This is going to sound crazy to most of you, but here it goes. Ladybugs is one of a handful of films that made me want to be a film maker. Seriously! I was 14 when I saw Ladybugs for the first time on video. Once I watched it, I watched it again. Something about the movie interested me to be a storyteller myself. The direction, the story, even the location of the film inspired me to start writing, acting, and begin taking film classes. Something about this feel good movie made me want to make movies myself. At the time, Jonathan Brandis just started acting himself. HE had done the Never Ending Story a few years before and was an up and coming actor. A month ago, Jonathan Brandis was found dead in his LA apartment. Though I never met the man, nor worked on any of his films, his "legacy" if you can call it that, had left a mark. His talents end on such a short note, it is unfair that his best work will never be seen. Even though he has left some good and bad movies behind, I recall most of his work as work of talent and joy.
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caspian19788 January 2004
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My title says it all. Imagine 70 year old Rodney Dangerfield coaching a girls soccer team. He plays a mid level Denver sales executive Chester Lee who, anxious to persuade his fiancé Julie Benson (Jackee Lee) to marry him, persuades his boss and CEO to link successful coaching of his 14 year old daughter Kimberley's (Vinessa Shaw) girls soccer team to a promotion. Julie's 14 year old son Matthew (Jonathan Brandis) happens to be a sports whizz and a good soccer player. Chester begs for his help, something a cool teen still not comfortable with his soon-to-be stepfather would avoid and so Mathew defers.....until he spies Kimberley and falls in love. Chester is a useless soccer coach and the girls are inept and uncoordinated so Matthew agrees to dress up as a girl (Martha) and he leads the girls to great success due to his soccer prowess. Trouble is he's in love with Kimberley and she wants to be Martha's best friend. You can imagine the complex needle Matthew must thread.
So the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. First the Good. This movie does make it to 6 but only because Rodney Dangerfield, as the epic comic he was, peppers the movie with his trademark one liners SOME of which were funny. And also, Jonathan Brandis, leading in his 2nd movie in his 15th year (the other was Sidekicks), was beginning to show that his eventual mid 90's fame as a teen heartthrob was more than just because of his blond haired/blue eyed pretty boy looks, he was a genuinely excellent and authentic teen actor.
So the Bad? Whilst Brandis at this age did look pretty feminine and was slightly built, there's no way a 15 year old boy with a broken voice, leg hair and no breasts is going to look remotely convincing as a girl of the same age by just throwing a dress on. Brandis, in various scenes, doesn't disguise his adolescent voice so believability of this crucial part of the plot line was poor. Also, the greater strength and aggression of a teen boy soccer player clearly stood out and would've been the subject of intense other coach/parent scrutiny. That not a single opposing player, coach or parent didn't notice and challenge this severely dents the storyline.
The Ugly? For a child/teen movie, it was laced with a considerable number of adult-like sexual innuendos with two scenes that really beggar belief that the producers and directors thought that they were appropriate to include especially back in 1992 when the movie was released. And finally, the notion of an entire baseball team of early teen boys all cross dressing as girls, was unthinkable back then. -
clurge-214 February 2001Well, I've either died and gone to heaven, or just died. I can't really tell at this point. "Ladybugs" is an odd film. How could I have sat down and watched this film on three non-consecutive occasions? I guess the allure of Rodney Dangerfield is like a horrible, twisted automobile accident. No matter how much you want to move along, you just can't turn away.
Jackée Harry's voice alone would make any man flee the area, and never return. Tommy Lasroda appears near the midpoint of the film to remind us that he should never be cast in feature films EVER AGAIN. Then factor in Jonathan Brandis...as a girl! No, not just Jonathan Brandis. HE'S ALSO DRESSED LIKE A GIRL. Go now. While you can. Run for your life.
Once you watch a bit, you'll be hooked. I'm warning you.
Dangerfield is no threat. If you've seen this film, or "Easy Money" or "Back To School" or anything else he's been in, you know his role. "A wise-cracking (blank)". Here, the blank is filled with "soccer coach". If you're seeing it for the sole purpose of "The Rod", go see "Meet Wally Sparks". A much better effort.
Sometime in the near future, a professor from a large university in Norway will release a thesis paper drawing parallels between "Ladybugs" and it's Hollywood soccer film equal, "The Big Green". The paper will go on to comment that Hollywood cannot make a decent "Big Budget Soccer Picture", and films of the sort should be left to the much more soccer-movie-inclined Icelandic film producers. Just a prediction.
Please take heed. This movie is like a cult. You watch it once, and it will never let go. You'll have to call in sick to work, and cut out your social life because of this film. "Ladybugs" will attach itself to you an never let go...until your eventual demise. Then it will move on to it's next unsuspecting victim that says, "Hmm...Rodney Dangerfield, Jackée Harry, AND Jonathan Brandis...sounds good..." -
I consider Rodney Dangerfield to be the funniest man who has ever lived. He's the best stand-up comedian of all time. He's great. Out of all his movies, I like this one the best. CADDYSHACK is a classic too, but I watched it recently and I realized Rodney Dangerfield is hardly in it at all. The more Rodney Dangerfield, the better. LADYBUGS proves that. This movie is all about Rodney. If you are a fan of all of Rodney Dangerfield's one liners, this movie is for you. He keeps them coming throughout the whole hour and a half. In addition to Rodney's one liners, the movie also contains some great visual gags (the changing room scene is hilarious). LADYBUGS is easily one of the best movies not available on DVD.
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thejcowboy2223 July 2020In my teen years I did play on an organized basketball team. It wasn't a Bar league or industrial. Not affiliated with a High school either . I was drafted into the Church of The latter day Saints league. I played for the Mormons. The Queens Ward Warriors. How did this happened? My neighbor saw me playing basketball at the nearby park and saw my rebounding skills. He needed players on his team. I was recruited with one provision. Never tell them that I was of another faith or they would throw me out of the league. My Latter Day neighbor, who was the coach, was breaking a commandment. To soften the lie I told the Deacon in charge of the league, that I was converting soon. Ladybugs is a cute out of the ordinary comedy walking a fine line between children and adult situations. Cross dressing and Tween girl's self esteem mixed with the off color comedy of Rodney Dangerfield. This all adds up to a family comedy? Rodney Dangerfield, the comic who never gets any respect, plays a company man Chester Lee hoping for a higher position in the firm. To impress his boss, Dave Mullen (Tom Parks) Chester claimed that in his youth he was an excellent soccer player. Mullen suggest that he coach his daughters soccer team, The Ladybugs. Mullen tells Chester if the Ladybugs reach the championship his promotion is guaranteed. Unfortunately most of the last years squad did not return for the upcoming season. The repeat of a successful repeat is in jeopardy. Chester with his assistant Julie (Jackee Harry) are left with clueless nonathletic girls including the bosses daughter the Kimberly (Vinessa Shaw). On Chester's personal home front. he is engaged to Bess (Ilene Graff). Bess has a son Matthew (Jonathan Brandis) from a previous marriage. Due to poor grades Matthew is kicked off his soccer team. Chester has an Idea to boost the talent of his bunch of lovable losers . He dresses Matthew in girls clothes complete with wig to create Martha, the girl's soccer superstar. When I think of this movie two things standout. Rodney can be clean and funny and second the tragic suicide of Jonathan Brandis. Their chemistry was so natural on the screen They didn't seem as disjointed as in Rodney's other movies being a parent i.e. Easy Money and Back to School. Rodney does have his classic share of retorts and one-liners to keep you entertained. Coach Chester,Drag footballer Martha and the rest of the girls kick their way towards a winning season. As for my Mormon experience on the basketball team I was approached by a Minister who never saw me attend a service and asked, "What part of the Church do you belong?" And I thought for a moment and answered , "The religious Part!"
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dworldeater26 November 2020Ladybugs is a bit of a change of pace for Rodney Dangerfield in this fairly wholesome family friendly film. However, in these times if the same movie was made today, it might get an R, or would be considered too controversial to be released. Ladybugs is a very warm, lighthearted, but at the same time has a lot of innuendo and raunchy humor that one would expect from a Rodney Dangerfield movie. Rodney Dangerfield plays a hard working family oriented man that has to coach a girls soccer team to appease his boss and get a promotion. There still are the one liners that are the price of admission for a Dangerfield movie, but the story flows well and the characters are well drawn out and easily likeable. This is in a lot of ways similar in quality to Meet Wally Sparks, but a bit more wholesome and in my opinion a better movie. Having said that, Ladybugs is still really funny and holds up pretty well.
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Whitetd120006 December 2012Rodney Dangerfield had at this point become known for playing sympathetic losers who go to outrageous lengths to climb the ladder of success. Here he is Chester Lee, a salesman with an understanding fiancée and a typical apathetic stepson. While trying to get a promotion, he somehow gets himself into coaching his bosses' championship soccer team, The Ladybugs. He accepts, merely on hearing the team's legacy. He soon finds out that all but one of the players is new to the team and know even less than he does. He then enlists the help of his stepson, a gifted soccer player, having him pose as a girl. The film is funny enough, as Dangerfield's wit carries it through. The b plot of the stepson's crush, who is also the bosses daughter,r is thrown in for teen appeal. This movie does not pretend to be anything more than a harmless farce, and is all the better for it.
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emilie860524 November 2003well i am not a fan of rodney dangerfield, but this movie he wasnt as bad as a thought it would be. being a teenager, i found the kid playing the boy and the girl was pretty cute and kept my attention throughout the whole movie. the lady that helps rodney coach the crummy girls that cant play soccer, the mom from sister sister on the disney channel, was a great match to help rodney, since they both have those kind of voices that you want to turn down the volume. it still had a predictable ending, but i liked the corny side of this movie and watch it occasionally when i see it on comedy central. (C C-)
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ccthemovieman-115 July 2006I assumed this was a safe movie for kids, one about a young girls soccer team. Well, it WAS about the soccer team but it also had numerous sex jokes and innuendos, along with a lot of profanity and just plain sleazy remarks.
Whoever wrote this script must be a real sleazebag. I should have noticed the PG-13 label, but somehow missed it. That would have tipped me off. For those who disagree with my remarks, tell me why they had to rate it PG-13 if it is such a sweet and innocent film??? .
The main kid in here is a foul-mouthed brat, too. Rodney Dangerfield, the adult star of this prize-winner, has some funny lines but the general tone of this "kids" movie turned me off, big-time.
Do not show this to your little girls. -
PredragReviews21 December 2016This early 90's effort is arguably Rodney Dangerfield's last truly great comedy. He's in top form in this one as an engaged working class guy who agrees to coach the "Ladybugs" girls soccer team to finagle a promotion from his boss & better support his future wife (Ilene Graff). Soon, he discovers how deep over his head he's in, the team is a disaster. That is, until he convinces his teenage future son--who has natural skill as a player, to don drag as new member "Martha" & whip the team into shape. So it sort of functions as a "Tootsie" on a soccer field as both must keep up the charade in order to have a winning season & impress the boss with his coaching. Jackee Harry gives fine comic support as Rodney's sassy assistant, and even the late child actor Jonathan Brandis has some very good moments.
The funny part of this movie is not the story line because it not the best story of all time like an "Avatar" but it's the hilarious side jokes here and there that lets you know why Rodney is so funny. His timing on jokes are flawless, the way he gets out of trouble here and there during the movie is priceless. Even the comments that he had against other soccer coaches during the film. One scene the ladybugs were losing very bad during the game and the assistant coach said "we still got a chance" and Rodney said "Some chance, like a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest." Now see you gotta laugh at something like that because the movie is full of little side jokes like it you don't see that type of comedy today and if you do you at least know where its origins started from.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10. -
wes-connors22 July 2008Bucking for a promotion at work, Rodney Dangerfield (as Chester Lee) brags about his soccer prowess; so, his boss assigns him coach for "The Ladybugs", an inept girls soccer team. Mr. Dangerfield knows little about soccer, and less about coaching the team; so, he persuades girlfriend's sporting son Jonathan Brandis (as Matthew) to join the team, in drag. Donning a wig to become "Martha", Mr. Brandis becomes the team's star "girl" player. How long can this deception last?
