Themes: Hotshots, Coaches and Players, All Washed Up
Main Cast: Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, Maggie Q, James Hong
Release Year: 2007
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A disgraced former ping pong champion is drawn back into the world of high-stakes table tennis to carry out a top-secret mission in the feature directorial debut of Reno 911! writer/director Ben Garant. Far removed from the rigidly regulated world of professional sports, clandestine ping pong tournaments offer thrilling competition where only the strong survive. There was a time when the mere mention of the name Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) was enough to make even those most hardened ping pong player cower in fear, but these days Randy has fallen out of favor with ping-pong fans. The former champ soon receives a much-needed shot at redemption, however, when he is recruited by a determined FBI agent named Rodriguez (George Lopez) to win a coveted spot in the upcoming underground table tennis tournament and ferret out the nefarious Feng (Christopher Walken), whose thriving criminal empire has transformed him into a true menace to society. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Review
Balls of Fury was the recipient of much critical fury when it first hit theaters. Maybe that's because the title sounded like a ripoff of Blades of Glory, which came out earlier that year, or because Fury's Dan Fogler seemed like a transparent attempt at finding "a poor man's Jack Black." Whatever the reason, it was as though all the pent-up frustration about two-bit comedies and their enslavement to formula was unleashed on this one little ping-pong movie. Which contradicts one very central and very original thing about Balls of Fury -- it might just be the first ever mainstream comedy about ping-pong. And it's certainly the first film since Forrest Gump to digitally conjure such realistic feats of paddle prowess, which Fury does repeatedly, with contagious joy. That's a good way to describe the entire film -- its surprising warmth and sweetness can't help but feel contagious, once viewers look past their preconceived biases. Fogler is, actually, his own comic personality -- he bears a physical resemblance to Black, but his perfectly named Randy Daytona is Fogler's own Def Leppard-loving goofball creation. While Daytona is in fact a depressed schlub working the dingiest casinos in Reno, he's also a genuine ping-pong savant. A lesser script might have made him a hapless wannabe, but writer-director Ben Garant and writer Thomas Lennon respect Daytona's genius, finding the absurd in his situation, rather than requiring him to play the clown -- quite different from how they would have written his character on Reno 911! They've also dreamed up a funny array of ping-pong lifer nut jobs, whose tournament underworld is comic gold, especially as overseen by Christopher Walken in a kimono and a Brooklyn accent. The title tells you this movie has balls, but it can't prepare you for its unexpected heart. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Terry Crews - Freddy; Robert Patrick - Sgt. Pete Daytona; Diedrich Bader - Gary; Aisha Tyler - Mahogany; Thomas Lennon - Karl Wolfschtagg; Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - Mysterious Asian Man; Brett Delbuono - Young Randy (12 Yrs. Old); Jason Scott Lee - Siu-Foo; Toby Huss - Groundskeeper; Dave Holmes - TV Producer; Heather DeLoach - Teenage Fan; David Koechner - Rick The Birdmaster; Kerri Kenney-Silver - Showgirl; Floyd VanBuskirk - Old Man; Jenny Robertson - Den Mother; Patton Oswalt - Hammer; Jim Lampley - Sportscaster; La Na Shi - The Dragon; Mather Zickel - Branch Director; Jim Rash - Techie; David Proval - Mob Boss; Philippe Durand - Referee; Masi Oka - Jeff - Bathroom Attendant; Brandon Molale - Male Courtesan #1; Guy Stevenson - Male Courtesan #2; Steven E. Little - Crazed East German Fan; Cathy Shim - North Korean Attache; Greg Joung Paik - North Korean General; Eugene Choy - Gardener; Matt Sigloch - Commanding Officer; Marisa Tayui - Geisha; Mark Hyland - Umberto Dinovi; Justin Lopez - Wedge McDonald; Irina Voronina - Coach Schmidt; Darryl Chan - Feng's Bodyguard
