Title: DODGE Author: Scott Wascha

Genre: Superhero Drama / Black Comedy

Date: 07/12/17 Reader: Nicholas Spriggs

Logline: Caught between two rival gangs, a super powered drunk must overcome his flaws to save the
day and get the girl.

Synopsis:

After a violent encounter with a group of thugs he owes money to, DODGE (30) returns home to his
apartment. Upon arrival he pops a pill, snorts a line of coke, and heads to the shower to clean his bloodied
face. This is what his life looks like. FIONA (22), Dodges girlfriend, enters and kisses him passionately.
The following morning, Dodge awakens and begins the day with his usual routine of drugs and alcohol.
Several hours later, he arrives at a restaurant in Chinatown where he meets with Fionas father, the OLD
MAN (65), a powerful drug lord to whom Dodge is indebted. The old man forces Dodge to repay his debt
by delivering a package of his.

To support his drug filled lifestyle Dodge answers a medical research and is subsequently injected with a
strange liquid by a researched named DOC. Dodge returns home and ingests yet another series of drugs.
Later that night he goes to deliver the old mans package. He meets with RUDY and the two exchange
bags. Suddenly, a bright spotlight illuminates the bridge, exposing their deal. Police officers swarm the
bridge but Dodge manages to throw his bag into the river below. Dodge tries to surrender the police
continue firing on him. With no other choice he flings himself off the bridge.

Dodge arrives back at his apartment the following morning. More drugs, more alcohol. He goes to shower
but is interrupted by two of the old mans henchmen. They drag Dodge back to the old man where he
reveals that the delivery was a setup and he intended for the cops to arrive. The old man tells Dodge he
doesnt want him near his daughter and that Dodge is going to pay for the bag he lost. The henchman beat
Dodge to pulp and knockout several of his teeth.

Dodge wakes up in his apartment covered in blood. However, when he feels his body for wounds or
bruises he cant find any. He looks in the mirror and audience are shown all of his teeth to be intact.
Dodge goes to the hospital and is inspected by Doc. Doc is astounded and theorizes that the drugs hes
been injected with (along with the waste within the river he jumped into) have given him healing abilities.

Dodge departs from the hospital and goes to meet Fiona. He tells her about her father and his healing
powers. She doesnt believe him so he asks her to cut him. She complies but the wound doesnt heal.
Dodge returns to the hospital for answers. Doc is just as confused as Dodge is, it seems his healing
powers have disappeared. Doc attempts to give Dodge a shot but the syringe falls right through him. It
appears that Dodge can now move through solid objects.

Dodge leaves the hospital and goes to a bank after hours. He walks straight through the walls into the
vault and stuffs a black duffle bag with money. However, when he tries to leave his wall walking doesnt
work. He tries again several times. In his efforts he cuts his hand and the blood trickles down onto the
floorand then through the floor. He realizes his blood is acidic and uses it to escape the vault.

Dodge returns to the hospital and Doc tells him that his superpowers change depending on the situation
hes in and his emotional state at the time. Dodge leaves the hospital again but is knocked out before he
can return home. When he wakes up he is greeted by MR.CARL (60), a powerful drug lord, and, the old
mans rival. Mr. Carl gives Dodge a choice: kill the old man or die. Fearing for his life Dodge agrees.
On his way home, Dodge realizes hes being followed. He does his best to evade his pursuer but it doesnt
work. Eventually, she confronts him and reveals herself to be detective named MIRANDA (28). She
threatens Dodge to get him to turn on Mr. Carl. Dodge doesnt budge. She pistol whips him and knocks
him out cold. Dodge heads back to his apartment and finds the old man and his two henchmen waiting for
him. The old man, impressed by Dodges powers, offers him a job to get back in his good graces. He tells
him to kill Mr. Carl.

Dodge rushes to the police station to find Miranda, shes not there but two of the police officers from the
bridge are. Believing the old man still wants him dead they kidnap him. Dodge eventually convinces them
to call Fiona who can vouch for him. Fiona does so but only on the condition that he marries her. He
agrees.

The next morning Dodge exits the shower to find that hes invisible. He takes advantage of this gift and
spies on Miranda. He follows her to an adoption agency where he sees her arguing with one of the social
workers. Eventually, she returns home and spots naked Dodge spying on her. She knocks him out cold.

