Film Review: BASEKetball

About BASEketball (1998) This spoof of the sports industry comes from the director of ‘The Naked Gun’ and stars ‘South Park’ creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone as two average guys who devise a game to play in their driveway. When the game becomes a national obsession, the duo are propelled into stardom and their new-found status allows them to indulge in all the dubious trappings of fame.

Starring: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn

Directed by: David Zucker

Runtime: 104 minutes

Studio: Universal Studios

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Review: BASEketball 

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s sport comedy tells the story of Joe Cooper (Trey Parker) and Doug Remer (Matt Stone) who are high school graduates that have simply never grown up. They gatecrash a high school friend’s party at the outset and find their contemporaries to be grown up with jobs and responsibilities. A bet over a game of basketball sees the two friends earn some renown and gives rise to a new form of of the sport which they call BASEketball. American sport is in the doldrums and this new idea elevates the two friends to stardom and the birth of a new sports league.

Joe and Doug are indebted to the support and funding of Ted Denslow (Ernest Borgnine) but when he dies, Joe takes control of the team he plays for and has a huge stake in the game. Ted’s wife, Yvette (Jenny McCarthy) isn’t happy but she finds an ally in Baxter Cain (Robert Vaughn) who wants to monetise BASEketball and make a huge profit. Joe isn’t interested but when Doug sees the potential in earning decent money from the venture, a seemingly irrevocable gulf appears between the friends. If that isn’t enough they end up competing for the affections of Jenna Reed (Yasmine Bleeth) as well. Who will win?

Coming from the creators of South Park, BASEketball was inevitably going to be funny but I didn’t expect it to be as hilarious as it is. The sport itself is fantastic with players permitted to put their opponents off with slanderous words and actions which creates some memorable results. As with South Park there are those moments where you find yourself laughing very hard even though you know it might not necessarily be appropriate. I don’t recall laughing so much watching someone try to revive an ailing patient in hospital for instance. The ending to the story may be predictable but Parker and Stone’s comedy is so funny that you won’t care.

BASEketball is one of the funniest sports comedy I have had the pleasure of watching. Focusing on a new sport that gives hope to America, Parker and Stone portray two friends who go from high school rejects to sports stars almost overnight but with fame and wealth comes many heavy prices. Whether you’re a fan of South Park or not, I can’t imagine many people not finding this funny.

Verdict: 4/5

(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)

About the Author:

I was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England and have always been a bookworm and enjoyed creative writing at school. In 1999 I created the Elencheran Chronicles and have been writing ever since. My first novel, Fezariu's Epiphany, was published in May 2011. When not writing I'm a lover of films, games, books and blogging. I now live in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with my wife, Donna, and our six cats - Kain, Razz, Buggles, Charlie, Bilbo and Frodo.

David M. Brown – who has written 784 posts on Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave.

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