Mild SPOILERS for Dolittle.
Most of Dolittle’s worst scenes were the results of reshoots and Universal’s attempts to make Robert Downey Jr.’s fantasy adventure more kid-friendly. Less than nine months after Tony Stark saved the Marvel Cinematic Universe by selflessly sacrificing his own life in Avengers: Endgame, RDJ is back on the big screen with a very different sort of tentpole. Titled Dolittle, the movie is a re-imagining of the Doctor Dolittle character created by Hugh Lofting in 1920 and follows RDJ’s doctor (who, famously, can communicate with animals) on a sea voyage to find a mystical island, in search of a cure for a sickly Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley).
Budgeted at $175 million, Dolittle has earned all but universally negative reviews and is already on its way to losing money (only grossing $22.5 million in its opening weekend at the U.S. box office). Most of the criticisms levied at the film point to its jumbled editing and bizarre shifts in tone, which are believed to be the results of reshoots Universal ordered last year (delaying the film from its original April 2019 release date to January 2020). They’re not wrong either, based on a new report.
WSJ is reporting Universal ordered three weeks of additional photography on Dolittle shortly after it was delayed, in an effort to make the movie sillier and more likely to play well with younger filmgoers and overseas audiences. That includes the film’s now-infamous climax, in which Dolittle and his comrades come face to face with a dragon. Realizing the creature is in severe distress because of its indigestion, Dolittle proceeds to remove several items from its rectum (you read that correctly), including multiple suits of armor and a set of bagpipes. The scene then culminates with the relieved dragon farting very loudly on Dolittle.
The WSJ’s article confirms this and other equally goofy moments that feel out of touch with the rest of the film were added during reshoots, after Universal became worried Dolittle was too serious to connect with kids and families worldwide. Dolittle was originally written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, who’s better known for his work on geopolitical thrillers like Traffic (which he won an Oscar for writing) and Syriana (which featured George Clooney in an Oscar-winning supporting performance). The film is full of elements that appear to have been carried over from Gaghan’s more dramatic initial cut, including the backstory about Dolittle losing his wife on one of their adventures seven years earlier and living in reclusion ever since by the time the film begins.
It’s anyone’s guess whether Gaghan’s version of Dolittle (#ReleaseTheGaghanCut?) would’ve been a commercial success, but it almost certainly would’ve been more cohesive and better received than the one released in theaters. That’s not to say the finished movie is without its virtues; many of the negative reviews agree Dolittle is full of important life lessons about dealing with grief and not closing yourself off emotionally, and even the bizarre climax has a useful message for kids about not immediately resorting to violence whenever you encounter something scary (RDJ’s Dolittle, being a pacifist, saves the day by realizing the dragon is in pain). Sadly, though, those themes are buried underneath unnecessary bathroom humor and juvenile gags.
Source: WSJ