Credit
Steve Arnold - Art Director, Kurt Peterson - Boom Operator, William Munroe - Boom Operator, Julie Ashton-Barson - Casting, Mary Ann Bozek - Costume Designer, Noga Isackson - First Assistant Director, Robert Ben Garant - Director, Thomas Lennon - Second Unit Director, John Refoua - Editor, Ron Schmidt - Executive Producer, Derek Evans - Executive Producer, Chad Stahelski - Fights Choreographer, Laine Trzinski - Hair Styles, Viviane Normand - Hair Styles, Jeremy Alter - Location Manager, Randy Edelman - Composer (Music Score), David L. Parrish - Camera Operator, Charles Papert - Camera Operator, Jeff Knipp - Production Designer, Thomas E. Ackerman - Cinematographer, Gary Barber - Producer, Roger Birnbaum - Producer, Jonathan Glickman - Producer, Thomas Lennon - Producer, Scott Herbertson - Set Designer, Masako Masuda - Set Designer, Suzan Wexler - Set Designer, Tim Chau - Sound/Sound Designer, Eddie Fernandez - Stunts, Al Goto - Stunts, Steven Ho - Stunts, Willie Leong - Stunts, Jeff Imada - Stunts, Mike Runyard - Stunts, Brian Imada - Stunts, Chuck Tamburro - Stunts, John Koyama - Stunts, Tim Rigby - Stunts, Scott Workman - Stunts, Jonathan Eusebio - Stunts, Roel Failma - Stunts, Jeff Podgurski - Stunts, Steve Upton - Stunts, Jonathan Valera - Stunts, Rex Reddick - Stunts, Robert Alonzo - Stunts, Anita Hart - Stunts, Monty L. Simons - Stunts, David Leitch - Stunts, Marcus Young - Stunts, Xuyen T. Valdivia - Stunts, Tadahiro Nakamura - Stunts, Heidi Moneymaker - Stunts, Shawn Kautz - Stunts, Ilram Choi - Stunts, Ryan Watson - Stunts, J.J. Dashnaw - Stunts, Freddi Joe Farnsworth - Stunts, Steve Hart - Stunts, Jeremy Dunn - Stunts, Kiralee Hayashi - Stunts, Daniel Hernandez - Stunts, Dan Bell - Stunts, Ming Qiu - Stunts, Don Tai - Stunts, Sam Looc - Stunts, Troy Brown - Stunts Coordinator, Josh Hakian - Special Effects Supervisor, Ron Schmidt - Unit Production Manager, Thomas Lennon - Screenwriter, Robert Ben Garant - Screenwriter, David L. Parrish - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Zachary J. Gans - Production Assistant, Sarah Barber - Production Assistant, Victoria Holt - Production Assistant, David L. Parrish - Second Unit Camera, Dennis Berardi - Visual Effects Supervisor, Nils C. Jensen - Sound Effects Editor, Albert Gasser - Sound Effects Editor, Bruce Tanis - Sound Effects Editor, Dave Fulton - Unit Publicist, Mr. X - Digital Effects, Linda Gacsko - First Assistant Camera, Baird B. Steptoe - First Assistant Camera, Bob Small - Grip, Craig Fetterman - Grip, Brandy Holiday - Grip, David K. Howard - Grip, Chris Moriarty - Grip, Don Selsor - Key Grip, Lloyd M. Moriarty - Key Grip, Chuck Martin - Music Editor, Steve Gaub - Post Production Supervisor, Sean Gowrie - Production Coordinator, Valerie Beth Sharp - Production Supervisor, Guillaume De Louche - Properties Master, Steven R. Gehrke - Script Supervisor, Jim Hensz - Second Assistant Director, David Waine - Special Effects Coordinator, Charles Papert - Steadicam Operator, Gemma La Mana - Still Photographer, Tim Chau - Supervising Sound Editor, Fiona Campbell Westgate - Visual Effects Producer, Jim Brookshire - ADR Editor, Thomas J. O'Connell - ADR Mixer, Rick Canelli - ADR Recordist, Stacey B. Brashear - Assistant