Imagine being a conservative over the past decade.
You’ve watched the country transform into a woke “utopia,” where feelings trump facts and gender realities are kicked to the curb. Protesters decry words as “violence” while smashing public property. Educators treat children like pawns of their radical gender theories.
And, through it all, pop culture acts as if none of the above could be ridiculed.
Enter “Lady Ballers.”
Ostensibly a satire of trans women athletes, the DailyWire+ comedy pushes beyond that red-hot button issue. Oh, the film decries athletes like swimmer Lia Thomas for unfairly competing against biological women.
The film lets the conservative empire mock other progressive targets at every step. And it does so with smart gags, impeccable timing and an “amateur” cast that gets the job done.
Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing directs himself as Coach Rob, a flailing single dad trying to recapture his glory days. He wants to make his adorable daughter proud, but he isn’t sure how to thrive in the new woke order.
Why not go with the progressive flow?
Coach Rob reassembles his college basketball squad and enters them in a Global Games competition. The catch? His male athletes will dress like women and compete against biological females.
They may be older and out of shape, but they’re more than a match for female competitors.
Boreing told Megyn Kelly even “canceled” actors wouldn’t go near the project, forcing him to step in as the main character. He’s no Steve Carell, but he handles the gig with aplomb.
And he brought some co-workers with him.
“Crain and Company” regulars Jake Crain, Blain Crain, and David Cone make up the bulk of the squad along with Daniel Considine as the hulking Alex. Scene stealer Tyler Fischer goes gender fluid without losing a whisker of his big, brown beard.
Watch @benshapiro and @JeremyDBoreing talk to @ClayTravis and @BuckSexton about the new @dailywireplus movie "Lady Ballers." It premieres tonight!https://t.co/xkLt2HCTB5
— The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show (@clayandbuck) December 1, 2023
“Lady Ballers” plays out like Boreing, who co-wrote the film with Nick Sheehan and Brian A. Hoffman, poured every cultural frustration they had into the screenplay. Their jokes almost always land.
Hard.
The targets? The WNBA. Soccer. Empty slogans like, “I feel seen.” And journalists. No project in recent memory tortures the Fourth Estate like “Lady Ballers.”
“I’m a journalist. I literally cannot be shamed,” says femme fatale Billie Rae Brandt as the schemer stringing Coach Rob and his team along.
Ouch.
A stellar bit has Coach Rob’s daughter mapping out all the new gender realities for her confused pappy, a visual depiction of the new woke order.
[Editor’s Note: This critic contributes to The Daily Wire]
The film doesn’t directly take on trans individuals. The focus is on trans women competing against biological women, the third rail of American culture. We’re told we must refer to such athletes as “beautiful and brave” … or else.
A late-blooming subplot finds one of the athletes taking his shtick too seriously, but it’s one of the few story beats handled with restraint and empathy. Fischer, in comparison, taunts trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney by recreating a variation of his “days of being a girl” routine.
“Lady Ballers” makes some avoidable miscues. A flashback sequence de-ages Boreing with CGI, but the film’s small budget can’t compete with how Hollywood uses that tech gimmick today.
A few punch lines feel like thinly disguised talking points even the game cast can’t sell.
“Lady Ballers” is a who’s who of Daily Wire pundits, recruiting everyone from Brett Cooper to Michael Knowles for meaty cameos. Seeing the stoic Matt Walsh as a yoga-loving hippie is a sight gag that never gets old.
Boreing deserves credit for maintaining a consistent tone and quality given the cast’s varying levels of experience. What could have been Amateur Hour on Ice becomes a very funny satire that goes where 99.9 percent of comedians fear to tread.
Make that 99.998.
Rock-ribbed progressives won’t appreciate “Lady Ballers,” nor will they find satirical targets appropriate. It’s still the most subversive comedy in ages, a smart bomb that obliterates its intended target.
HiT or Miss: “Lady Ballers” jabs a satirical finger in the eye of the Woke Left. It’s about time.