Promotion as "A Comedy with Balls" gives away the film's big wit; of course, there are several jokes about testicles. Dangerfield and assistant Jackée Harry (as Julie Benson) can be much funnier than they are in this movie. The problem, perhaps, is that Dangerfield is "toned down" to appeal to a younger audience. Otherwise, it's difficult to believe the situation herein. Brandis has a non-gender specific appeal; he is best in a scene entertaining a "fellow" pretty soccer player, Vinessa Shaw (as Kimberly). Watch Brandis change between "Matthew" and "Martha" very quickly, with a cool stairway trick.
There are some (admittedly straw-grasping, here) admirable messages for younger girls: for example, self-conscious "Penny Pester" is made to feel pretty; and, the team is given some "you can do it" (despite being girls) confidence. However, it's difficult to believe a high school teenager would join a girls soccer team to either get close to a girl, or please a prospective step-father. And, a character's reaction to the farce is incomprehensible (" corrupt my son!", "Go to your room!"). Worse yet is a "changing room" scene with commits a comedy sin; it's offensive without being funny.
*** Ladybugs (3/27/92) Sidney J. Furie ~ Rodney Dangerfield, Jonathan Brandis, Jackée Harry -
makiprettywoman324 June 2013Before Will Ferrell started in a comedy about a kids soccer team there was a movie called Ladybugs. You have Rodney Dangerfield who plays Chester Lee. While trying to get a promotion Chester Lee agrees to coach the company's all girl soccer team. The only problem is he doesn't know anything about soccer. He ends up dressing up his fiancé's son who actually knows stuff about soccer to help the team.
You probably have seen some of other Rodney Dangerfield's movies like Back to School, Easy Money or Caddyshack. This movie is filled with all the great one liners and jokes that make Rodney Dangerfield so great. There are parts of this movie that are totally random but still funny. It seems like Rodney Dangerfield was trying to make a movie that would appeal to kids and be family friendly. Don't let the 4.7 rating fool you. This a funny movie with Rodney Dangerfield in it about soccer. -
narim-kim26 June 2021It is so refreshing to see a movie with such vulgar jokes considering it is a kid's movie or at least movie where the adolescent is one of the main characters. The timing of the jokes is stellar and they are so politically incorrect and I never realized that I missed this type of humor. This would push so many buttons on any average PC folks.
In 2021 where someone can self-determine one's gender and a biologically-male athlete compete with biologically-female athletes based on their science-defying self-identity, the joke is now on our generation. This movie unintentionally became a prophetic little comedy
Yes I know I did not give perfect score, because honestly it is a sloppy movie, in terms of the craft of filmmaking. -
planktonrules20 April 2006This dreary comedy is just not funny. Think about it--you know you are in trouble when the plot involves having a boy dress like a girl to play soccer AND the supporting actress is Jackée Harry. Plus, the movie is just very poorly written with most of its jokes being crude and stupid. You also know you are in trouble when one of these painfully unfunny moments is when Rodney is in the dressing room with this young boy and is helping him dress up like a girl--and the dialog is written as if he's having sex with this child. Wow--child molester humor--now that's sure to create a lot of laughs,...if you're an idiot or a child molester.
It's really a shame, as Dangerfield did some cute movies that were FUN. While EASY MONEY and BACK TO SCHOOL weren't terribly deep, they were good for a few laughs. This film didn't even provide one. -
taylormarch3 May 2004warning- spoilers I saw this film in the theaters in 1992 and it was good,clean, wholesome fun.A great movie for kids,then and now.It also dealt with the issue of blended families in a light-hearted yet respectful way. The death of Mr. Brandis was a terrible tragedy.I hope that fans of movies will keep his spirit alive. LADY BUGS is the story of a soccer coach who knows nothing whatever of the sport.Our hero,played by the legendary Rodney Dangerfield, is a hapless employee who is coerced into coaching his boss's daughter's pathetic soccer squad. Rodney is in it for the money, but he ultimately comes to realize that he can play a role in helping these unathletic girls with their self-esteem.Part of his strategy is to dress up his future stepson as a girl in hopes of using his speed and dribbling ability as a means to get some victories for the real girls on the team.Along the way, everyone involved learns some lessons about love, forgiveness, and self-respect. Not a bad message for kids at all.
