Hello, movie fans! Welcome to another glorious season of movie reviewing at ReelTalk Stadium. I'm your announcer, Adam Hakari, and it's a beautiful day for a game. Our main attraction for the day is The Benchwarmers, a new comedy produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison company. Looks like we're in for some goofy, amateurish laughs, but the Sandler squad has surprised movie fans before, folks, so they're not to be counted out quite yet.

First up to bat is the story. And I see we have the tale of a landscaper (Rob Schneider), a video store clerk (David Spade), and a nose-picking paperboy (Jon Heder), three social outcasts who get back at their childhood bullies by competing in a statewide Little League tournament. Originality strikes out hard, but the story's spirit and charm, reminiscent of the '80s college comedy Revenge of the Nerds, are enough to bunt the ball and get onto first base.

The performances are up next, and it'll be interesting to see how this troupe of actors fares considering their respective histories. Schneider knocks the ball out of the park with his unexpectedly likable character, an impressive feat considering the slump he went through last year thanks to that ill-advised Deuce Bigalow sequel. Spade racks up a foul ball at first, but he proceeds to connect and stride confidently across the diamond with his sarcasm-laced turn. Bad news for our man Heder, who makes a miserable showing at home plate with his performance, a rehashing of his Napoleon Dynamite role with a few minor, useless tweaks. Not much of an impression is left on the game by the supporting players, although co-writer Nick Swardson brings an interesting dosage of bizarre humor to the field as Spade's agoraphobic brother.

Speaking of which, the jokes are taking their positions at home plate in this, the bottom of the inning. As expected, they're a hit-and-miss bunch, but surprisingly, there's more of the former than the latter. The Benchwarmers has a good-hearted and goofy collection of gags here, running the gamut from muscle-bound men holding dwarves to what may be the single biggest collection of scenes with stuff being hit by baseball bats ever assembled. Sounds unpleasant, folks, but director Dennis Dugan, an Adam Sandler directing veteran from Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy, pulls off the film's physical and bizarre sight gags with a good nature and more consistency than some of Sandler's own vehicles.

Well, it looks like that's a game, folks. Despite a few rocky patches, The Benchwarmers came through in the end and served as a funny little flick about nerds getting their chance to prove to the bullies those wedgies must stop sometime. Thanks for attending, and we'll see you at ReelTalk Stadium  next time. 

MY RATING: *** (out of ****)

(Released by Sony Pictures and rated "PG-13" for crude and suggestive humor and for language.)