Some silly films are funny.  I speak of movies such as There’s Something About Mary, American Pie and Happy Gilmore.  Some silly films are not funny.  The Benchwarmers is one of them.

Here’s the story.  A lawnmower named Gus (Schneider) sees three young kids being bullied at a local baseball field.  The bullies are part of a baseball team who want to kick these “nerds” off so that they can practice.  Helping stand up for the minority, Gus proposes a challenge.  He and his two friends, Richie (Spade) and Clark (Heder), will play them in a match.  The winner has the right to the field.  Richie and Clark have no idea what they’re doing but with Gus’s baseball experience, they win the game.

Hearing the story is a multi-millionaire named Mel (Lovitz).  As a child, he was bullied and he’s finding that his son is receiving a similar treatment.  Mel proposes that a full tournament should be held.  Gus, Richie and Clark will be known as the Benchwarmers and will take on every little league team in the district.  The winner will have a brand new stadium built for them.  Lo and behold, the Benchwarmers develop a huge following.  The downtrodden now have someone to root for. 

It’s a ridiculous plot which should not be taken seriously.  It has been made by Happy Madison Productions, the same production company which brought us Deuce Bigalow, The Longest Yard, Dickie Roberts, 50 First Dates, Anger Management, The Hot Chick, The Master Of Disguise, Mr Deeds, Joe Dirt and The Animal.

I have deliberately mentioned those ten films because you need to know that I gave each a grading of C+ or lower.  I know there are a number of people who liked some of the above films.  If you did, then you might enjoy The Benchwarmers.  I didn’t however and have no intention of recommending this.  If I ranked the Happy Madison films in my order of preference, I’d have The Benchwarmers close to the bottom.  It’s worse than I expected.