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spenrh26 February 2020I saw this movie because I find Rodney Dangerfield funny, and have liked him in "Back to school", "Caddyshack", and "Easy money". However, even though he repeats some of his funny quirks here, those other movies of his were just alot better.
The opening of the movie was sort of amusing. We see a self help seminar that gradually brings Rodney into the picture as the seminar speaker gets everyone including him to keep saying "I am great. I am wonderful. Everybody likes me.". The last time of everyone saying that has us looking straight at Rodney's reflection in a mirror he's holding doing his known wide-eyed leer.
The worst thing about this movie was Rodney (as Chester) insisting on dressing his stepson-to-be in drag to help his company girls soccer team to win the championship, which were all awkward 13 and 14 year olds. Chester's boss and company president Mr. Mullen (Tom Parks, who reminded me of John Heard) for some reason, thinks that if Chester could become coach of this soccer team and lead them to victory, then he's convinced him that he's worth the promotion that he's wanting. First of all, Rodney looked (and was) too old here to be a full time office worker reaching for a goal of becoming vice president. Second, Chester dressing a 15 year old in drag was totally unacceptable, he should've found some other way to coach the team to victory (I totally understood Chester's fiancee's (Ilean Graff) reaction when she found out what he did later in the movie). Third, Chester's stepson (Johnathan Brandi's) while in drag looked and talked so obviously like a boy in drag, so we're also making alot of the characters look like morons for not noticing that.
There were a few semi-amusing moments between Chester and his co-worker Jackee Harry, who became Chester's assistant coach. I found sort of funny a scene in the elevator with Chester, Jackee, and Ilean when they told another woman in the elevator that they're getting married, and her mistakingly thinking that it was Chester and Jackee (who's black) getting married, and Jackee then reacting in surprise "I wonder what our kids would've looked like".
The funniest scene in the movie was when Chester and Ilean were looking at a house that they were considering buying, and Chester not liking it and saying the few funniest comments of the movie, such as "look at this landscape, it looks like all the trees threw up" and the comment of the neighbors hearing Chester and Ilean screaming.
But, there was just too much of this movie I didn't care for, and next time I want to see Rodney Dangerfield, I'll watch "Back to school", "Easy money", or "Caddyshack". One other note, since Rodney was rumored to be someone who in real didn't feel like he got any respect, his bringing comments related to that into his movies makes it seem like he's not having to practice acting those lines since he's probably saying how he really felt. One example was at one point him looking up and yelling "Why me!? Why me!?", and the look of anguish on his face the second after yelling that seemed probably a look of real anguish which was not acted.
Also, a couple of other sort of interesting things in this movie were Rodney himself singing "Great balls of fire", and a rap song during the closing credits with both Rodney and Tom Parks' last line of the movie being intertwined into the song, Tom's "You're on top of the world", and Rodney's "I finally got some respect". -
Seeing Jonathan Brandis acting as a girl in a dress really makes up for the severe shortcomings of Rodney Dangerfield acting like a complete idiot. Weird thing is that in the wig and white dress Brandis actually looks like a real girl until he starts to speak! The film had good potential until they casted Dangerfield in the role (is he some kind of american pervy Chubby Brown?) turning a childs movie into a movie for no particular age group due to the adult humour he injects. The storyline had good potential in the first half where Brandis agrees to act as a girl to help out the girls football team and also to get closer to his crush who is on the team, although the storyline is probably a bit far fetched (how many boys would go to such lengths just to get close to another girl?) until Brandis disappears for a while from the film after his mum sees him in a dress and the film goes off at a weird tangent showing a rival girls football team preparing with their military style coach and we all thought for a minute that that team would be an all-male female impersonators football team. The film ending was rather poor as well seeing the goal (sorry about the pun) was that Brandis wanted the girl and the girls football team wanted him and neither subject was well played out.