Not since Blazing Saddles has such an outrageous and funny film been made. This film makes a mockery of the woke culture.
Apparently it’s the number one movie streaming on Rotten Tomatoes.
It was a movie that simply had to be made and I’m glad that it was but it was just ok for me. I really wanted to laugh more but it just didn’t tickle me all that much. I did zonk a bit here and there watching it and I was thinking to watch it again but I’m not sure. I give it a 6/10.
Ben Shapiro himself admitted this movie has no basis in reality. In an interview with that boring guy on his show, Ben told the story of how he had wanted to put men into women’s sports leagues, and film it. Creating “a documentary.” The leagues themselves had too strict of rules to allow men to compete in the league, and the actors didn’t want to commit to the year of hormone treatments required to abide by those rules.
The movie MIGHT have a point if the movie had shown the men going through a year of hormone treatments before competing in women’s leagues. But it didn’t. Instead it spins a tale of men being able to do nothing more than don a wig to compete in women’s leagues.
It’s odd for this movie to be presented as anywhere near realistic, when Ben Shapiro himself said it’s not.
Havent seen it yet, but I’m pretty sure the “point” was COMEDY. (also, hormone treatments don’t add or remove a Y chromosome). Your science kung-fu is weak.
Nothing that you wrote is true. Ben Shapiro would have never been involved in anything that would require someone to take hormones. Stop making up lies.
So interesting that it was going to be a documentary where they create a fake trans sports team to dominate and prove a point, but found it impossible due to the rigorous rules of different leagues.
You either had no trans allowed, or were required to submit proof of years of hormone therapy, which diminishes athletic ability.
So because what they are so afraid of is impossible in the real world they had no choice but to pivot to a fictional comedy about an alternate reality where it would be possible…the attempt debunked the point of the film.
Interesting.
Interesting how the attempt completely debunked the point of the film.
I guess shrieking in terrified hatred of trans people and then pinning in all on woman’s sports was just another weak cover for just hate.
Ladyballers has BALLS…unlike most of the comedy movies today. This film would give the RT “Critics” heart failure…so I really hope they all watch it. Put that in your Woke Pipe and smoke it.
I subscribed to DailyWire just to watch this, I’d give it a solid 7/10, which for me is recommendable movie. It was quite enjoyable screwball-comedy. Everyone involved did a great job. Glad this got made.
Since you’re here now, go watch Run, Fight Hide.
While I agree that the film is pretty hilarious (though slightly preachy at times), What gets me are the incessant sexual jokes and innuendo. For a company that ”promotes family values” there was an awful lot of smut in there, and I say that as a diehard fan of DW and the work they do.
I suspect they’ll catch some heat for that material. I don’t think it has an official rating, per se, but there should be some indication for the casual subscriber that this material isn’t for all ages. I saw a screening link, so perhaps there is a warning of sorts?
Of course it has an official rating. It’s 14 MA-TV
The first screen that appears in the DW+ stream is a content warning,
Excellent … thanks for the heads up. I watch so many screening links I sometimes don’t see that or otherwise don’t get the authentic user experience.
it’s rated PG-14. How much more warning do you need?
The key to understanding this film is Daily Wire’s overall production strategy that basically had a very shrewd idea of reviving not just the lost moral and political values of Hollywood cinema but also its lost aesthetic values as well. So, Daily Wire basically started making films that people like to see but the studios stopped making them and somehow big tech streamers didn’t pick up on those genres either. And in case of LADY BALLERS it’s the goofy sports comedy that Will Ferrell used to make for New Line. So essentially this is a lost New Line sports comedy and they actually made one like this quarter of a century ago – JUWANNA MANN, right? I mean OK, JUWANNA MANN was a Warners release of a Morgan Creek production but nevermind, you know what I am talking about. And I love that this genre aspect is kept in a work that is more overtly political.
The other Will Ferrell connection is another shrewd decision of Jeremy Boreing not just directing but also starring in the film. It gives this film a bit of a Funny or Die sketch aesthetic even though it’s actually not an anthology of sketch comedy, it’s a pretty straight up narrative and Jeremy is quite good as the star actually.
