I noticed years ago when I bought the VHS copy of this fine, fine film that Ben Stillers name doesn't appear anywhere on the back of the box, and instead of him being in the sandwich on the cover, its Lars. Is he ashamed of this film? Obviously not enough to rip it off for Dodgeball, but did he have a falling out or something after its release?
"What the... uh. What the hell have you been doing with yourself?"
The reason why he wasn't on the cover was because he was relatively unknown when it was released. Plus you bought it on VHS.. you should get with the times and get a DVD player
sharesince he totally ripped his role(s) in this movie off in starsky and hutch, i doubt very much he is ashamed of it.
shareLet's not forget his performance in Dodgeball.
sharedont forget about judd apatow being one of the screen writers.....funny *beep* comes from that mans mind...stiller is so hilarious in this they had to write this role into dodgeball, i think hes funnier in this........
share"attention campers. Lunch has been cancelled due to lack of hustle. Deal with it." BEST LINE EVERRRRRRRRRR. And it should be noted CREATOR of freaks and Geeks was PAUL FEIG (the former fat dude/skinny dance machine in Heavy Weights) way to steal the credit Judd... and the line about 'lack of hustle' is better than any line in that "this is 40" crap. I wish judd apatow would watch mean girls and instead of "stop trying to make 'fetch' happen" he would hear " stop trying to make your family happen" Leslie Mann isn't funny his daughters are obnoxious. And my other point: isn't it a bit telling that the creator of freaks and geeks also managed to direct some of the most classic episodes of "the office".......PAUL FEIG FRESH TO DEATH YO! and yes i know judd apatow blended some childhood memory into the show(ie when neill found out his father was cheating, but come on, neil was the most obnoxious character!)
shareI have actually gotten the DVD copy, and yet he's still nowhere to be found in the credits, on the cover, or any pictures inside or outside the box. I'll still say somethings up. And this movie was made a couple years after "The Ben Stiller Show" and a year before he directed "The Cable Guy" so my guess he was somewhat established in Hollywood, certainly more established than the guy who played Lars, whos only other notable role was in the 80's as one of Jason Batemans friends on "The Hogan Family".
yeah he is in the credits
my right leg is thanksgiving, my left is christmas...come meet me between the hloidays
the character is based off one of his in The Ben Stiller Show. and Lars was in Lucas as the dude who picks on lil poor corey haims
shareUmm... Can we please also remember, the character was the villain... There was a time when Hollywood didn't throw every thing up in our faces, so we didn't always know the premise, characters & storyline from just the TV Spots or the back of the VHS case. Ben Stiller has always been about "surprise" appearances... I remember watching Arrested Development and almost pissing my pants from his Tony Wonder character...
shareThis is why I miss the 90s. I picked this movie up on a whim having no idea what it was about, and it was so *beep* funny I had to buy it. Ben Stiller is amazing as Tony Perkis, and I feel like a lot of his subsequent work was derivative of this character.
shareben stiller sucksw anyway what do you care?
shareLars was in Lucas as well.
I figured Ben Still didn't want to overshadow the kids in the movie, plus it was somewhat of a surprise when they (Ben Stiller's parents; the old camp owners) introduce the new camp owner.
its a kid's movie. kids don't care about actors/names. nobody who acted in the film is listed on the box.
shareI'm not a Ben Stiller hater or anything but he does play virtually the same role in every movie (or close to it) so I don't see why he would be ashamed of this one in particular.
I just watched The Heartbreak Kid and it might as well have been called There's Something About Mary 2. He played the same character.
Is Ben Stiller PROUD of ANY role?
shareIf he's ashamed of this role, then he'll be ashamed for his role in "DodgeBall", because it's basically the same part.
P.S. This movie is much better than Dodgeball.
that's what i was going to say. when i watched dodgeball he reminded me so much of his character in heavyweights. both are great movies!! love em both!!
"This is not a dirty little joke that you can make your dirty little jokes about, dirty man."
he has no reason to be asahmed...this is the greatest movie ever made
sharei don't think he should be ashamed, he was supposed to act like a psycho dude. maybe he didn't WANT to be credited for his role, i mean, not like he did stuff for money and recognition anyway, his parents are actors themselves, and have been for years.
come visit my city!
http://del-malcity.myminicity.com
I think there is a more important question here. Did he get the part because his parents were cast, or did they get their parts because he was cast in this? Think about that!
His parents had their parts because he's in the film. Their roles are pretty much glorified cameos, so I'm guessing they did it for fun.
Also, Judd Apatow previously worked as a producer for The Ben Stiller Show, so Ben Stiller and him already had a professional relationship.
Go back and watch the Ben Stiller Show...it's basically where 99% of his characters that he went on to play at a later time originated from. Go watch the "Tony Bobbins" sketch where he plays a motivational speaker (an obvious riff on Tony Robbins)...it IS Tony Perkins...and he also talks about how he was the "first member" of the Tony Bobbins Plan, making some comment about how he was morbidly obese at a younger age. That was pretty much just ported to the Dodgeball film.
Also, he has another character "Maury", the annoying Jew, who's catch phrase is a constant "Just do it...do it"...a character he later reinvents in Starsky and Hutch to a tee.
His roles as "Dylan" and "Tank" (identical twins with different sideburns) on the sketch Melrose Heights...they are Derek Zoolander set in the early 90's sans the fashion world surroundings. He talks exactly like him, acts painfully dumb like him, and even drops Blue Steel at one point.
There are more but I can't recall every single one of them. It's not really a knock on the guy as I still to this find the characters hilarious to this day. His work on Extras and all of the candid interviews and commentary work show he's always willing to poke fun at himself and some of his choices. He's done a ton of great work, and with the exception of a few stinkers, has been a pretty steady comedic writer/actor.
Tony Perkins being one of his finest roles, of course.
I've always been inclined to see the Ben Stiller Show, since I enjoy most of his films. However, Heavyweights will always be #1 in my heart.
share^^This.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit me!"- Hudson in Aliens.
I agree!!
When I first saw dodgeball i thought I was watching heavyweights again! It's the same character.. but "Heavyweights" WAY BETTER!
..i didnt really like dodgeball tho i love all of his other movies!
He was unknown then...it's not that he's ashamed...I wouldn't be, but it's because when the movie came out it was one of Ben's first!
"All my friends are dead
All my friends are dead"
Turbonegro
[deleted]
Ben Stiller wasn't THAT unknown; as mentioned, he had "The Ben Stiller Show" AND during the time this movie was being filmed, he was established in Hollywood as the director/co-writer of and one of the leading actors in the film "Reality Bites", from 1994.
Just sayin'.
"Don't believe everything you hear on the radio." - Charles Foster Kane