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buddry22220 October 2006This isn't the best movie but is watchable. I wouldn't show it to an 8 year old but fits the PG-13 ratting with ease. The fact that Dangerfield is the star and the premise is that a boy cross-dresses as a girl to be the ringer on an all girls soccer team should be some tip offs as to the content. If you didn't like it maybe you shouldn't let your TV be your baby sitter and have them bake some cookies for the church bake sale instead. I'm sorry but the movie deserves better than the only comment posted, bad as the movie is.
If your kids like soccer and you don't mind some off color jokes this isn't a bad movie to get if you can find it. As stated the movie is well within the PG-13 rating. -
Movie-ManDan24 March 2021How do you make a sports movie? Have a team that can't win, a reluctant coach with an ace up their sleeve, and arch-rivals that the underdogs seemingly stand no chance against. That's "Ladybugs" for you!
The main thing that this movie has going for it is the legendary Rodney Dangerfield. He may not have had much luck in feature films, so I guess "Ladybugs" shouldn't have been a surprise. He is very likeable and respectable (pun intended) in this.
The other thing this movie has going for it is the late Jonathan Brandis. He has enough charm to carry his character, almost all the way.
Dangerfield plays Chester who is desperate for a promotion so that he can finally have a good wedding ceremony. His boss rejects him, but In a bid to suck up, Chester says he will coach his boss' daughter's soccer team: The Ladybugs. Dragging along his assistant to coach along with him, Chester is in shock to see the team consists of rookies with no natural talent. That has been done soooooo many times before. Just by reading this, how many other sports films did you just think about?
Chester's soon-to-be stepson is Matthew (Brandis), a slacker with a knack for sports whose bad habits have gotten him kicked off the teams. Chester's bad idea to get the team winning and for Matthew to play sports again is to disguise him as a girl named Martha. When the gender-bender aspect gets thrown in, it is a move the viewer will either hate or find a good change. I can assure you that the only reason I wasn't appalled was because of Dangerfield and Brandis.
The film this is most like is the modern Shakespeare adaptation of "Twelfth Night" called "She's The Man" with Amanda Bynes. Both are gender-bending sports films about soccer, but the Amanda movie was actually decent. I really can't recommend "Ladybugs" unless you love soccer or Rodney Dangerfield. I happen to be a fan of the late comic, so I did not hate this like I probably should have.
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orcasnm13 July 2001What a film, I watched this on late night TV as obviously the BBC felt this film would not get a daytime TV audience. Rodney is superb and it is a one man show, if it wasn't for him the film would be all the worse as he drives the film through the highly funny and entertaining storyline with the unique twist, that the star player for the girls team is actually a male!!! Even Rodney dresses as a woman at one point, as "Martha's" mother!!! I LAUGHED TILL I CRIED!!! Eye boggling Rodney is as funny as ever - "WOW, HEY, HE'S A COACH - NOT FIRST CLASS" BUT THE FILM SURE IS!!!!
10 OUT OF 10!!!!!!! -
spencer-w-hensley10 January 2023Rodney Dangerfield was simply one of the funniest comedians ever.
His first couple of movie efforts were his best starting with Caddyshack and Back to School a few years later which for me is his very best film.
Those two I feel are going to be the movies he will be best remembered for and rightly so. In Caddyshack he was simply the funniest of the four putting Chevy Chase, Ted Knight and Bill Murray all to shame which is very hard to do but he managed to do it.
Back to School was his best film in terms of showing his comedic talent and his heart at its very best. In terms of quality and good writing that remains his masterpiece.
So where does Ladybugs fall? It's certainly not as good as the aforementioned two films but it is still very funny and I feel probably his most underrated.
This was at a time when Rodney's comedic fame was slowing down a bit mostly due to competition from Caddyshack co-star Murray and others like Steve Martin and Robin Williams.
In the 80's he had big hits but this one flopped and I am not exactly sure why.
Surely it's no comic masterpiece but it's far from bad at the same time.
