The Story Behind Caddyshack's Iconic Last Line, And Why It Was 'Par For The Course' (Even Though It Made 'Absolutely No Sense’)

Caddyshack turns 45 this year, and as a huge fan of the golf movie for most of my life, I’ve loved reading about all the stories celebrating the cult-classic. I’ve watched the movie so many times over the years that I can pretty much recite it line for line, even the ones that aren’t hilarious. One line that has become not only one of the best quotes in Caddyshack, but something I jokingly use all the time in real life is Al Czervik's line at the end of the movie, said by Rodney Dangerfield:

It’s a completely iconic line, and, according to the film’s co-writer and director, the late Harold Ramis, that’s not how the movie was supposed to end. In fact, there was a very different plan. Here’s the full story.

Ramis Didn’t Think The Line Made Any Sense, But Kept It Anyway

Ultimately, it can’t come as a surprise that Ramis decided to end the movie with a completely off-the-wall, improvised line from Dangerfield. If you know about the movie’s production, you know it was kind of chaotic, famous for the drug use and partying on set. It’s also a movie that is chock-full of improvisation, especially from the main cast members.

According to Ramis in the book Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella (via Golf), he had nothing to do with the line, and he didn’t intend for it to even be in the movie, much less the last line. Ramis explained,

Though I disagree with Ramis’ assessment of the line, of which he said,

It makes total sense for Dangerfield’s character to say something so obnoxious, and ending the comedy in any other way would have felt like they were trying too hard, which goes against the freewheeling vibe of the movie. No, the ending is as perfect as the rest of the movie.

A ‘Casablanca-Like’ Ending Was The Original Idea

Ramis’ original idea for the ending was for Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) and Lacey Underall (played by the late Cindy Morgan) walking off into the sunset like Rick and Louis in Casablanca. There was also a scene in the script that saw Danny (Michael O'Keefe) following a woman to Jamaica instead of going to college.

I honestly can’t even imagine the movie ending with either of these scenes, but Chevy Chase fans will notice how similar that proposed ending is to how Fletch ended a few years later with Fletch (Chase) and Gail Stanwyk (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) walking on the beach at sunset, discussing the rules of basketball. I have to wonder if that’s where the idea came from. As perfect an ending as it is for Fletch, it’s not how Caddyshack ends, and that’s a good thing.

For me, Caddyshack is a perfect movie. It’s concise, it’s hilarious, and it features four amazing performances from comedic masters: Dangerfield, Chase, Bill Murray, and Ted Knight. Dangerfield, the king of one-liners, is the perfect choice to land the final, ridiculous line of the movie.