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Three hosts of the 3 Guys and a Flick movie review podcast with movie-themed background.
🎙 Podcast Episode 66

BASEketball

Join the Guys as they review David Zucker’s 1998 sports comedy starring Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn, and Ernest Borgnine, where two slackers accidentally invent a backyard hybrid of baseball and basketball, turn it into a national phenomenon, and then have to save the sport from corporate greed, fake psych-outs, and their own stupidity.

Release Date July 31, 1998
Runtime 103 minutes
Director David Zucker
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3 Guys and a Flick — Episode 66

BASEketball (1998)

ⓘ Details

Movie TitleBASEketball
Release DateJuly 31, 1998 in the United States
TaglineTwo guys invented a game... and turned the sports world upside down.
Runtime103 minutes / 1 hour 43 minutes
DirectorDavid Zucker
Screenplay Written ByDavid Zucker, Robert LoCash, Lewis Friedman, and Jeff Wright
Based OnOriginal screenplay inspired by a real backyard game created by David Zucker and his friends
Is It a Remake?No. BASEketball is an original sports comedy.
BudgetApproximately $25 million
Box OfficeApprox. $7.03 million domestic / approx. $7.04 million worldwide
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👥 Main Cast

Trey ParkerJoe “Coop” Cooper
Matt StoneDoug Remer
Dian BacharKenny “Squeak” Scolari
Yasmine BleethJenna Reed
Jenny McCarthyYvette Denslow
Robert VaughnBaxter Cain
Ernest BorgnineTed Denslow
Trevor EinhornJoey Thomas
Bob CostasHimself
Al MichaelsHimself
Reggie JacksonHimself
Kareem Abdul-JabbarHimself
Dale EarnhardtHimself
Victoria SilvstedtHerself
Robert StackHimself
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🏆 Awards

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.
⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.
⭐ No BAFTA nominations were verified for the film.
⭐ No major Saturn Award nominations were verified for the film.
⭐ The film’s real legacy is cult-comedy status, especially with fans of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, David Zucker-style absurdity, and extremely dumb sports movies that know exactly how dumb they are.
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📖 Short Plot Summary

Lifelong slackers Joe Cooper and Doug Remer invent BASEketball, a driveway game that combines basketball shooting, baseball rules, and aggressive psychological trash talk. When billionaire Ted Denslow turns the game into a national league, Coop and Remer become unlikely stars of the Milwaukee Beers. But after Denslow dies, greedy owner Baxter Cain tries to commercialize the league and break its original spirit, forcing the guys to grow up just enough to protect their team, their friend Squeak, and the sport they accidentally created.
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❝ Key Quotes

“Dude!” — Coop and Remer
“Steeeeeve Perry!” — Doug Remer
“Wake up, bitch, you’re my new best friend.” — Doug Remer
“I swear, you guys rip on me thirteen or fourteen more times, I’m outta here.” — Squeak
“Those aren’t pillows!” — Coop
“We still have a chance. We still have Coop.” — Jenna Reed
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💡 Trivia

Director

  • BASEketball was directed by David Zucker.
  • Zucker is best known as part of the comedy team behind Airplane!, The Naked Gun, and other rapid-fire spoof comedies.
  • The movie is based on a real backyard game Zucker created with friends in the 1980s.
  • The film mixes Zucker’s joke-a-minute style with Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s crude, slacker-heavy comic energy.

Cast / Casting

  • Trey Parker and Matt Stone starred in the film while their series South Park was exploding in popularity.
  • Dian Bachar, a frequent Parker and Stone collaborator, plays Squeak Scolari.
  • Yasmine Bleeth plays Jenna Reed, the charity-minded owner trying to keep Ted Denslow’s promise alive.
  • Robert Vaughn plays Baxter Cain, the corporate villain who wants to turn BASEketball into every other money-hungry pro sport.
  • The movie is loaded with athlete and broadcaster cameos, including Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Reggie Jackson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Dale Earnhardt.

Soundtrack / Score

  • Ira Newborn composed the film’s score.
  • The soundtrack includes rock, ska, and late-1990s alternative tracks that match the movie’s sloppy slacker-sports energy.
  • The Ernies’ “Motivate” appears on the soundtrack.
  • The music helps sell the movie’s fake professional sports world as both ridiculous and weirdly believable.

Location

  • The story centers on Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the fictional Milwaukee Beers.
  • Filming took place in California, including the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
  • The Sports Arena was used for the exterior of the Beers’ Garden.
  • The movie uses sports arenas, locker rooms, mansions, hospitals, and neighborhood driveways to parody how a dumb backyard game becomes big business.

Behind-The-Scenes

  • The screenplay was written by David Zucker, Robert LoCash, Lewis Friedman, and Jeff Wright.
  • The film was produced by David Zucker, Robert LoCash, and Gil Netter.
  • Universal Pictures released the film theatrically in the United States on July 31, 1998.
  • The film opened in 1,905 theaters and earned about $3.09 million during its opening weekend.
  • Despite its box-office disappointment, the movie developed a loyal cult following through home video and cable.

Nostalgia

  • BASEketball is a very specific late-1990s comedy time capsule, right down to the celebrity cameos, sports-broadcast parody, crude jokes, and Parker-Stone weirdness.
  • The movie arrived during the first huge wave of South Park popularity, making Parker and Stone a major part of the marketing hook.
  • It works as both a sports-movie parody and a fake-league comedy built around merchandising, franchise moves, owner greed, and the nonsense traditions fans attach to games.
  • The psych-out jokes, “Dude!” exchanges, and Squeak abuse are the kind of dumb comedy bits fans either quote forever or immediately apologize for quoting.

Easter Eggs

  • Robert Stack appears in an Unsolved Mysteries-style sequence, parodying his own television persona.
  • The movie repeatedly mocks real sports business practices, including franchise relocation, corporate sponsorship, celebrity ownership, and rule changes for profit.
  • Reggie Jackson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar appearing in the same fake-sports comedy helps sell the baseball-meets-basketball concept.
  • Coop and Remer’s backyard invention becoming a professional league mirrors the absurd origin story of a lot of real sports legends, just with way more trash talk.
  • The film’s title styling emphasizes the hybrid sport by capitalizing “BASE” inside BASEketball.

Misc.

  • BASEketball is rated R for strong language and crude sex-related humor.
  • Box Office Mojo lists the film’s running time at 1 hour 43 minutes and domestic gross at $7,027,290.
  • The Numbers lists the domestic box office at $7,042,541.
  • Rotten Tomatoes lists a 40% Tomatometer score and a 74% Popcornmeter score.
  • Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists BASEketball as Episode 66, with Don rating it 3.50, Ken rating it 1.25, Jon rating it 1.75, and an overall rating of 2.17.
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🔗 Sources Cited

3 Guys and a Flick — Episode 66: BASEketball 3 Guys and a Flick — Ratings IMDb — BASEketball IMDb — Full Cast & Crew IMDb — Awards IMDb — Quotes IMDb — Taglines IMDb — Soundtrack IMDb — Filming Locations IMDb — Trivia AFI Catalog — BASEketball Box Office Mojo — BASEketball Box Office Mojo — 1998 Domestic Box Office The Numbers — BASEketball Rotten Tomatoes — BASEketball Metacritic — BASEketball
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