Some scenes had me literally laughing out loud.
Even if it's Tootsie plays soccer it's still really funny.
Jonathan Brandis the late actor plays his step son to be and gives a very nice performance while Jackee as his assistant has her moments.
But this is essentially Rodney's show and he more than pulls his weight.
I know the movie has gotten a cult following but I think it should be regarded as among his better work.
I think it was dismissed as a teenage Tootsie wannabe in 92 and because Rodney was getting overshadowed by other comedians but this movie is still very funny and if you are enough of a Rodney fan or sports comedies in general this one is definitely worth a watch.
Rodney only left us a couple good movies and I think this is one of them.
Ignore the reviews or the fact it flopped on release. This is a very funny movie using Dangerfield's talent very well. -
mkquinn912 September 2018I went into this blind for a podcast. I was surprised to realize about 20 minutes in that this is a gender swapped She's the Man: a boy dresses as a girl to play on a soccer team. It's shocking and upsetting. Watching this movie felt as though I was witnessing a crime.
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PeterMitchell-506-5643645 December 2012Ladybugs is a movie you could go past, without realizing how funny it really is. A small cinema release in December of 92, it had. When it came around to watching it, in late 95, I'm glad I zoomed in on it. As always in Rodney's Dangerfield's movies, like Robin Williams adds his own lines, he adds his own jokes, and they go off like firecrackers. I don't think there's anything I haven't found funny from Dangerfield. Here in one of his funniest comedies, a lighthearted one, compared to the normal ones he did, and that wasn't many, he coaches a hopeless soccer team of young girls, one of them happening to his beautiful boss's daughter, Kimberly. And if Chester (Dangerfield) produces a winning team he'll be put in for a promotion, so it's a bit of a..kissing. Rodney says a great one liner about balls that cracked me up. I never realized how funny this movie would be. Chester who's met a new woman, and vying for the acceptance of her son (this happens to all stepdads and mothers) he really needs this promotion. He cons the son (late heart throb Jonathan Brandis) a skilled soccer player into coaching this pathetic girls soccer team. Only one catch, the son must dress like a girl. At first, averse to the idea, he's soon in a dress and wig, and Martha is born. Another complication, Martha falls for Kimberly. Certain predicaments provide laughs, like when all the girls are invited back to Kimberly's place as they are skinny dipping, or when Martha's changing into a dress, in certain places, like female washrooms or dressing stalls, or even throttling a punching ball in front of stunned onlookers. Or when Kimberly shows up unannounced at Martha's, where Brandis is forever changing, as Rodney and his much better half return home. Even Rodney, who makes one hell of an ugly woman, has to pose as a female to get Martha out of Kimberly's house. Jackee' (Rodney's work colleague) is a hoot too, providing the laughs with after remarks aimed at Rodney. Nancy Parsons, the crazed coach of the other girl soccer team who are miles and miles better, very much resembles characteristics of her Ball breaker character from her Porky's days. Rodney sends a string of jokes her way that his boss finds equally amusing. Also the intercut scenes, with Brandis in a ice cream shop and Dangerfield in a bar telling the owners their problems, where their words are misinterpreted, Dangerfield's getting him kicked out with the funniest misunderstood line I've ever heard in my life. Ladybugs is a comedy treat for the whole family. I suggest zipping down to the DVD shop and hiring it, if you can find it. If your lucky to see a copy of it in the ex rental video section, buy it. Please! You won't be disappointed. Ladybugs, a whole movie of laughs, is runner up to Dangerfield's supreme hit, Back to School.
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fatcat-7345011 January 2023As usual, this is a vehicle for Dangerfield to pop off a few one-liners and give his signature shaky, bug-eyed, neurotic performances as middle-aged ne'er-do-well. The plot is slim and most of the characters are just archetypes. If you know what you're getting into, you won't be dissapointed.
This time Dangerfield is trying to climb the corporate ladder so that he can support his fiance in marriage. In order to do so, he tries to impress the boss and his family, who are huge devotees of football, by claiming to be a great player and offering to coach the team. The team is bad, but the son of his wife-to-be happens to be a very talented football player...
