The Comebacks (2007) (Rated Version; Dual Side)

A satire in the vein of EPIC MOVIE and DATE MOVIE, THE COMEBACKS, directed by Tom Brady (THE HOT CHICK), tackles the conventions of the inspirational sports movie with jock-like gusto. Led by washed-up coach Lambeau Fields (David Koechner), the losers of the title attempt to become a winning football team, while referencing a dizzying array of athletic-oriented films from Hollywood history, ranging from ROCKY to RADIO--the latter shamelessly parodied by a hapless, mentally challenged character named iPod (Jermaine Williams).

Gleefully goofy in its send-ups of sports movies, THE COMEBACKS revels in broad slapstick humor that perfectly suits Koechner, who is perhaps best known as the obnoxious Todd Packer on the TV series THE OFFICE. (Koechner's fellow OFFICE mate Melora Hardin is also present, though the show's downbeat, quirky humor is notably M.I.A.) Other actors in the mostly unknown cast include real-life former football star Carl Weathers (the ROCKY films and, of course, ACTION JACKSON) and Matthew Lawrence, the brother of Joey Lawrence, who plays a quarterback with distinctly non-macho tendencies. Boasting comedic moments as subtle as the school bus that plows into a character during one scene, THE COMEBACKS doesn't pretend to be sophisticated--it happily indulges in its lowbrow status, making for an enjoyably guilty pleasure.