Down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom, Randy Daytona, is sucked into a maelstrom when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez recruits him for a secret mission. Randy is determined to bounce b... Read allDown-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom, Randy Daytona, is sucked into a maelstrom when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez recruits him for a secret mission. Randy is determined to bounce back and win, and to smoke out his father's killer -- arch-fiend Feng.Down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom, Randy Daytona, is sucked into a maelstrom when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez recruits him for a secret mission. Randy is determined to bounce back and win, and to smoke out his father's killer -- arch-fiend Feng.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Young Randy - 12 Yrs. Old
- (as Brett Delbuono)
- TV Producer
- (as Dave Holmes)
- Teenage Fan
- (as Heather Deloach)
- Showgirl
- (as Kerri Kenney-Silver)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Yaaarrrr, thar be worse things under the sun, matey...
Christopher Walken seems to always make the best out of his roles, whatever he's given, he makes it his own. And this is no exception. The script wasn't rolling on the floor funny, but it had its moments. This would qualify as a good choice for a matinée-priced movie, I'd say.
As an aside, I don't know WHY ON EARTH that African American lady who played Christopher Walken's female henchman keeps getting roles (she played Jennifer Love Hewitt's antique shop partner for a while and stunk in that role too).
However, that is not necessarily a bad thing. I don't think there was a single moment in this film that purposely wanted any smidgen of intelligence whatsoever.
And, heck, the reason I went to see this movie was because I thought it looked funny. And, guess what? I laughed. I don't know if this will go into the treasury of greatest stupid movies ever made, but it did leave me with a smile on my face.
I think it was because it was ping-pong. Yes, I like a good game of ping-pong as much as the next person, but come on. It's ping-pong. Just try telling that to these characters. The fact that anyone could take so slight a game so seriously cracked me up.
And that's where this movie works.
It's pointless, silly, and down-right brain cell killing. But I found myself forgiving everyone because they were so good-hearted in waltzing around with their idiotic humor.
No, it will probably not be nominated for Best Picture. But as for dumb comedy goes, this nicely held its own.
I have to say, I should go into to more movies with such low expectations, because I really enjoyed it. Was the acting superior? No. Was the script well-written? No. But it was funny and Christopher Walken makes all things glorious, so all in all, it wasn't a bad way to spend a Thursday night after an especially terrible day of work. The actors all seemed to realize that they weren't participating in a project that would make movie history and they all seemed OK with that. It was very much a movie done to simply enjoy the play on the word "balls" and in this particular case, it was forgivable.
Overall, don't go in expecting complete comedic genius and you just might find yourself laughing.
So, if you just want to laugh at something completely ridiculous for a while, this is the movie for you. Like "A Night at the Roxbury" and "Dude, Where's My Car?", it proves that movies can be funny and stupid at the same time.
Did you know
- TriviaThomas Lennon wrote the character of Feng expecting to play it himself.
- GoofsRodriguez tells Randy that the Cantonese word "gweilo" means "round-eye." The literal translation is "white ghost" and it is most commonly translated as "foreign devil". However, this line is probably a joke.
- Quotes
Master Wong: Ping Pong... is not the macarena. It takes patience. She is like a fine, well-aged prostitute... it takes years to learn her tricks.
[chuckles]
Master Wong: She is cruel, laughs at you when you are naked, but you keep coming back for more, and more! Why? Because she is the only prostitute I can afford.
- SoundtracksOlympic Fanfare (Bugler's Dream)
Written by Leo Arnaud (as Leo Arnaud)
Performed by East Coast All Stars
Courtesy of Music Sales Corporation
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Una loca competencia
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $32,886,940
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,352,123
- Sep 2, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $41,739,766
- Runtime
- 1h 30m(90 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1