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Rating: rating

A wrestling flick done up in American Pie drag, Ready to Rumble combines gross-out antics and copious male bonding with cartoon athletics and follow-your-dreams hokum. That may not sound like an endorsement, but it sort of is; the film has enough laugh-out-loud moments and genial charm to mark it as a serious contender in its class. A far cry less distasteful and misogynistic than Saving Silverman or Say It Isn't So, the film benefits immensely from the kooky enthusiasm of David Arquette and the classic straight-man contrast of Scott Caan. The many wrestlers who lent their talents (and their real-life ring personae) to the proceedings are clearly in on the joke, and director Brian Robbins stages their brawls with just the right style of bloody theatricality. Jokes about Martin Landau's prostrate and scenes that feature countless gallons of raw sewage don't exactly have universal appeal, but for audiences who flock to real-life pro wrestling and/or bought tickets to There's Something About Mary, there are far worse ways to spend a couple of hours. Of course, Rose McGowan isn't Cameron Diaz, and her pouty allure is mostly wasted here in a typical sexy bad-girl role. Not exactly a date movie, then, Ready to Rumble is instead the sort of thing guys will enjoy viewing together under the influence of malt liquor and pork rinds. Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide