SXSW Film Reviews

Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story

Narrative Feature Competition, World Premiere

Onetime legend Bobby Dukes (Corddry), who 10 years back defiled the great game of paintball by trying to cheat, is back, and ready to prove himself a changed man in the Hudson Valley Paintball Championship. Trouble is, nobody wants to play with him. Dukes' attempt to put together a team out of the local pool of freaks and miscreants is the premise of this flick. But the performers, many of whom have done theatre together for years, improvise nearly all the dialogue, meaning that plot takes a backseat to random hilarity. The result is a glorious bit of ensemble comedy in which performers prance giddily through a parade of one-liners, non sequiturs, and over-the-top rants whose absurdity leaves the audience (and sometimes the actors themselves) in hysterics.

(Dobie, March 19, 12:15pm)

Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story received the SXSW Film 04 Audience Award, Narrative Feature.