nelson's billionaire father, Mel, tells the trio that he is impressed with their wins, and explains his plan to hold a round-robin with all the mean spirited little league teams in the state, plus their team. The winners will be given access to a new multimillion-dollar baseball park that he is building. Wanting to capture the spirit and fun they never had when they were kids, the three decide to form the Benchwarmers and join the tournament. They prepare to compete with all the other teams, despite the fact that they are three adults squaring off against nine kids per team. Jerry and his jocks continue to spy on the Benchwarmers as they continue win every game, much to his frustration and confusion.
At the semi-final game, Jerry convinced coach Wayne to bribe the umpire by entering his Dominican friend Carlos into the league claiming him to be 12 years old (despite the fake birth certificate being written in green crayon). Carlos proved to be a professional, who purposely stepped on Gus' hand to injure it too much for him to pitch. But the Benchwarmers eventually manage to defeat Carlos by making him too drunk to actually pitch properly and they manage to win when Richie's agoraphobic brother Howie is hit by the pitch but forces the winning run.
However, Brad and Karl find evidence that Gus was a bully himself; known for using name calling over physical force and had bullied one child so intensely that the boy, named Marcus, had to be sent to a mental institution. Taking advantage, Jerry exposed Gus' secret to the public, resulting in Gus getting kicked out of the team. However, on his wife Liz's advice, Gus sincerely apologized to Marcus, who before the final game, made an incredible speech that he forgave him. Gus re-joins the team, announcing that Marcus is the Benchwarmers' new third-base coach.
In the final game, Gus, Clark and Richie do not play; rather, they let a team of Nelson and other children play, to give them a chance to compete. The final is played against a team with a heartless coach, Jerry (Craig Kilborn), who practically torments his players, and was Richie and Clark's main bully when they were children. Nelson hits the ball, and Jerry's team lets him score a run, saying that Jerry is "the loser". The Benchwarmers storm the field, celebrating the fact that they were not shut out, and they give an enraged Jerry a taste of his own medicine, giving him a wedgie. Later, The Benchwarmers celebrate at Pizza Hut where Richie and Clark manage to kiss girls, and Gus celebrates as he will become a father.
| Spoiler Warning: All spoilers have been stated and have ended here. |
Cast[]
- Rob Schneider as Gus Matthews, one of the three main protagonists, bully as a child, "baseball star."
- David Spade as Richie Goodman, one of the three main protagonists, who was one of those (alongside Clark) bullied as a child.
- Jon Heder as Clark Reedy, one of the three main protagonists, who was one of those (alongside Richie) bullied as a child.
- Jon Lovitz as Mel Carmichael, a nerdy billionaire, who brings the Benchwarmers to the public eye.
- Nick Swardson as Howie Goodman, Richie's agoraphobic brother, who views the Sun as a hideous monster, stays at home and has a nasty habit of eating sunscreen.
- Max Prado as Nelson Carmichael, Mel's son.
- Craig Kilborn as Jerry McDowell, the main antagonist, who was Richie and Clark's main bully when they were children.
- Molly Sims as Liz Matthews, Gus's wife.
- Tim Meadows as Wayne
- Doug Jones as #7, Mel's robot.
- Amaury Nolasco as Carlos
- Bill Romanowski as Karl
- Ellie Schnieder as Carol
- Reggie Jackson as himself
- Danny McCarthy as Troy
- Sean Salisbury as Brad
- Matt Weinberg as Kyle
- John P. Farley as Swimmer Boy
- Terry Crews as Steven (Poker Guy #1)
- Blake Clark as Umpire
- Dennis Dugan as Coach Bellows
- Joe Gnoffo as Marcus Ellwood
- William Daniels as the voice of K.I.T.T.
- Jon Moscot
- Mary Jo Catlett as Mrs. Ellwood
- Patrick Schwarzenegger as Jock Kid Game #3
Production[]
The Benchwarmers was shot in various locations in California, mostly in Agoura Hills in the following addresses: Chumash Park – 5550 Medea Valley Drive and Pizza Hut – 5146 Kanan Road, while the rest of the locations were in Chino Hills; Chino; Culver City; Glendale; Watson Drug Store – 116 E. Chapman Avenue, Orange; Simi Valley; Westwood, Los Angeles and 33583 Mulholland Hwy, Malibu (Mel's house)
Reception[]
The film received negative reviews. It received an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. For his performance in the film, Rob Schneider was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor at the 27th Golden Raspberry Awards, where he lost to both Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans for Little Man.
Box office[]
Despite negative reviews, the film was a box office success. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $19.6 million, ranking second at the North American box office. The film grossed $59,843,754 domestically and $5,113,537 in foreign markets, totaling $64,957,291 worldwide.
External links[]
The Benchwarmers on IMDb The Benchwarmers at Box Office Mojo The Benchwarmers at Rotten Tomatoes The Benchwarmers at Metacritic David Spade interview for The Benchwarmers