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Peter (Vaughn) is about to lose his scruffy Average Joe's Gym to bankruptcy, much to the delight of his big-mouthed, high-tech competitor (Stiller) across the street. To save Average Joe's Peter needs a lot of money, so he and his staff (geeky-teen Long, chubby-dork Root, nerd Moore, nice-guy Williams and, erm, pirate-wannabe Tudyk) enter a dodgeball championship to win the prize money. He gets some help from the hottie bank officer (Taylor) assigned to his case, as well as a has-been coach (Torn), but it'll take a miracle to win, won't it?

Of course it will, but since this is a comedy, we're never in the slightest doubt where it's going, even though the script throws in every wrench imaginable. Alas, the film is loud and crass rather than actually funny; most of the jokes are of the 'hit in the face with a flying wrench' school. And even the gifted Stiller (camping it up outrageously) can't quite save it, although his pompous dialog is often genuinely funny, in a cringeworthy sort of way. Vaughn is charming in his everyman mode; Taylor gets the glamorous, non-embarrassing role; and the rest of the cast have their moments amid the slapstick mayhem.

But it's just not clever enough to hang together on any level. Undemanding viewers just craving brainless stupidity might find enough to keep them chuckling continuously, but for those of us who want more from our comedies (especially one with such promising cast members), a smart joke every 10 minutes and a bunch of witty cameos (Lance Armstrong being my favourite) just isn't enough.