Dumbbells (2014) Directed by Christopher Livingston

Sometimes funny but more often just plain stupid. That pretty much sums "Dumbbells" up!

Even though this is a fun movie at parts, I just can't say that it's a very good one as well. It made me laugh and it had some good likable characters in it but on the other hand, it also definitely was being too dumb and simplistic for its own good really.

The story...well, the movie is at least trying but lets be honest here; the story is pretty much non-existent in the movie. It constantly gets pushed to the background, in favor of yet another visual gag or punchline. And while most of the comedy tends to work out well within the movie, it prevents anything from ever developing. This truly could have been a far better movie, if only it had a better focus. It's featuring a bit of everything in it; a love-story, a 'save the rec center' type of storyline, some sports comedy elements. Now, if only the movie would have put some more focus on- and effort into any of these plot lines, this movie no doubt would have felt less messy, more engaging and more entertaining as well. A real shame! Just a few minor adjustments could have improved this movie significantly.

It's also weird to see some 'old' washed up celebrities in this movie. It's actually something that a lot of low-budget, independent, comedies like to do. It's an excuse for them to put some 'big' names on the poster and to promote the movie further with but more often than not these cameos work out as something far too distracting and it just doesn't add much to the overall movie or any of its comedy. People such as Fabio and Tom Arnold randomly show up in this movie and let me just say that I wish they hadn't.

I really wanted to like this movie, since it definitely made me laugh and I never felt like I was wasting my time with it but it in the long run it's just doing far too much wrong. It's a weird and a rare case of a movie that's a genuinely funny one but not one I can call a good one as well, or one that I could ever recommend to anyone.

4/10

Watch trailer