Dave Franco Addresses Ambiguous Ending Of His Wild New R-Rated Comedy Idiots

Published Aug 28, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

As a graduate of Columbia University in New York City, Tatiana studied theater and comparative literature. She has been passionate about all manner of storytelling from Jane Austen adaptations to anime. Aside from writing for Screen Rant, she co-hosts podcasts: The Flash Podcast and Ladies With Gumption.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Idiots!Dave Franco and O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s new comedy Idiots is a wild road trip movie that proves the journey is oftentimes so much more important than the destination.

When hapless loser Mark (Franco) and the overly earnest Davis (Jackson) are assigned to drive Sheridan Kimberly (How to Train Your Dragon's Mason Thames) to rehab, they could never imagine just how dangerous their mission might become. The trio each have much to learn on the road to self-improvement, but as the title Idiots suggests, they're not likely to learn from each other.

It is no surprise, then, that director Macon Blair (who previously helmed The Toxic Avenger with Idiots supporting actor Peter Dinklage) ends his screenplay on an ambiguous note. Mark and Davis may have completed their mission at great cost to themselves, but it's clear rehab will in no way rehabilitate Sheridan. ScreenRant interviewed Franco, Jackson Jr., and Thames about the comedy, and the trio shared some of their favorite moments before explaining why the conclusion doesn't need to wrap anything up in a neat little bow.

Idiots Stars Recall Their Favorite On-Set Moments & Reveal Importance Of Movie's Ending

Image via Independent Film Company

ScreenRant: Do you have a favorite gross-out moment while on set, or otherwise have a moment that stayed with you?

Mason Thames: We did a lot of gross things in this movie, but I don't think any of us were grossed out by it. It was the environment. Well, Shea was pretty grossed out by a lot. Me and Dave, though, were fine.

Dave Franco: When the gross stuff happened, you were like, "I don't want to see this because I want to experience this when I watch the movie for the first time."

O'Shea Jackson Jr.: Yeah, I didn't watch the dailies. I didn't go to the monitor or any of that. I wanted to have it in my seat with a crowd. My first time seeing it was at Sundance, and I remember thinking, "[Dave's] a lunatic!"

Mason Thames: My favorite line is when Dave's sitting in a chair, and he's like, "Play something sexy." He sits there in it, and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

ScreenRant: How much fun was it filming Idiots with Mason after doing Regretting You?

Dave Franco: Regretting You is this very earnest drama romance. This movie is basically the opposite of that.

I remember, week one, you seeing a different side of me that you hadn't seen before. I remember being like, "Oh, this is so fun for me to try to get you to laugh because you've seen me in such earnest mode for Regretting You." And this one, I got a nasty, scraggly beard. I got a neck tattoo.

ScreenRant: O'Shea, I think Davis comes across as the most earnest from the start, and he's also hit rock bottom. What does this assignment mean to him?

O'Shea Jackson Jr.: He wants to redeem himself. He feels, and rightfully so, that his most recent mess-up is a pretty heavy one. He should have known better. Now, the children of the church and their families don't have faith in me anymore. I lost the van. The van meant a lot to him, and I had to give up the keys. Mike probably hates me now.

He's looking at this, and he's putting so much pressure on himself and his faith that this needs to go well, or else he won't have faith in himself anymore. He will just give in and be like, "No, this is just who I am. I'm supposed to mess everything up." To the point where, when he's going through his troubles in the hotel, he thinks it's God literally grabbing hold of him.

It's so important for him to get this done not only for Dorindo and all of that, because it's his job, but he also has to prove to himself that, "I'm not just some f-up. I can actually be good." There's a point in the film where he just thinks, "No, I'm just a bad person." But nobody's telling him that. That's all from his own thought process.

Dave Franco: His character, as you can tell - compared to our lunatic characters - actually gives this movie weight and gives it something a little extra that you might not expect from a movie called Idiots.

ScreenRant: Nothing's wrapped up in a neat little bow by the end, and it feels like it ends on an ambiguous note. What spoke to each of you about that, or what did you take away from it?

Dave Franco: That's real life. I love movies. Of course, there are certain movies that are great and that have a character start in one place, then end in a completely different place, and that can be very satisfying.

But it's also really satisfying to me to see characters who might've moved an inch forward, but the reality is that this is who they are. They went through this crazy journey that could have transformed them, but it didn't!

Though that doesn't apply to all of us. Some of us grow a little bit, some of us don't.

O'Shea Jackson Jr.: Yeah, for sure. I feel like your character grows just enough.

Mason Thames: And then you can leave it there.

Dave Franco: Yeah, it's really about your character growth!

Idiots is now playing in theaters.

Cast

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  Dave Franco

  Mark

• 

  O'Shea Jackson Jr.

  Davis

• 

  Mason Thames

  Sheridan

• 

  Irina

At rock bottom, two reluctant partners take on a job transporting a troubled, rich teenager to rehab for a dubious service.