10 Movie Villains Who Were Clearly Just Misunderstood

7. White Goodman €“ Dodgeball

White Goodman White Goodman is the definition of an evil caricature. He€™s a narcissist, he€™s willing to screw others over and he has a fine line in insulting people. But is he proper villain? I don€™t think so. Please, allow me to explain €“ everything White does is pretty understandable, if you think about it. The man€™s a self-made millionaire who hauled himself out of obesity to run a multi-million dollar fitness empire, and he now spends his days helping others get fit, albeit through some questionable methods. If we stopped there, we€™d see him as an impressive, stand-up guy. However, movie rules suggest he must have a villainous streak, and that appears to come from targeting the Average Joes gym and getting into a very personal feud with their founder, Peter Le Fleur. Yet this antagonism was far from undeserved €“ pre-Dodgeball, Peter seemed like an irresponsible jackass who couldn€™t keep a business going for love nor money and seemed to troll White for simply being successful, sleeping with White€™s trainers and sending a male stripper to the one-year anniversary of his gym. If someone did that to me, I€™d surely be a bit pissed and attempt to get him back through the medium of dodgeball. As I just mentioned, the only reason Peter started haranguing White was his success, which involved White stealing Peter€™s customers. The film attempts to dress this up as evil, but I think that€™s a step too far €“ what White was doing was all legal and fitting with how business works €“ his sleek gym was a far better prospect than Le Fleur€™s ramshackle affair, so people naturally flocked to it. To paint him as a villain for simply being a better businessman seems a bit harsh, really. Hell, the guy even offers to buy Peter€™s gym off him when he didn€™t have to €“ surely that€™s a good thing?
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Contributor

Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.