| Lady Ballers | |
|---|---|
 Teaser poster | |
| Directed by | Jeremy Boreing |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Kristopher Kimlin |
| Edited by | Jared Bently |
| Music by |
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Production company | |
| Distributed by | The Daily Wire |
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Lady Ballers is a 2023 comedy film starring, directed and co-written by Jeremy Boreing, co-CEO of conservative media company The Daily Wire.[1] It also stars Daniel Considine, Jake Crain, David Cone, Blain Crain, and Tyler Fischer. Boreing plays a down-on-his-luck-coach who will do anything to win, even bring his old male basketball team together to compete in women's sports.[2]
The movie has cameos from Daily Wire contributors and other prominent right-wing figures. Senator Ted Cruz and former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines both made cameo appearances as themselves.[3][4] Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Candace Owens, Michael Knowles, Andrew Klavan, Brett Cooper, and Jordan Peterson all make appearances.[5]
Plot
In 2008, coach Rob Gibson leads his high school boy's basketball team to victory in a third back-to-back state championship in Nashville. Fifteen years later, Rob finds himself in the midst of a divorce and he is fired from his coaching position. Desperate, Rob accepts a job at a drag queen restaurant where he finds his former star point guard, Alex Cruise, also working there. Rob begins coaching Alex to compete in a track and field competition for money. After Alex is mistakenly believed to be transgender, Rob convinces Alex to compete in the women's competition. Alex easily wins every event, gaining the attention of local reporter, Gwen Wilde, who convinces them to work with her as a means to become famous.[6]
Rob and Alex reassemble their championship basketball team to compete in a women's basketball league as transgender athletes. Initially skeptical, the team is convinced of the plan by Rob's 8 year old daughter after she explains gender identity concepts with them. The Lady Ballers dominate their opponents, quickly gaining celebrity status. Their newfound fame soon causes strife between the team and Rob begins to feel increasingly guilty as his actions strain his already fragile relationship with his disapproving ex-wife.
When Alex express to Rob that he is beginning to believe he is actually transgender, Rob affirms that if Alex needs help, he will support him in obtaining it but that he will never actually be a woman. Rob shares concerns with Gwen including that their actions are negatively affecting the female athletes. In response, an angry Gwen orchestrates a plan to put the Lady Ballers up against a team of African American men also claiming to be transgender.
The Lady Ballers find themselves badly losing at halftime and after Gwen attempts to kill Rob with a sniper rifle, he arranges for his daughter and a team of her friends to replace the Lady Ballers. The opposing team plays against the little girls lightheartedly, letting them pass to each other and lifting them up to slam dunk the ball. Rob reconciles with his ex-wife and the Lady Ballers officially disband.
Cast
- Jeremy Boreing as Coach Rob Gibson
- Daniel Considine as Alex Cruise
- Jake Crain as Jake Crain
- David Cone as David/Davida Cone
- Blain Crain as Blain/Blair Crain
- Tyler Fischer as Felix/Shelix Vanwyk
- Billie Rae Brandt as Gwen Wilde
- Lexie Contursi as Dharby Gibson
- Rosie Seraphine Harper as Winnie Gibson
- Matt Walsh as Kris Dilby/Himself
- Ben Shapiro as the Ref
- Candace Owens as herself
- Brett Cooper as Stacey Santiago O'Brien
- Michael Knowles as Drake Diamond
- Andrew Klavan as himself
- Spencer Klavan as The Peacemaker
- Clay Travis as the Hawkettes Coach
- Seth Dillon as the Cowgirls Coach
- Riley Gaines as herself
- Ted Cruz as himself
- Dr. Jordan B. Peterson as himself
- Chandler Juliet as Sheila
- Kangmin Lee as An Ecstatic Fan
- Siaka Massaquoi as Deuce Johnson
- Ben Davies as Commercial Director
- John Costellow as Basketball fan
Production
Filming
Principal photography began in June 2023. The film was shot in Nashville, Tennessee.[7]
Distribution
The film was released on December 1, exclusively on DailyWire+.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 50% rating, based on reviews from 6 critics.[8]
Film critic and conservative commentator Christian Toto praised it for "smart gags, impeccable timing and an 'amateur' cast that gets the job done" commending Boreing for "maintaining a consistent tone and quality" but acknowledges that the film is not for progressives, who would not appreciate it or find the satirical targets appropriate.[9] Andrew Stiles of the Washington Free Beacon gave it a mostly positive review, declaring that "Hilarity ensues, for the most part. Though probably not destined to become a comedy classic, Lady Ballers is a welcome alternative to any of the Hollywood-approved 'comedy' offerings of late."[10] The Washington Times reported that "pundits at the Daily Wire predicted that their first feature-length comedy, 'Lady Ballers,' would trigger the left, and they weren't wrong."[11]
John Serba of Decider.com was reminded of the film Juwanna Mann and says, "Lady Baller's is funny on occasion, but only unintentionally". He concludes it "isn't offensive as much as it's just depressing" and encourages audiences to "skip it".[12] Katelyn Burns of MSNBC described the movie as "anti-trans propaganda", and argued the film lied about transgender people's ability to compete in sports.[13] Mey Rude writing for Out described the movie as "completely unfunny". She said "It almost seems like the people who made the movie understand that if their premise was real, there would be real-life examples of groups of men like this taking over women’s sports. There aren’t."[14]
See also
References
- ↑ Holmes, Helen (November 30, 2023). "Ted Cruz Has Cameo in Anti-Trans 'Comedy' 'Lady Ballers'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ↑ "Lady Ballers". IMDb.
- ↑ Smith, Ryan (November 28, 2023). "Ted Cruz Stars in Transgender Basketball Movie". Newsweek.
- ↑ Condon, Ali (November 29, 2023). "Ted Cruz appears in 'inherently unfunny' transphobic sports film Lady Ballers". PinkNews.
- ↑ The Most Triggering Movie of the Year With Jeremy Boreing. November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ↑ Aguilar, Lou (December 3, 2023). "Conservative Ballers". The American Spectator.
- ↑ Hannah Herner; Hamilton Matthew Masters (28 June 2023). "Trans Advocates Protest Daily Wire Production in Nashville". Nashville Scene. Retrieved Dec 2, 2023.
- ↑ "Lady Ballers". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
- ↑ Toto, Christian (1 December 2023). "'Lady Ballers' Must Be Seen to Be Believed". Hollywood in Toto.
- ↑ Stiles, Andrew (2 December 2023). "This Movie Will Make You Rethink Everything You Ever Learned About Women With Balls". Washington Free Beacon.
- ↑ Richardson, Valerie. "'Lady Ballers': Activists not laughing at gender-bending comedy about transgender athletes". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2023-12-03.
- ↑ John Serba (Dec 1, 2023). "'Lady Ballers' DailyWire Plus Review: Stream It Or Skip It?". Retrieved Dec 2, 2023.
- ↑ Burns, Katelyn (12 December 2023). "This awful anti-trans propaganda film is an absurd fantasy of male domination". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ↑ Rude, Mey (28 November 2023). "This 'Comedy' About Trans Athletes Is Completely Unfunny". www.out.com. Retrieved 2023-12-11.