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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Benchwarmers, The
Sony Pictures Releasing


5.4

based on 17 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 84 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for crude and suggestive humor, and for language

Starring Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Heder, Jon Lovitz, Craig Kilborn, Molly Sims, and Tim Meadows

The Benchwarmers tells the story of three guys (Schneider, Spade, Heder) who try to make up for their lack of athleticism when they were younger by forming a three-man baseball team to challenge a full squad of elementary school baseballers. They develop a large following of left-out kids as they head into a high-stakes, winner-take-all game with the best team of kids in the state. (Sony Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Comedy
WRITTEN BY:	Allen Covert Nick Swardson
DIRECTED BY:	Dennis Dugan
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: July 25, 2006 Theatrical: April 7, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	80 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

This morphing of "The Bad News Bears" and a "Three Stooges" episode parades its dumbness with such zip that it almost passes for clever.

Boston Globe James Parker

Not terrible, not terrible at all. Yes, the plot is terrible, some of the jokes are terrible, and Rob Schneider's bizarre from-the-neck-up oxblood tan is terrible, but the movie as a whole is a more-than-acceptable addition to the genre of shameless and hastily made American comedy.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

For the first two acts, veteran lowbrow director Dennis Dugan at least keeps The Benchwarmers' pace brisk and the wall-to-wall soundtrack upbeat and infectious. Then the big third-act twist arrives and the film drags to a finish, leaving a slug-like trail of squishy sentimentality.

LA Weekly Ben Kenigsberg

It's hard to buy the movie as an underdog success story, since even the actors barely seem to exert themselves.

Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour

From the beginning to its very end, The Benchwarmers seems to be struggling to justify its own existence.

Variety Joe Leydon

Under Dennis Dugan's rote direction, Schneider winds up playing straight man to Spade, who once again relies on his snarky coward shtick, and Heder, who comes across like someone doing a bad imitation of ... well, Heder himself in "Napoleon Dynamite."

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

This formulaic mess of sports-movie cliches and self-esteem claptrap contains a couple of funny bits, but you have to slog through a lot of done-to-death bodily function jokes to get to them.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

An underdog's breakfast of a movie, with some quite funny characters and set pieces mixed with some excruciating "moral lessons," but at least it moves along at a brisk pace.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

The Benchwarmers is the sort of trash that Hollywood does really well. It is also, to quote Mr. Schneider, "a master's thesis on the form of a quintessential Adam Sandler comedy."

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

You have to credit the filmmakers for at least acknowledging their level of dreck during the final credits, when Lovitz rhetorically asks, "This was a complete waste of time, wasn't it?"

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

It's a movie packed with so many idiot characters that Rob Schneider is cast as the cool guy -- and sort of pulls it off.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

No laughs here, just the dull ache of seeing Heder slotted into a standard piece of Hollywood twaddle.

Empire Damon Wise

An unfunny, unfocused sub-SNL baseball comedy that makes the likes of Joe Dirt and Deuce Bigalow seem vintage.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The humor is infantile at best (projectile vomiting and bathroom jokes) and meanspirited at worst (midgets and gays, look out).

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Sandler's latest ode to projectile vomiting, passing gas, gay jokes and physical insults to the groin is basically a feeble cross between "The Revenge of the Nerds" and "The Bad News Bears."

Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton

Though not entirely incapable of provoking a smile (or two), The Benchwarmers strikes out. Again and again and again.

Film Threat Michael Ferraro

Another disastrous comedy aimed at second-graders and anyone else who thinks farts are still funny.

The average user rating for this movie is 5.4 (out of 10) based on 84 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark A. gave it a10:
I'm no fan of Rob Schnieder, and I usually hate Sandler's films, but Benchwarmers made me laugh more times than I can count. A great deal of that credit goes to Jon Lovitz as Mel Schmegmer, "a nerd who grew up - TO MAKE MILLIONS!" This is a film for anyone who's ever been picked on (or picked last) in sports.

Tony gave it a5:
A fast paced reasonably entertaining movie with a few funny moments. I could have done without the potty humor, since it had all been done before and everytime I was done in this movie it seemed forced.

Edgar C. gave it a9:
I went into this movie thinking it was gonna be pretty dumb, but I was wrong. The movie pulled off some really funny stunts and some bathroom humor, but manages to stay mostly clean for younger audiences.

Daz gave it a0:
God saw this over Xmen 3 since one of us hadn't seen any X men, god this is awful you have to be very young to enjoy this movie, its just so mediocre and absolutely no laugh out load moments.

Adam R gave it a10:
Metacritic just doesn't like this kind of movie! What is wrong with the people who gave it a zero! No movie is a zero! Hilarious movie!

Megan k gave it a10:
this is my FAVORITE movie!!!! MAKERS OF WHAT. . . POOP haha what kinda loser doesn't think thats funny!! I loved it!!!!!

Matt H. gave it a3:
Beginning to notice pattern here. how come some moron comes on Metacritic and gives something a 10 because everyone rubbished it......... given it a 3, there was a couple of times i did laugh out loud, but this on the whole is terrible. Anyone who believes that it is worthy of more than a 3, thats fine, but i just want to point out, robot butler! end of discussion.

Benchwarmers, The Sony Pictures Releasing

Benchwarmers, The
Sony Pictures Releasing