Buddy Games 2019

Shelly, a six-time winner of the Buddy Games, Dan Bakkedahl takes the spotlight by defeating Nick Swardson as Bender in the latest edition. During a drunken celebration, Shelly publicly humiliates a passed-out friend, a moment that sours the win. In the aftermath, Bender and Shelly’s wife, Nikki, Lucie Guest joke about revenge. The joke turns deadly when Nikki shoots Shelly in the groin, resulting in the loss of both testicles. Bender willingly steps forward to take the blame, protecting Shelly’s marriage and striking back at Shelly’s abusive behavior in a quiet, unsettling way.

Five years pass. Shelly is now suicidal, divorced, and living with his mother. His mother reaches out to Bob, a wealthy friend played by Josh Duhamel, hoping he’ll restart the Buddy Games to give Shelly a reason to live. Shelly agrees, but with two hard conditions: Bender must not be invited, and Shelly’s medical condition must stay secret. Bob agrees, sensing the fragile, dangerous edge of Shelly’s need for purpose.

Bob brings everyone back except Bender. When Bender learns the event is happening, he confronts Bob, who lies about a $10,000 entry fee. Desperate to pay, Bender sells his mother’s belongings and even performs degrading acts. Upon arriving, Bender publicly reveals Shelly’s medical condition and goes further by offering vials of his own sperm. Bob admits that Bender was never invited in the first place. In a bold, reckless move, Bender pressures Bob to add a $100,000 cash prize, and Shelly agrees to the change, inflaming the stakes for everyone involved.

The competition unfolds through a sequence of physical tests and outrageous, often humiliating dares. Shelly, Bob, and Bender push through a brutal gauntlet, climbing toward the final round. The night before the last challenge, Shelly screws with the plan by spiking the group’s drinks with Bender’s semen, a grim reminder of the vendetta that has defined their friendship. Bender is later kidnapped and restrained by Shelly, who also destroys Bender’s van in a move of vengeance. In a pivotal admission, Bender reveals that Nikki was the one who pulled the trigger years earlier.

The finale centers on an archery-based hunt. Bob is the first to be eliminated, leaving the other two to finish the ordeal. Bender overpowers Shelly in a tense hand-to-hand duel and claims the prize. Afterward, Bob’s girlfriend—who has been drawn into the chaos—asks Bob to move on from the group, but he refuses; she reacts with anger, physically confronting the group before leaving.

As the credits roll, Zane Holden comes out as gay, adding a final twist to the tangled web of relationships, James Roday Rodriguez’s Zane Holden taking his own moment in the spotlight. In a sly nod to destiny, Durfy lands a TV role, and Bender uses part of the prize money to gift Shelly artificial testicles, a surreal coda to a competition that has rewritten more than just one friendship.