Location Manager, Jeff Stanford - Assistant Location Manager, Jonathan Jansen - Assistant Location Manager, Erin Wooldridge - Assistant Makeup, Debbie Merritt - Assistant Production Coordinator, Jimmy Meehan - Assistant Properties, Rick Maddux - Best Boy Electric, Jason Selsor - Best Boy Grip, Tom L. Adams - Best Boy Grip, Paige Augustine - Buyer, Alan Colbert - Chief Lighting Technician, John Samson - Construction Coordinator, Andrew N. Miller - DGA Intern, Antonio V. Garrido - Dolly Grip, Hugo Elizondo - Dolly Grip, Martin Weeks - Electrician, Andrew B. Horton - Electrician, Nicholas Aiello - Electrician, Thomas Holm - Electrician, Dan Kerns - Electrician, Nick Zeigler - Electrician, Elzabeth Speckman - First Assistant Accountant, Ann M. Wiggins - First Assistant Accountant, Steve Bobertz - First Assistant Editor, John Roesch - Foley Artist, Alyson Moore - Foley Artist, Alex Bates - Key Costumer, Gloria Montemayor - Key Hairstylist, Maggie Fung - Key Make-up, Sharon B. Taksel - Post Production Accountant, Donald Williams - Post Production Assistant, Laura Walker - Post Production Assistant, Sophia Tapia - Production Accountant, M.K. Gleason - Production Accountant, Caroline Fife - Production Accountant, Rob Monroy - Second Assistant Camera, Markus Mentzer - Second Assistant Camera, Melinda Johnson - Second Second Assistant Director, J.J. Linsalata - Second Second Assistant Director, Craig Amendola - Second Second Assistant Director, Juana Marie Franklin - Second Unit Assistant Director, Al Lewis - Set Dresser, Bart Barbuscia - Set Dresser, Louis Terry - Set Dresser, Christopher Fuentes - Set Dresser, Jennifer La Gura - Set Dresser, Dennis Curlett, Jr. - Set Production Assistant, Andrea McGee - Set Production Assistant, Megan Miller - Set Production Assistant, Gary Thomas - Storyboard Artist, Shaun Ryan - Transportation Captain, Ted Moser - Transportation Coordinator, Dena Roth - Set Decorator, Jeff McMahon - Construction Foreman, Jeff Hattem - Driver, Mary Jo Lang - Foley Mixer, Scott Morgan - Foley Recordist, Kyle Cookmeyer - Production Secretary, Ed Novick - Production Sound Mixer, Andrew M. Somers - Visual Effects Editor, John Cameron - Visual Effects Editor, Andrew M. Somers - Title Design, Seismic Productions - Title Design, Katherine Wilson - Art Department Coordinator, Brendan Taylor - Assistant Visual Effects Editor, Gina Bonacquisti - Department Head Hair, Peter Robb-King - Department Head Makeup, Clay Weber - First Assistant Sound Editor, David Lincoln - Assistant to the Director, Tory Mell - Producer's Assistant, Marc Siegel - Producer's Assistant, Jacqueline Phillips - Producer's Assistant, Paul Vicknair - Producer's Assistant, Mike Larocca - Producer's Assistant, J. Cole Hooper - Producer's Assistant, Jamie Lai - Producer's Assistant, Stephanie McKinnon - Producer's Assistant, Leanne Milner - Producer's Assistant, Rob del Ciancio - Compositor, Barb Benoit - Compositor, Robert Greb - Compositor, Mike Ocoboc - Compositor, Annu Gulati - Compositor, Avi Salem - Compositor, John J. Miralles - Compositor, Jean Phillipe Traore - Compositor, Anand Dorairaj - Compositor, Giselle Kymberly - Compositor
The film begins at the table tennis finals of the 1988 Olympics. Twelve-year old Randy Daytona is the American contender. He is anxious, and his anxiety increases when his father says that he bet on him despite his original promise not to. His opponent is Karl Wolfschtagg from the German Democratic Republic. During the intense first point, Daytona runs back too far and hits his head on the table. This loss, combined with the fact his father, who bet on his son to win, was killed by Triad agents of the criminal Feng, causes Daytona to leave competitive ping pong a disgrace.