But overall this sketch element is an interesting disclaimer that basically says – Yeah, this is topical unlike our other films which are movies first and foremost. This is a social critique and we are lampooning a particular phenomenon and I like this element which sort of distances itself from the main DW body of work, especially with the PENDRAGON CYCLE on the horizon which will really add depth not just to the streaming service but also to the library.
Now, when it comes to the film itself.
If we bear in mind that Jeremy intentionally went for this meme-like approach where this is an all-out parody of a troubling phenomenon in contemporary sports, this actually works pretty well as a movie.
It worked a lot better for me than for example Will Ferrell basketball comedy SEMI-PRO that he made for New Line around ten year back but of course it doesn’t reach the emotional depth of RINGER with Johnny Knoxville which comes to mind.
But given this stylized comedy approach that stems from the contemporary school of comedy videos and sketch TV shows and stuff like that, actually LADY BALLERS works quite exceptionally as a movie and even the length of 110 minutes, which is by no means gentle, and it sort of is excessive if we look at it from the side, actually works out when you watch the film.
So even though I believe this was envisioned as a more a of a Christmas-special kind of thing, a bit of an internal send up of contemporary sports, what you got in the final product is a film that will be able to live on and really be a valuable part of any library, not just the DW one.
Of course, the film is openly political with all the attitude and naming names and Ted Cruz cameo and so on, but in the end it’s actually a quite heartfelt experience with some common sense values put in place. So, however partisan it is on the outside it’s actually quite universal on the inside.
And Jeremy is actually a talented performer. He really brought some kind of John Ritter humour to this character and not just edge but also warmth.
I think that the film will work well outside of the US because it deals with sports that people internationally actually know and understand the rules. Outside of the US, football sort of works in films because it’s simple and it became global but stuff like baseball is an enigma.
Having these spoof approaches in a film is actually a tightrope act. And it’s always a mess in the making but Jeremy really found his way around this. If we bear in mind that he is a guy who actually has a day job and doesn’t waste his tame thinking about filmmaking techniques all day long, – I must say he proves to be a pretty solid comedy director with a pretty clear vision of what needs to be done and how the general narrative convention needs to be set up.
And him as a performer is really a highlight. I mean, his role has genuine emotion and comic timing, so it’s not just a famous person being surprisingly good in an acting assignment. It’s actually a well-done role.
So, outside of Jonathan Isaac cameo, I missed very little in this film. I got quite a lot out of it actually.
I loved it! Lady Ballers is a hit! You guys are kicking ass and taking names. This reminds me of Adam Sandler movies. I love them all! Keep up the great work. This is worth every penny.
Lady Ballers 2 please.
Excellent review! I can’t wait to watch this!!!
PP you really are pathetic… Imo, if you present a fact/quote, you provide source, period.
Or did you ever wrote in school/uni in a test “look it up” as a source for a quote.
If you don’t provide source, i say it is bs.
You already looked it up. You should know that doing your homework is not necessary for obvious reasons when Ben and Candance are so out there with their arguments. You’re so pathetic that it’s scary.
I saw an interview with Boreing in which he assured us that Owens isn’t going to resign and Shapiro isn’t going to fire her. I suspect this is a bit of wishful thinking on your part. nothing more.
Ben is not in position to fire her, but he DID tell her to resign. It’s not wishful thinking to just mention the kerfuffle. You seem to enjoy distorting facts and any mention of it.
So you still don’t have a link. It’s cold this time of year, be careful under your bridge.
I agree with you . He’s a troll or completely misses the point of this movie
I thought it was well done, there were two parts that felt a little preachy, I agree that focusing on the comedy would’ve helped, but THIS MOVIE IS STILL HILARIOUS. Anyone who doesn’t get it does so on account of the ideology, which is the very thing the film mocks. We’ll done, DailyWire+! For the first time since the early 00s I feel like comedy exists again!
A few moments did feel that way, but not many. And the laughs greatly outpaced those brief, awkward stretches. Glad you enjoyed it!
I thought even the “preachy” parts landed hard because they were super Meta in satirizing the endless preachiness of pop culture shows and films that insert woke talking points into dialogue. The data laden tirade on the effect of divorce was a perfect example and was both factual and super funny.
agree100%
I liked the film but agree it was a bit too long and several jokes were more conservative talking points about issues not related to the subject matter of the movie. A movie needs to be about the subject of the movie and these were rare miscues from a company new to making movies. It was very good, but it did have some little flaws.
Hardly. Candace said some stupid things and then tried to backpedal when Shapiro called her out on it. That’s hardly a feud and it certainly won’t tank the company. If anything it just shows that there’s room in their company for difference of opinion. If DW was like, for example, Disney, Shapiro would have fired her on the spot for saying something he didn’t agree with in her capacity as an employee.
Ben told her to resign. That’s tantamount to a firing.
Where did you hear that.
Look it up.
“Look it up”, lol!
Source: Trust me, bro!
Shawn: You are in no position to deny it. You haven’t looked it up. What a troll you are.
PP your behavior is really pathetic… Imo, if you present a fact/quote, you provide source, period. Or did you ever wrote in school/uni in a test “look it up” as a source for a quote?…
Btw, i just looked it up… You took that completly out of context! In no way it is tantamount to being fired in the context Ben said it. If you have the ability to read two sentences without forgetting the first one when done with the second, this is crystal clear. And before you say im just a Ben fanboy, no, i’m with Candace on this the topic of their argument.
Daily wire member feuds are truly the most civil. I love you guys.
Rob: You make no sense.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/daily-wire-founder-ben-shapiro-tells-star-host-candace-owens-to-by-all-means-quit-after-anti-israel-post/ar-AA1kwD7F
https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1724914588146155542
You’re making things up. Didn’t happen. But nice attempt at trying to change the subject.
The film is so well done. Matt Walsh steals the show I think – just excellent. Terrific job from Daily Wire. They really are going from strength to strength. Lady Ballers is a win!
You know it just killed Walsh to play that part it is so polar opposite of him…
I’ve spoken to Nick Searcy and Victoria Jackson about playing hard against type and both actually enjoyed the experience!
I’m not even sure Conservatives are the target audience of this project. Agreeing that transgenderism is poison doesn’t mean I want to take the poison. Today’s films will be better off making as we did them in the 1990s. Not overtly pandering, but still diverse and often accurate storytelling. Daily Wire is oddly falling apart as the feud between two characters takes center stage.
I don’t know if The Daily Wire’s falling apart. Doesn’t look like it to me.
Oh yeah. People who work for the same company never get into arguments, like, EVAH. Yup, falling apart at the seams, that Daily Wire. Falling apart at the seams. Will be filing for Chapter 11 any minute now. I heard that on the internet so it must be true, cuz if it’s not true, they won’t let you put it on the internet.
I read that on the internet.
You can look up X where Candice and Ben had their juicy argument. LOL!!!
That “feud” is long over now. Nobody is getting fired. Nobody is leaving the DW. How about you stay current and not try to make up things. Shapiro has no power to fire or ask anyone to leave and make it stick. The actual person in charge of DW has stated he has no plans to discipline or fire Candace. Oh yeah LOOK IT UP…..troll.
He’s just gaslighting, Ben & Candace will be able to work it out.
Show us where the Daily Wire touched you. Here, use this Ben Shapiro doll
I just knew you were referring to Candice and Ben’s “feud.” The left is making it far larger than it really is. And guess what? They both know it is okay to disagree. They don’t demand constant uniformity of thought at the DW, as they do in almost all leftist organizations.
No their not falling apart but mixing it up with so the lefties would also warch it .
So long story short, you didn’t see the movie yet feel the overwhelming call to say something disparaging for your libtard cred. This money is hilarious. Conservatives are the target market, obviously, as fun is poked at every other sacred cow.