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Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain's Ending Explained
Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo was "really into" his onscreen fate, director Paul Briganti told NBC Insider.
Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain is a joyously silly buddy comedy film from the trio Please Don't Destroy, who've been making weekly video shorts on Saturday Night Live since Season 47.
PDD's John Higgins, Ben Marshall, and Martin Herlihy first began writing the Foggy Mountain script before landing SNL, back when they were performing in New York City post-college and were beginning to post the videos that gained them popularity on Twitter (before it was X), TikTok, and Instagram.
"We thought it'd be fun to do Goonies for these 27-year-olds who are still trying to figure out what it means to grow up, and who are too old to be doing this," Marshall shared in press notes ahead of the release.
Three years, the involvement of producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Briganti, and several wild casting feats later, The Treasure of Foggy Mountain premiered on Peacock November 17.
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Here's an explanation of how Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain ends...and a little info about that Gaten Matarazzo cameo/death scene from director Briganti.
The Please Don't Destroy movie ending explained
In the final act of Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, Ben, John, and Martin are living separate lives (though only a few weeks have actually passed).
Ben and his father (Conan O'Brien) do find, as John Goodman's voiceover says, "someone rich and tasteless enough to buy their treasure." During a reception at the sporting goods store, the buyer in question is revealed: It's Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson on Stranger Things, who plays a cartoonishly rude version of himself here. This brings Ben's dad's comment at the beginning of the movie—in which he wonders why his son can't be like the amazing kids on the supernatural Netflix series—full circle.
RELATED: The Please Don't Destroy Movie Cast Is a Comedy Nerd's Dream
The big sale is interrupted by a cult that's come to steal the treasure back, and Matarazzo is killed by a cult member's weapon, which lands squarely in his chest. An all-out battle ensues and, as Ben's Dad runs upstairs to hide and watch The Office, Martin chugs a Truly and dons sunglasses to become his tough alter ego, Lawrence.
With the help of a hawk friend, the boys secure the treasure. Martin settles down with his girlfriend (Nichole Sakura), John and Lisa (Meg Stalter) get together, and Ben's dream of opening a hair salon for boys comes true. The three jaunt off to jolly old London town to celebrate during the film's credits.
Gaten Matarazzo was "really into" getting killed off in the Please Don't Destroy movie
As Briganti told NBC Insider, the Please Don't Destroy members thought of the idea to bring Gaten Matarazzo in to play himself. PDD and Matarazzo were already mutual fans of each other's work, he said.
As for the bizarro version of Gaten Matarazzo that the actor played in The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, "making him kind of obnoxious and tasteless was a funny take on him," Briganti continued. Because in real life, "everyone really loves him, and he's such a funny sweet guy."
A funny, sweet guy who was fun to kill onscreen. "He was really into that too," Briganti said.
In fact, their only regret is all the hilarious lines of Matarazzo's that were left on the (digital) cutting room floor. "We gave him so many things to say," Briganti recounted. "It's very rare to get someone like this in a cameo position who can just like nail punchlines really well. He just like knocked it out of the park constantly."
Watch Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain on Peacock now.
