In the mid-2000s, Hollywood discovered a penchant for turning various exotic, obscure sports into the basis for its comedies. Following the success of dodgeball in Dodgeball: The Real Underdog Story, NASCAR racing in Talladega Nights, and figure skating in Blades of Glory, the turn came for table tennis. In 2007, the film Balls of Fury, directed by Robert Ben Garant, sought to capitalise on this trend.
The protagonist, played by Dan Fogler, is Randy Daytona, a small-time entertainer who used to be a table tennis child prodigy. He gets approached by FBI agent Ernie Rodriguez, played by Charles Lopez, who wants his assistance in an attempt to bring down the powerful crime lord Feng, played by Christopher Walken. Feng is a table tennis fanatic and has set up an underground tournament in his jungle hideout. Daytona is to enter the tournament and provide cover for Rodriguez, who will investigate. However, Daytona hasn't been playing table tennis for a long time, and, in order to compete, he has to be trained by Wong, played by James Hong, a blind table tennis master. Daytona, together with Rodriguez, Wong, and Wong's niece Maggie, played by Maggie Q, comes to Feng's lair where he would learn that his task is not only dangerous but very personal.
Balls of Fury was savaged by critics after its premiere, and some of those complaints were quite valid. The biggest problem of the film is conceptual; instead of spoofing the sport itself or sports films in general, the script opts for spoofing Enter the Dragon, martial arts classics which, despite its legendary status, makes Balls of Fury less understandable to younger audiences who are not familiar with 1970s cinema.
Another issue is common to many Hollywood comedies – insufficient quality and quantity of humour. While some of the jokes, based on absurdist humour reminiscent of 1980s Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker parody classics, work and are indeed hilarious, most of them are either spent in the first half of the film or wasted on the trailer. As a result, Balls of Fury loses much of its steam in the second half, and this becomes apparent despite its short running time of an hour and a half.
On the other hand, Balls of Fury is carried above mediocrity thanks to a very spirited and inspired cast. Dan Fogler, who plays the underdog protagonist and was relatively unknown at the time of the premiere, does well in his first major role, but he is nevertheless overshadowed by two supporting players. Christopher Walken, one of the most formidable Hollywood actors, appears to have a blast playing an over-the-top villain, but it is James Hong, a Chinese American character actor with an extremely prolific career, who delivers the role of his life as the protagonist's mentor.
At the end of the day, Balls of Fury is a comedy that is entertaining enough to be recommended, although ultimately for an audience familiar with Bruce Lee's classic and those who approach comedy with low expectations.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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