Dodgeball: A True Underdog Storyis about a team of misfits who, despite the odds, win it all, but the ending writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber originally wanted would have completely changed the tone of the movie.Dodgeballfollows Vince Vaughn’s Peter LaFleur who reluctantly captains a dodgeball team of underdogs to save their sanctuary, Average Joe’s Gym, from foreclosure from Ben Stiller’s White Goodman, makingDodgeballone ofBen Stiller’s best movies. The movie is a classic “David and Goliath story” where thecast ofDodgeball’s scrappy characters beat the soulless franchise Globo Gym in the climax.
Big summer comedies and sports movies traditionally have triumphant happy endings, butThurber wantedDodgeballto subvert genre norms. Reactions to Thurber’s original ending forDodgeballmade the studio nervous. While Thurber did not get the exact ending he wanted, his version made it into the final cut ofDodgeballin an unexpected way. Thurber got the last word about the studio’s decision inDodgeball’s famous post-credit screen, at least untilDodgeball’s sequel comes out.
Director Rawson Marshall Thurber Wanted Dodgeball To End In Defeat
Fox Forced Dodgeball To Reshoot After Test Screenings
Dodgeballwas Thurber’s directorial feature debut, andThurber wanted to have Goliath beat Davidas a way to cut through the standard studio comedy formula. Vince Vaughn liked the big swing of having a comedy with an unhappy ending when he read Thurber’s early draft ofDodgeball. The moment where Thurber wantedDodgeballto end is technically in the movie - it’s the moment when Globo Gym beats Average Joe’s in the finals. Ben Stiller’s White Goodman falls to his knees in celebration just before the umpire blows the whistle and calls Sudden Death iswhere Thurber wanted to endDodgeball.
Thurber’s ending was shown at test screenings, and audiences responded negatively to the downbeat ending forDodgeball. Fox insisted on reshoots, which resulted in the traditional but still surprising ending that viewers expect in sports and comedy movies. Thurber feels that the placating ending watered down his vision forDodgeball, but Ben Stiller has admitted that going with the more classic happy ending was the right call.
How Thurber’s Original Ending Would Have Changed Dodgeball’s Overall Tone
Dodgeball Gives Ben Stiller’s White Goodman The Ending He Deserves
By the end ofDodgeball, Vaughn’s Peter finally starts to be proactive and think about the future. He literally bets on his underdog team to win, and the audience wants to see that kind of character growth rewarded. It is cathartic to see Peter not just save Average Joe’s but take over the Globo Gym franchise. The rewatchability factor ofDodgeballdrops precipitously if the last thing the audience sees is Globo Gym tearing down Average Joe’s.
Dodgeballis a celebration of the little guy, a “true underdog story.” The movie is an absurdist comedy, but if Average Joe’s loses at the end,Dodgeballwould take on a more bitter tone. The lighthearted nature and endless quotability ofDodgeballsuffers if the ending is made cynical for the sake of subverting genre.
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Perhaps in Thurber’s envisioned ending, individual characters could still have their happy endings, but it is not satisfying if the group fails at their driving goal.Dodgeball’s ending is perfect, down to Peter’s winnings from betting on Average Joe’s at 50:1 odds arriving in a treasure chest that has “Deus Ex Machina” written on the side.
Deus Ex Machina is a Latin term for a plot device that changes the outcome of a story. It literally translates to “god from the machine,” when in Greek theater an actor playing a god would be brought on stage using a machine.
Every character inDodgeballgets the absurd ending they deserve. Steve is able to embrace his identity as a pirate when Peter says he needs someone to share his treasure chest. Peter gets Kate, as well as Kate’s girlfriend. As Peter hinted to Dwight at the beginning ofDodgeball, Owen finds not just his person, but two special someones. Similarly, Justin gets the girl, and in the Average Joe’s commercial that ends the film, they’re joyfully pregnant. White has lost everything, and after treating his body like a temple, inhales a hot hog he snatches out of a kid’s hand.
Thurber Expressed His Frustration In Dodgeball’s Famous Postcredit Scene
Ben Stiller’s Speech After “Milkshake” Lip Sync Take On New Meaning
AfterDodgeball’s happy ending, there is a post credit scene where Stiller’s White Goodman, regaining all his weight, lip-syncing “Milkshake” directly to camera. The final thingDodgeballleaves the audience with is White saying:
“Hope you’re happy. Good guy wins, bad guy loses. Big friggin surprise… That’s the problem with the American cinema, it can’t handle any complexity in it. Don’t make me think! I just want to be entertained!”
With the context of the happy ending being forced on him by Fox, this post-credit scene now reads as Thurber’s final word to Fox about his disappointment in their ending. Thurber is bitterly saying that the audience is mollified with the simple, expected happy ending, proving Fox right. Stiller is so entertaining in his lip sync that Thurber’s message only becomes clear with the additional context of his desired ending forDodgeball.
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Cast
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story is a 2004 comedy directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and starring Vince Vaughn. Vaughn plays Peter La Fleur, the owner of a struggling gym who has fallen behind on payments. But after White Goodman (Ben Stiller) threatens to buy his competitor’s gym, Peter and his gang enter a dodgeball tournament to raise money.
