Director: Jonathan A Rosenbaum
Writer: Stephen Mazur (Screenplay)
Starring: Chris Klein, Jon Lovitz, Chelsey Reist, Lochlyn Munro, Garfield Wilson
Plot: After a freak accident ruins a guy’s chances at playing professional baseball, he joins a competitive softball league for lawyers.
Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Ball starts as we meet Ben McGrath (Klein) who sees his baseball career shattered after a freak accident in a game. This puts his life into spiral, making him a gardener working towards something better in life, training to become a lawyer.
After getting laughed out of most offices in town including Stenhouse (Munro) the biggest firm in the city, he finds a job working for Mel Carmichael (Lovitz). Ben first case is working with Annie against Stenhouse and in he is asked to manage the firms softball team, turning them from the worst team to the best team in the league.
Thoughts on Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls
Characters & Performances – Ben McGrath was going to be a major league baseball star before his accident on the field. He has spent years trying to put his life back together, working to become a lawyer, trying to get a job, which will see him landing one in the last place he tries, a place where he must look to bring the people together on a softball field and in the office, while showing his son that he has worked had to become respect. Chris Klein is good in this role, giving us laughs along the way, as well as handling the serious side of the story. Mel is the man that hires Ben, he owns the law firm, but he doesn’t practise law, he will turn up for the speeches that make the important moments in the film. Jon Lovitz will bring his level of comedy to the film, never overstaying his welcome. Annie is the lawyer that has been working on a personal case that will see her working with Ben, while having her own secret from the past. Chelsey Reist is fun in her role, where she doesn’t bring the comedy, bringing the serious side to everything going on. Stenhouse is the rich powerful lawyer that makes the most money and is arrogant about how successful he is, being bully more than anything, rival in the courtroom and softball pitch. Lochlyn Munro does give us an unlikely character with ease.
Story – The story here follows a former baseball prospect that sees his chanced crushed, needing to make himself a new career, working on a career to become a lawyer, only to find himself needing to manage the softball team on the side. This is a story that shows that team sport can bring people together and that the little guy can overcome the powerhouse to win, in court or on the field. We might only follow one man on his road to redemption in life, improving his relationship with his son. It all plays out how you would imagine, feeling a lot like Dodgeball with how each member of the team has their own unique side.
Themes – Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls is a sports comedy that will show the importance of teamwork, not only in the office but on the sport field. The softball scenes show the improvements that the team goes through like every sports movie.
Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls is a fun sports comedy that has the important life message.
