The Benchwarmers
Short description
The Benchwarmers follows three grown men who spent their school years being bullied and overlooked. When they catch local kids picking on a friend's son, they decide to settle old scores by putting together a three-man baseball team and challenging established little league squads. Their effort draws support from the town's other misfits, who see the trio as stand-ins for everyone who never got picked.
Dennis Dugan directed the comedy, the seventh of the fourteen films he has directed in chronological order, arriving between National Security and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry. Allen Covert and Nick Swardson wrote the screenplay, and Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo produced through Happy Madison Productions with Revolution Studios. Rob Schneider, David Spade and Jon Heder lead the cast as Gus, Richie and Clark, with Molly Sims, Jon Lovitz and Amaury Nolasco in supporting roles. The film runs 85 minutes and was released on April 7, 2006.
Made for 33 million USD, it took 65 million USD worldwide, a return that exceeded its cost several times over. Audiences rate it modestly: 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb from 58,000 votes, and 5.9 out of 10 on TMDB from 967 votes. Critics were harsher, giving it 3.3 out of 10 across 69 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- After the first game, David Spade and his friends leave the field wearing sunglasses. This is the only such scene, as director Dennis Dugan did not approve of wearing sunglasses on set.
- Adam Sandler later recounted that he specifically cast David Spade and Rob Schneider in the film hoping they would reconcile after a recent falling out.
- John Moscos, a future pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, appeared in a minor role in the film. He was 14 years old at the time, and his name is not listed in the credits.
- The issue of a player using a forged birth certificate did arise. It turned out that Danny Almonte, originally from the Dominican Republic and playing for a New York team, was 14 years old when he played, not 12, which was the age limit. Almonte had simply forged his birth certificate.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
