BASEketball

BASEketball
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Zucker
Produced by
  • David Zucker
  • Robert LoCash
  • Gil Netter[1]
Written by
Starring
Music by James Ira Newborn[1]
Cinematography Steven Mason[1]
Edited by Jeffrey Reiner
Production
company
Distributed by Universal Pictures[1]
Release date
  • July 31, 1998 (1998-07-31)
Running time
 103 minutes[2]
Country United States[1]
Language English
Budget $23 million
Box office $7 million (North America)[3]

BASEketball is a 1998 American sports comedy film co-written and directed by David Zucker and starring South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn, Ernest Borgnine, and Dian Bachar.

The film follows the history of the sport (created by Zucker years earlier) of the same name, from its invention by the lead characters as a game they could win against more athletic types, to its development as a nationwide league sport and a target of corporate sponsorship.

This is the only work involving Parker and Stone that was neither written, directed, nor produced by them, although Zucker himself has stated that Parker and Stone contributed innumerable suggestions for the film, most of which were used.

Plot

Unlikable slackers and close friends Joe "Coop" Cooper and Doug Remer gate crash a high-school reunion and are shunned by their more mature (and successful) classmates. They find themselves outside drinking beer and shooting basketball when two classmates challenge them to a game. After seeing that their opponents are very good at basketball, they say they will only play a game they picked up in the streets (while secretly inventing the rules as they play, based on both basketball and baseball). After winning, they decide to refine the rules to the game and Coop makes the first BASEketball out of a La-Z-Boy chair. Their friend, Kenny "Squeak" Scolari, tags along and the sport becomes very popular in the neighborhood over the next six months.

Businessman Ted Denslow meets Coop and Remer and proposes the creation of the National BASEketball League (NBL) along with numerous rules in place to prevent its decline: teams cannot switch cities, players cannot be traded, individuals cannot make money via corporate sponsorship deals, and it is completely open to anyone who wants to play, with Denslow stating that "anyone can be a sports' hero". Coop initially hesitates, but quickly accepts the opportunity at hand.

Five years later, the NBL is in full swing with teams, fans, stadiums, and a major championship, the Denslow Cup. Denslow is owner of the Milwaukee Beers, Coop and Remer's team. During the championship game, Denslow dies from choking on a hot dog, causing Coop to miss his shot and costing the Beers the game. Denslow's will names Coop as owner of the Beers for one year on the condition that they win the next Denslow Cup; otherwise, ownership reverts to Denslow's widow Yvette. Coop declares Remer part owner of the team, and they come to meet Jenna Reed, head of the Dream Come True Foundation, and Joey, one of the children in her care and an avid fan of BASEketball.

Baxter Cain, owner of the Dallas Felons, wants to remove Denslow's rules preventing monetization of the sport, but could not while Denslow was alive. However, Coop refuses to accept any changes; Cain partners with Yvette as he tries to make the Beers lose the next Denslow Cup so she will own the team.

Cain cuts the funding to Jenna's foundation to get Coop and Remer to adopt a clothing line; Coop is against it, but Remer agrees and becomes obsessed with his newfound status. After the semifinals, Cain informs Coop and Remer that the clothing line has been produced through child labor in Calcutta; if the public finds out, the team and Jenna's foundation will be ruined. Cain blackmails Coop and Remer into losing or forfeiting the Denslow Cup game or he will inform the public. Jenna learns about the scandal and breaks up with Coop as Coop and Remer blame each other for the predicament.

With their friendship in shambles, Coop goes to Calcutta, aiming to resolve the situation by replacing the child workers with adults. Making it back to the championship game just as it begins, Coop still blames Remer and the Beers perform abysmally; by the seventh-inning stretch, the Beers are down 16–0. Having had enough of Coop and Remer's fighting, Squeak gives the stadium a passionate speech, reminding Coop and Remer where they came from, how much they changed everyone else's lives, and what they risk losing. Moved, Coop and Remer reconcile their differences as Yvette breaks off her alliance with Cain. After shifting their focus back in the game, they are poised to win when Coop's La-Z-Boy pops. Coop is distraught until Joey brings him a new BASEketball made from a Barcalounger. After a harrowing last throw, they win the Denslow Cup. Jenna forgives Coop as Yvette makes out with Remer.

Cast

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dale Earnhardt, Reggie Jackson, Jim Lampley, Kenny Mayne, Tim McCarver, Pat O'Brien, Dan Patrick, Reel Big Fish, Victoria Silvstedt, and Robert Stack make cameo appearances as themselves. Greg Grunberg, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Peter Tuiasosopo also make cameos as athletes.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack featured a bouncy ska cover of Norwegian band a-ha's signature single "Take on Me" by Reel Big Fish. The band also appears as the live entertainment at the home stadium of the Milwaukee Beers, playing "Take on Me" and several of their other songs.[4]

Reception

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives BASEketball a 42% approval rating based on 50 critics (an average rating of 5 out of 10).[5] It also garnered a score of 38 out of 100 from 18 critics on Metacritic, which indicates "generally unfavorable reviews."[6]

Yasmine Bleeth and Jenny McCarthy were nominated at the 1998 Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress respectively for the movie. Bleeth lost to the Spice Girls for Spice World while McCarthy lost to Maria Pitillo for Godzilla.

Lead actors Trey Parker and Matt Stone later went on to reference the movie's mostly negative reception in the third episode of season eight of their co-created TV show South Park, "The Passion of the Jew", in which two of the show's main characters, Kenny McCormick and Stan Marsh (voiced by Stone and Parker, respectively), attempt to get a refund for the tickets they bought to see the Mel Gibson movie The Passion of the Christ, the latter at one point telling the former "This is about being able to hold bad filmmakers responsible! This is just like when we got our money back for BASEketball!"

The film is credited with coining the Internet slang term "derp".[7][8] Trey Parker and Matt Stone later referenced the term on the third season of South Park in the episode "The Succubus", where Chef is replaced by Mr. Derp.[7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "BASEKetball (1998)". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Baseketball". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  3. ↑ "BASEketball (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  4. ↑ 80s Music Channel: Take on Me
  5. ↑ "BASEketball (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  6. ↑ "BASEketball Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic.
  7. 1 2 Becket, Stefan (June 4, 2013). "The Origins of Derp". New York. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  8. ↑ Siese, April (October 28, 2015). "These 'BASEketball' Quotes Are Psych-Out Gold". Uproxx. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.