Review of Murderball (2005) by Steve M — 12 Apr 2006

I've heard this documentary about a somewhat brutal sport for quadriplegics (they roll around the court in "battle wheelchairs" and score points while knocking each other over and tossing a ball back and forth--no, this is not "Best of Show" in wheelchairs, this is for real) described as "inspiring" and a "true example of the human competitive spirit unleashed.".

I came away with the feeling that the film's objective was to show "quadriplegics are assholes just like non-crippled people.".

It's been a whle that I've seen such a collection of basically unlikable people in a documentary. I'm not entirely sure what I was supposed to find inspiring. That a guy in a wheelchair who likes to pick fights with people in bars also likes smashing people up on the ballcourt? That the once-captain of the American team was so bitter over getting old and being sidelined that he went to couch the Canadian team? That there's a sport for quadriplegics that's both as dumb as American football and as boring as curling?

I DID learn more about quadriplegia than I've ever known before, and I was entertained while watching this film. But I also had to wonder: What the heck is it that all those other people saw in this that I didn't?