And off we go. You'll get a generous portion of boys in drag, physical humour, silly romances, and other cheap laughs, but always doused in Dangerfield's comedic talent. If Shakespeare could make it work, why can't the writer of Ladybugs?
Honourable Mentions: Bad News Bears (1976). Matthau does a good job, but he's no comedian. Fortunately he doesn't need to carry it, and his slovenly lackadaisical performance is a great complement to the unruly bears. -
IonicBreezeMachine29 December 2023Chester Lee (Rodney Dangerfield) is a successful salesman at Mullen Industries who's looking to get a promotion so he and his girlfriend Bess (Ilene Graff) can finally get married. Chester attempts to get on his boss Dave Mullen's good side when asking for a raise by praising the collection of trophies Mullen has acquired from the girls soccer team the Ladybugs which Mullen sponsors. When Chester lies about having once played soccer himself he finds himself offered the position of team coach which he thinks he could use to parlay his promotion but soon finds that the team mostly consists of uncoordinated misfits who have not played soccer before. With few options, Chester seeks help from his girlfriend's son Matthew (Johnathan Brandis) who's adept at soccer with Matthew reluctantly adopting the alias of Martha to give their team some help.
Ladybugs is a 1992 sports comedy starring notable comedian Rodney Dangerfield. The film came about from producers Andre Morgan and Albert S. Ruddy who sought to make an update on the formula established by The Bad News Bears falling in line with audience tastes of the 90s that had been shaped by the success of films such as Uncle Buck and Home Alone. Dangerfield hadn't headlined a film (at least live-action) since 1986's Back to School allegedly due to Dangerfield's prima donna behavior with a notable instance being his high profile rejection of Caddyshack II for Warner Bros. Despite his initial desire for it being the reason for its existence. Due to the nature of Dangerfield's comedic persona Paramount struggled with how exactly to market the film as while it was a broad comedy with prominent child characters, it still carried much of the raunchy material that Dangerfield was known for hence why the film was awarded a PG-13 rating. Made for $20 million, Ladybugs proved a financial failure opening in only fifth place and earning only $15 million before disappearing from theaters. Critics also panned the film wand Ladybugs would mark the final mainstream vehicle for Dangerfield (aside from some direct-to-video films and supporting work in films such as Natural Born Killers and Little Nicky). Ladybugs is a strange movie not so much for what it is, but rather it's a strange mixture of Dangerfield's persona and a 90s formula family comedy that feels at odds with each other.
While critics did pan the film, some did admit to a degree that Dangerfield was able to be funny in the film and I'm inclined to agree. While Dangerfield is seldom that far from playing himself, nobody delivers one-liners as effectively and efficiently as he does as seen from the opening exchange between him and a truck driver that gave me a good laugh. The gone too soon Johanthan Brandis also gives a good performance as Matthew/Martha and he shows not only solid screen presence but also capable comic timing as a co-lead in the film. I also rather liked Jackée Harry's performance as Chester's assistant Julie who has great comedic back and forth with Dangerfield. Ladybugs seems like it has all the ingredients for a good comedy, but at the same time it also has a really uneasy mixture of edgy material mixed in with more conventional kids movie material. Curtis Burch is credited with screenwriting duties for Ladybugs and his most prominent credit outside of this one is the 1983 arcade sex comedy Joysticks and some jokes/sequences often feel like they're playing to that level including several jokes where characters mistake out of context dialogue for unseemly situations involving children. Because of this very uneasy mixture of family comedy setup paired with material that feels leftover from edgier examples of 1980s comedies, the movie has funny individual moments that are often balanced out by ones that are more cringey and uncomfortable.
Ladybugs is a movie that came out the wrong way at the right time because it's something of a timecapsule in how 80s comedy stalwarts struggled to adapt to the 90s (SNL alums such as Eddie Murphy, Dan Akyroyd, and Chevy Chase included). While the film is sporadically funny, it also feels like there's a misguided notion in transitioning Dangerfield into a role where he doesn't quite fit with material that seems confused about who it's exactly catering to.