Hors-Jeu - Une histoire de Tennis

Gary (Sean William Scott) is a failed tennis player, who did some semi-pro circuits in Mexico before getting thrown out. Penniless with his dreams in tatters in ends up in a small Nebraska town, where he decides to drop tennis and focus on different goals. Like being a school janitor. Fate has a funny way of punching you in the balls and push comes to shove when Gary ends up training the school's loser tennis team.

Sean William Scott is an immensely talented comedian with so many areas he could explore with his comedic feel. Unfortunately most of his career paths involve eating turds, defecating and/or barfing. This movie is no exception to the rule with fart jokes coupled with some midget humour being the norm and slightly more congenial jokes coming sparse, if at all. That said some of the especially absurd humour really made me laugh.

The movie really doesn't build too well and tends to bore a bit with no real story building apart from the stereotypical losers turning into winners. All in all this is Sean William Scott running the show and if you have disliked all the stuff he has done in the past just pass on this movie. For the rest - nothing special, but if you have a couple of beers, spare time and no great expectations why not...

You just want some silly, stupid fun. It's not a giggle per minute but there are some outrageously funny moments with plenty of smiles between. My star would be the principals daughter, only 2 spots but the first alone got me hooked. It's rude and crude, but comedy has always been so, it's just out loud now as opposed to innuendo. Not great, but no waste of time.

I was simply just not entertained by this 'comedy.' That is most likely due to the fact that the director hasn't been able to maintain his directorial status with any series for more than 2 episodes. The only original and funny comedy he's directed is 'Dude, Where's my Car?.' The movie itself is long and drawn-out. Sean William Scott seems to try too hard. I think that he does much better with supporting roles.

I'll give the movie a little credit in saying that a few parts were actually kind of funny. But with all the other great comedies produced this year, 'Balls Out' falls very short of living up to any standard.

5/10

Well firstly I will say that when I heard about the name change for this movie, I didn't like the title "Balls Out: The Gary Houseman Story." I thought it was much better as "Gary The Tennis Coach." I was further disappointed by the trailer which gave me the impression that it was a really stupid comedy that looked like a waste of money to see. However, I decided to see it anyway and I'm glad I did.

Don't judge this movie by the title or the trailer. Although slow in some parts, it offers many many laughs. Seann William Scott's odd character repeatedly had me laughing at several points. This was supported by Randy Quaid's brief character and the rest of the tennis team and several other funny supporting characters. I particularly enjoyed Seann William Scott's scenes with Brando Eaton, who played Mike Jenson, the tennis team captain. If you are on the fence about this movie, I would recommend watching it, as I was on the fence too. Some people may agree with me and some may not and I will admit that it was slow in certain points, but when there was humor present it was funny. I give it an overall rating of 7/10 "Decent."

Silly fun Sean William Scott got some funny moments in a Jim Carrey type style character. You need to be in the right mood for an easy watch with silly humor worth a look.