Dodge wakes up in a prison cell narrowly escapes a fight with one of his cellmates. He goes back to
Miranda and tells her about his situation with Mr. Carl. She convinces him to wear a mic to spy on Mr.
Carl and catch him in the act. Fiona, however, spots the wire and Dodge is forced to reveal part of their
plan to her. Guilty, Dodge returns to Mirandas house and cooks breakfast for her and her mother.

Dodge returns to the old mans restaurant and gets into an altercation with the henchmen. He briefly gets
the upper hand but they quickly overpower him. Theyre about to kill Dodge when Fiona enters and stops
them. She reveals that shes killed her father and taken on his role as leader of their organization. The men
release Dodge and he realizes just how dangerous his fianc is.

Dodge is capture again and awakes to Mr. Carl who demands that he kill Miranda. Dodge refuses,
prompting Mr. Carl to send his killer bird after him. Dodge manages to subdue the beast and escape. He
goes to the hospital in search of Doc but realizes Fiona has kidnapped him. She wants Dodge to get her
pregnant so Doc can use the super-baby to give her powers. Dodge refuses but Fiona threatens Miranda.
Dodge agrees to impregnate her on the condition that she doesnt hurt Miranda.

Dodge meets up with Miranda and the two create a plan to capture Fiona and Mr. Carl who are scheduled
to meet next day. When they arrive at the meeting they see that Dodges superpowers have accelerated
Fionas pregnancy. Fiona then kills Mr. Carl and the rest of his organization. Fionas water breaks and she
leaves for the hospital with her men.

Dodge is prepared to abandon Fiona and his child but Miranda is not. She goes tracks down Fiona and
demands that she give her the baby. Fiona threatens her but Dodge arrives at the scene just in time.
Unfortunately, Doc has already used the babys DNA to give Fiona superpowers as well. The two fight
but Dodge is clearly not strong enough. Seeing Dodges lack of focus, Miranda fakes her own death to
motivate him. This is successful and Dodge begins to turn the fight in his favor. Eventually, Dodge wins
by slitting his wrists and using his acid blood trick from earlier. Fiona dies and Dodge bleeds out as he
succumbs to his wounds. The film fades to black for a moment before a narration from Dodge assures the
audience that it was just a joke. Dodge wakes up healed and embraces Miranda and his baby daughter.
The film closes on Dodge responding to a nearby burglary and resolving to use his powers to better the
world for his daughter.
Comments:

Before even getting into the story, its important to note that Waschas script was riddled with both
grammatical and spelling errors. There were numerous instances when words were absent or misspelled
and at least once instance when dialogue was misattributed to the wrong character.

Beyond the ludicrous premise and crude humor the biggest problem with this script is the eponymous
Dodge himself. A story is only ever as good as the characters that inhabit it and unfortunately for this
script the character that the audience spends the most time with isnt really a character. In fact, Dodge can
best be described as an outdated clich from a time when audiences had the patience to watch a character
make the same mistakes over and over again only to inevitably get away scot-free. And while the
screenwriter attempts to rationalize this outcome by alluding to the characters messed up childhood and
hidden heart of gold it doesnt excuse his pattern of recklessness and selfish behavior throughout the rest
of the film.

Storytelling is an emotional art and, frankly, this story lacks any semblance of humanity. The supporting
cast only really exists in relation to the protagonist and the few characteristics that they do have arent
particularly sympathetic. The only remotely positive aspect of the script is that it features several
prominent female roles but even thats undercut by their extreme dependency on the male lead (However,
it is worth noting that the script somehow manages to pass the Bechdel test).

Dodge is everything a script isnt supposed to be. Its predictable, uninspired and most importantly
obvious. Character motivations are revealed bluntly to the audience through voiceover narration,
exposition is dulled out entirely through dialogue, and events happen simply because the plot requires
them to. This is a story to silly for fans of the superhero genre and too dumb for those interested in seeing
a dark comedy. Moving forward with this script would be a bad idea.

CONTENT CONCERNS:

This script is an extremely graphic. From the outset characters engage in extreme acts of violence and
crude sexual humor. Its hard to imagine a film like this without an R-rating.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

18-30 year-old males are whom this film should be marketed to. Fans of the superhero genre arent going
to get a lot out of this story but as a comedy it could definitely play to certain male audiences.

STORYLINE: 4
DIALOGUE: 4
CHARACTERIZATION: 5
WRITER'S POTENTIAL: 4