Ladybugs
3.5/4
Starring: Rodney Dangerfield, Jackee, Jonathan Brandis, Ilene Graff, Vinessa Shaw
Rated PG-13 for Sex Related Dialogue
Like "The Mighty Ducks," "Ladybugs" is a family sports comedy about taking a ragtag group of inept sports players and turning them into champions. But in place of hockey, you have soccer, and instead of Emilio Estevez, you have Rodney Dangerfield.
Chester (Dangerfield) is a salesman who is looking for a big promotion so he can marry his dreamgirl, Bess (Graff). But while kissing ass, he ends up becoming the coach of the company soccer league--a sport which he knows nothing about. And to make matters worse, the team is terrible. Desperate (his boss says he'll get the promotion if he can win the championship), he gets his fiancee's son, Matthew (Brandis) to put on a wig and become their star soccer player. But how long can he keep up the charade before he's caught?
"Ladybugs" is really more of a comedy than a sports movie, although we do have an investment in the ending. The story is paper thin to make room for the jokes, which is the right decision because 90% of them hit the mark. This is one seriously funny movie, mainly because Dangerfield is so good at self-deprecating humor.
Dangerfield is surrounded by a good supporting cast. The late great Jonathan Brandis, one of the best young actors of the 90s, is terrific as the gender-switching kid. His eyes and his voice (his two most noticeable characteristics) are used to good effect, and he makes Matthew/Martha (as he/she is called) a likable and endearing character. Jackee adds some sass as Chester's feisty secretary and assistant coach, Julie, while Tom Parks provides some great conflict as Chester's highly competitive boss.
Sidney J. Furie directs the movie in what is really the best way possible: let Dangerfield take center stage and then build the film around him. He is able to get us invested in the team's fate, despite the fact that almost none of them are developed. They are likable, and that's what counts.
Some of the humor doesn't fly. The "enemy" coaches are badly acted caricatures, Dangerfield runs his mouth a little too much at times and belabors the jokes, and the film runs out of steam towards the end. Still, a movie this funny deserves a lot of recognition.
Starring: Rodney Dangerfield, Jackee, Jonathan Brandis, Ilene Graff, Vinessa Shaw
Rated PG-13 for Sex Related Dialogue
Like "The Mighty Ducks," "Ladybugs" is a family sports comedy about taking a ragtag group of inept sports players and turning them into champions. But in place of hockey, you have soccer, and instead of Emilio Estevez, you have Rodney Dangerfield.
Chester (Dangerfield) is a salesman who is looking for a big promotion so he can marry his dreamgirl, Bess (Graff). But while kissing ass, he ends up becoming the coach of the company soccer league--a sport which he knows nothing about. And to make matters worse, the team is terrible. Desperate (his boss says he'll get the promotion if he can win the championship), he gets his fiancee's son, Matthew (Brandis) to put on a wig and become their star soccer player. But how long can he keep up the charade before he's caught?
"Ladybugs" is really more of a comedy than a sports movie, although we do have an investment in the ending. The story is paper thin to make room for the jokes, which is the right decision because 90% of them hit the mark. This is one seriously funny movie, mainly because Dangerfield is so good at self-deprecating humor.
Dangerfield is surrounded by a good supporting cast. The late great Jonathan Brandis, one of the best young actors of the 90s, is terrific as the gender-switching kid. His eyes and his voice (his two most noticeable characteristics) are used to good effect, and he makes Matthew/Martha (as he/she is called) a likable and endearing character. Jackee adds some sass as Chester's feisty secretary and assistant coach, Julie, while Tom Parks provides some great conflict as Chester's highly competitive boss.
Sidney J. Furie directs the movie in what is really the best way possible: let Dangerfield take center stage and then build the film around him. He is able to get us invested in the team's fate, despite the fact that almost none of them are developed. They are likable, and that's what counts.
Some of the humor doesn't fly. The "enemy" coaches are badly acted caricatures, Dangerfield runs his mouth a little too much at times and belabors the jokes, and the film runs out of steam towards the end. Still, a movie this funny deserves a lot of recognition.
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