Nineteen years later, Daytona is working at the Peppermill Casino in Reno, Nevada, doing table tennis routines. After getting kicked out (for scaring someone that unexpectedly caused a heart attack), Daytona meets FBI agent Ernie Rodriguez who requests his assistance in taking down Feng. Daytona eventually agrees as Rodriguez informs Daytona that he needs to win some championships in order to be noticed by Feng's scouts. After losing as a local tournament to get to state, Daytona is brought to a Chinatown noodle shop to be apprenticed under a blind man named Wong, who was Feng's former mentor. Wong, even constantly calling Daytona a "Gwai-lo" (Cantoneseslang for Caucasian, meaning "white ghost"), recognizes Daytona's talent. With his niece Maggie aiding Daytona, Wong chides him in his training until China Town locals vandalize Master Wong's house for him going against their edict of teaching white people ping pong. They say that the only way to solve this is to defeat "The Dragon" (which is actually a small girl) in a ping pong match with Wong exiled from China Town if Daytona loses. After a short match, Daytona defeats The Dragon, who kicks him in the groin before running off in defeat. Feng's men take note of Daytona's victory and invite him to participate, with he, Rodriguez, and Wong leaving for the tournament soon afterwards.
Once there, after an awkward night with one of Feng's sex slaves, Gary, Daytona handily beats his first opponent Freddy "Fingers" Wilson. He becomes afraid when he discovers that the "sudden death" format of the tournament is exactly that, the loser is killed off with a poisoned dart. He attempts to escape unsuccessfully until Feng invites him out on a tour of the facility. He attempts to convince him to join his side and reveals that he only finished half of Wong's training. He says it would be the ultimate satisfaction to win Daytona away from Wong. Feng also shows Daytona his specially-modified ping-pong table, which is wired to give electrical shocks when one side loses a point. Daytona gives Rodriguez the location knowing the illegally manufactured guns are sufficient evidence to incriminate Feng and catch him 'red-handed'. While Rodriguez investigates the hidden facilities, Daytona defeats numerous opponents for his very life. When Rodriguez returns, only Wolfschtagg and Daytona remain.
Upon learning that Wolfschtagg again is his opponent, Daytona tells Rodriguez that he wants to get out as the FBI has not yet responded to Rodriguez's homing beacon. Rodriguez agrees to this, and breaks Daytona's arm. Daytona does not have the opportunity to say he has changed his mind. Feng discovers Rodriguez's attempts to contact the FBI and forces Daytona to face Wolfschtagg. But at the last second, Feng decides to have the abducted Maggie Wong take Wolfschtagg's place, killing him when he protests. As Daytona is in love with her, they keep playing back-and-forth until Feng breaks up the battle. The FBI swarms the place, causing chaos. Daytona goes down to lead Feng's sex slaves to safety, but is stopped by Feng at gunpoint. Feng decides not to kill Daytona immediately as it is still unknown which of the two is Wong's greatest pupil.
Feng and Daytona agree to a match using Feng's ping pong gear in order to see who is the best student under Wong. During the game, as the facility's self destruct sequence is accidentally activated, Feng reveals that not only did he forget to add an off switch, but changed the rules so that the ball can now be bounced off any surface once and still be in play. The game escalates as the facility is about to blow up, both players hit the ball out of the room and eventually take the game out to the rope bridge over the river adjacent to the facility. Daytona loses the point and nearly falls into the river. Master Wong, on a boat, shouts to Daytona that Feng only completed half of his training. With this knowledge, Daytona serves to Feng's underdeveloped backhand. Feng lunges for the ball, misses, falls into the river and is electrocuted as the gang escapes the chaos. Two months later, all of the major characters are reunited for the reopening of Master Wong's rebuilt Mushu shop, with Rodriguez attempting to learn the sport under Maggie's tutelage with Daytona as one of the teachers. Eventually, Wong tells everyone to be aware of their surroundings, but shows his ignorance to this when he falls down the elevator shaft.
Cast
James Hong with Dan Fogler at the 2007 Comic-Con convention for a panel on the film
As of May 19, 2008, the film had a score of 38 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 27 reviews.[2] On Rotten Tomatoes, 23% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 125 reviews (29 "fresh", 96 "rotten").[3] The film opened well with a U.S. take (opening weekend) of $14,312,850. Final gross (November 4, 2007) ended up being $32,844,290.[4]
Video game
Two video games based on Balls of Fury were released for Wii and Nintendo DS[5] by Black Lantern. The storyline involves an underground ping-pong competition, based on the film. They were released on September 9, 2007 (DS) and September 25, 2007 (Wii).
