Balls of Fury (2007)

Directed by Robert Ben Garant. Starring Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, James Hong, George Lopez, Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon, Aisha Tyler, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Jason Scott Lee, Diedrich Bader, Robert Patrick, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt. [PG-13]

Disgraced ping pong hotshot Fogler is lured out of retirement by the FBI to help infiltrate a clandestine high-stakes tournament held by nefarious crimelord Walken. Dopey but shambolically amiable comedy is hit-or-miss all the way, but contains enough laughs in between the lazy stretches to be classified as a guilty pleasure. Walken, in a number of outrageously silly costumes, can be funny in his sleep (and even be funny because it seems like he’s half-asleep at times), while Hong is delightful as the blind teacher with head-scratching nuggets of wisdom. Fogler unsuccessfully leans into Jack Black territory sometimes and the tired story beats are struck with sloppy predictability, but if you’re looking for clever joke-writing and deep relationships in a movie called Balls of Fury, blame must be shared both ways.

57/100