Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story features one of the funniest Ben Stiller characters, but fans think there might be a connection between Dodgeball‘s White Goodman and another classic Stiller character. The sports comedy is set in the high-stakes and highly eccentric world of professional dodgeball, with Vince Vaughn’s laidback hero leading a band of misfits against fitness-obsessed Goodman (Stiller). It is a hilarious movie filled with funny people, including Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, and Justin Long, but Stiller’s over-the-top villain steals the show.
Before his days as director of Severance, Stiller was more known for his comedy movie performances. However, while he usually played the hapless nice guys in the likes of There’s Something About Mary and Meet the Parents, the actor really embraced playing such an unlikeable character as Goodman in Dodgeball. However, it is not the first time Stiller has played the villain, and one of his standout antagonists shares enough similarities to Goodman that fans developed a theory.
Heavyweights’ Tony Perkis & Dodgeball’s White Goodman Are The Same Character
Stiller Played Another Fitness-Obsessed Villain In The 1995 Comedy
Heavyweights is an underrated 1990s comedy that features an earlier villainous performance from Ben Stiller. However, a fan theory on Reddit points out how it is plausible that Stiller’s Heavyweights character, Tony Perkis, eventually becomes Dodgeball’s White Goodman. In Heavyweights, Perkis is a fitness guru who takes over a summer camp designed to help kids get healthy and lose weight. However, Perkis’ extreme methods and insulting demeanor towards the kids lead them to stage a rebellion, overthrowing Perkis, and he is ultimately fired from the camp by his wealthy father.
The theory suggests that, following his embarrᴀssing defeat in Heavyweights, Perkis’ father died and left him his fortune. He used that fortune to build an empire of fitness centers and reinvented himself as White Goodman, the owner and founder of Globo Gym. He used this new position of power to continue his mission to prove to the world that being physically fit was most important and made you better than everyone. In fact, Globo Gym’s slogan is “We’re better than you… And we know it!“
Why This Theory Could Be True
The Villains From Heavyweights And Dodgeball Share Similar Backstories, Personalities, And Goals
While there are a lot of fun movie theories out there, this crossover between Heavyweights and Dodgeball is easier to believe than a lot of others. Looking at the backstory of both of Stiller’s villainous characters, both admit that they used to be very overweight before dedicating themselves to fitness. While Perkis says his weight problems were in his youth, while Goodman’s were later in life, the Reddit theory suggests that Goodman could have regained his weight following his humiliation in Heavyweights and was motivated to lose it again by his father’s death.
They even have similar hairstyles in the two movies, despite them being separated by nearly a decade.
The over-the-top nature of Perkis and Goodman is very similar, with Stiller’s performances embracing the wildness of both characters. They take a healthy outlook on lifestyle and take it to a ridiculous extreme, ᴀssuming that everyone will go along with them. They are both arrogant and self-centered men who show disdain for overweight people, stemming from their own self-loathing. They even have similar hairstyles in the two movies, despite them being separated by nearly a decade.
The theory obviously needs the audience to accept the fact that Perkis changed his name, but it is not too hard to believe that he would seek a new start following his embarrᴀssment. “White Goodman” even sounds like a name someone like Perkis would come up with.
Why This Theory Is Unlikely To Be True
These Clever Connections Are Still Unconfirmed
It is fun to dive into all the ways this theory connecting Heavyweights and Dodgeball could be true, but the likelihood of these similarities being intentional is slim. It is possible that Dodgeball would try to hide this connection when it was being released, either due to rights issues with the character of Tony Perkis or to avoid people thinking Dodgeball is a family film like Heavyweights. However, after all these years and the popularity of the two movies, the fact that it has never been revealed that Perkis and Goodman are the same character probably means they are not.
It ultimately comes down to the fact that it would be pointless to have this connection and not address it in the movie.
There are a lot of similarities that back up this theory, but there are many examples of other clever movie theories that happen to connect two separate movies. The theory that Sean Connery’s character in The Rock is actually James Bond is a popular one, as is the idea that Kevin from Home Alone grew up to be Jigsaw in the Saw movies. Like the Heavyweights/Dodgeball theory, there are convincing arguments to be made, but it ultimately comes down to the fact that it would be pointless to have this connection and not address it in the movie.
In the end, all of the evidence pointing to the similarities between Stiller’s characters in Heavyweights and Dodgeball comes down to some clever work done by some creative fans.
Ben Stiller Has Played One Character In Two Unconnected Movies Before
Stiller Played Another Over-The-Top Villain In Two Separate Adam Sandler Movies
While it is unlikely that Ben Stiller is playing the same character in Heavyweights and Dodgeball, it is a little easier to believe the theory when you consider that Stiller has done something similar before. Stiller has reprised certain roles in the past, such as Greg Focker in the Meet the Parents movies and Larry Daley in the Night at the Museum movies. However, there is also an instance of Stiller playing the same character in two unconnected movies.
Just one year after Stiller appeared in Heavyweights, he had a small but hilarious role alongside his good friend Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore. Stiller played the aggressive nursing home orderly, Hal, a role that he is confirmed to be reprising in the upcoming Happy Gilmore 2. However, years before the sequel, Stiller returned in a brief cameo as Hal in Sandler’s other comedy, Hubie Halloween. While there are other theories out there connecting Adam Sandler’s movies in a shared universe, Stiller’s appearance in Hubie Halloween was a surprising one.
Even with the brief appearance, it is fun to have Stiller’s shared character connect these two movies. So while there is not likely ever going to be any confirmation that Dodgeball‘s White Goodman and Heavyweight‘s Tony Perkis are the same person, it is a theory that adds a bit of fun for fans of the two movies, and there is no harm in embracing that as your own personal canon going forward.
