The Benchwarmers

About The Benchwarmers

The Benchwarmers is a 2006 comedy film that was released on April 7, 2006. It stars Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Jon Heder and is directed by Dennis Dugan. It is produced by Happy Madison Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures.

Gus Matthews (Rob Schneider), Clark Reedy (Jon Heder) and Richie Goodman (David Spade) are three grown men and neighborhood friends. Clark and Richie were also the unpopular kids who were constantly bullied by jocks and always benched at the little league baseball games, because of their less-than-stellar athletic abilities and Clark's mental problems. When a nerdy boy named Nelson (Max Prado) and his friends are kicked off a nearby baseball diamond by a team of bullies, Gus and Clark chase the bullies away. When Gus and Clark return with Richie to play again and get back their feel for the game, the bullies return and demand that they leave. Gus challenges the bullies to play them for the field, and the three friends win. Later, Nelson's father Mel (Jon Lovitz) - a billionaire nerd sympathizer tells the trio that he's impressed with their win, and explains his plan to hold a round-robin with all the little league teams in the county, plus their team. The winners will be given access to a new multi-million dollar baseball park that he's building. Wanting to capture the spirit and fun they never had when they were kids, the three decide to form the Benchwarmers and join the tournament. They prepare to compete with all the other teams, despite the fact that they're three adults squaring off against nine kids per team.

Near the end of the story, Gus, the star of his team, an excellent pitcher and a huge home run hitter, is exposed for being a brutal bully as a child, not a victim of bullies. He had bullied one child so intensely that the kid, a little person named Marcus, had to be sent to an institution. At his wife's suggestion, Gus apologizes to Marcus who becomes the Benchwarmers' third-base coach. At the end of the story, Gus, Clark, and Richie do not play; rather, they let a team of Nelson and other nerdy kids play in the final game, to give them a chance to compete. The final game is played against a team with a heartless jock coach, Jerry (Craig Kilborn), who practically torments his players. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Benchwarmers are losing, 42-0, when Jerry's team throws Nelson of the Benchwarmers a "fat" pitch down the middle. When Nelson hits the ball, Jerry's team lets him score a run while Jerry goes crazy. In the end, all of the kids, as well as Gus, Richie, Clark, Marcus, and every other adult appearing in the movie (except Jerry) have a party when they learn Gus is going to be a father.