‘The Boxer And The Butterfly’ Ending Explained & Movie Recap: Do Rowan And Walt Win?

A typical rom-com movie can definitely regain your faith in love. The Boxer And The Butterfly will force you to give yourself a chance again. And maybe consider going to the gym, running, or working out more often. Maybe this way you will stay fit and find your soulmate too. 

Spoilers Ahead

What Is The Film About?

The Boxer And The Butterfly can be decoded by its title. It is about a boxer and a dancer falling in love. It is a great movie that showcases how one should always be open to experiencing new things in life. Nobody is too old or dumb to learn. It is also about believing in your gut feelings and trusting yourself. It is about letting go of the past and not only surviving but also living in the moment. 

Who Is Rowan, And What Does She Want In Her Life? 

Rowan is a young, empathetic girl who dreams of being the best dancer in the world. She is taking part in the Pavlova Dance Invitational with her high school lover, Noah. She is nervous, and she tends to clean up the mess around her to declutter the mess inside her. But she wants to win this competition; she has a dream to open her own dance studio. [Let’s cheer it up for Rowan]. 

Rowan and Noah are practicing like every day when, all of a sudden, there seems to be some tension between them. They cannot get a flip right, which has made both of them frustrated. Noah feels stuck with Rowan and decides to tell her that he is not going to be her partner for the dance competition. He also emphasizes how they have different plans in terms of their future. [Oops, I am heartbroken too.]. 

Rowan feels devastated. When we all feel lonely and helpless, only one person can make us feel better: our best friend. Audrey, Rowan’s best friend, drives three hours just to cheer her up and feed her a pizza. Rowan decides to practice from dawn to dusk just to get that perfect flip and get back with Noah in the competition. She crosses her path with Walt, or, should I say, crosses her bottle in the face. Walt tells her how she can get that flip right, and Rowan could not be any happier. She gets the perfect flip and runs down the stairs to tell Noah. But poor her, she forgot that when Noah said, ‘He wanted a different partner, he meant a different partner in life.’ 

Rowan is all ready to show Noah what he has lost. She is on a surge to find herself a new dance partner. Who could have been better than the guy who taught her the perfect flip? She tracks him down and desperately asks for him to be her partner. With all kindness, Walt declines the offer, as he is a boxer, not a dancer. 

Will Rowan Find A New Dance Partner? 

Rowan has one source of energy and motivation, and that is her mom. She is going to win the competition, no matter what. She swamps like a superwoman at Walt’s place and convinces him to dance. In return for this, they are going to split the cash prize. After all, money is our biggest weakness, and therefore Walt has accepted the offer. 

Rowan is making an entire plan with Audrey. She needs to work hard and teach Walt how to dance in seven days. They have started with cleaning Walt’s space. They might sound like they are the opposite, but they do make a great team. Rowan has started mentoring Walt, but it looks like teaching Walt how to dance is not going to be easy at all. Walt is a slow learner, but he will only learn things with patience. Rowan kind of loses her patience when she watches Walt fall on his head over a simple grapevine step. She calls this whole thing a mistake and sabotages all her decisions. She feels embarrassed that she is going to lose not only the competition but also her dream. 

Will Rowan Succeed In Turning Walt Into A Dancer?

Rowan feels like watching boxing episodes is giving her a real insight into Walt. She wants to know what his learning style is, so she decides to learn boxing from him. They are both trying to find common ground and get to know each other better. [This is going to be fun.]

Audrey is going through a rough patch because of her artistic skills. She feels humiliated because a big billionaire called them awful. The day goes from bad to worse when she bumps into Noah, and he comments on her shoes. She is angry, and in the heat of the moment, she tells him that Rowan has found a new partner, and she is going to crush him at the competition. 

Rowan and Walt have a different lifestyle. He is more of a real, messy, and bulky guy, while she is a sophisticated, soft, and healthy girl. They have to compromise equally and try new things if they want to win the competition. Ro and Walt feel happy and safe around each other, and it is reflected in their eyes. The night is young, and so are they, plus they are single. [You know what this means]. Walt gets a little emotional and starts talking about his dad to Rowan. She suddenly feels close to him and hugs him. She validates him and tells him that they are going to find a way to make his dad proud. There are little moments between them that make them a perfect flip. 

Rowan makes sure that Walt learns and feels that he belongs there at all times. But the presence of Noah gets Ro on her nerves. She gets all stressed about the competition and forgets to live in the moment. Walt goes in and gives Noah a soft death stare. I mean, Walt and his body are enough to scare the hell out of Noah. 

Rowan and Walt are cute together; they look like a classic combination of wine and cheese. They don’t know it yet, but they are building a bond with emotional intimacy, and this, my friend, is called love. Walt can be really cheesy but very cute with his words. He makes Rowan believe in herself and tells her that they are crazy, but crazy enough to win the competition. 

Is Rowan And Walt The End Game? 

Rowan and Walt are getting smooth with their dance moves. There is also a chemistry building between them. Rowan and Walt have realized that they have the potential to keep each other happy and positive. There is one last flip, which they cannot do because Walt has a knee injury. But all of a sudden, evil eyes entered the room, aka Noah. He suddenly realizes how much potential Rowan has and wants to do the competition with her. Rowan is constantly pressured by her mom to be the perfect dancer and win the competition. But she needs to put herself first. She needs to give Walt a chance to prove himself, and she cannot betray him. 

Is Rowan Going To Choose Noah Over Walt?

This is the day before the competition. Walt is all prepared and putting in extra effort to make sure everything goes right. Rowan goes and tells Walt that she cannot dance with him because she is dancing with Noah. She wants to win; hence, she is making this choice. Walt is betrayed and cries in helplessness, but he wants her to win it. He calmly decides to return the shirt and shoes Audrey made him to match Ro on the final day. 

Rowan feels like something is off, even though she has chosen Noah. Isn’t Noah the perfect dancer? There should have been no problem with the lift, but there is no chemistry or timing between them. She goes and confronts him and screams at him about how winning the competition with the right motive and with the right person is important for her, and that is why she is going to choose Walt over Noah. 

Walt has dropped by the hotel to return Ro’s pen drive. Then, all of a sudden, he bumps into Rowan’s mother. He decides to tell her that Rowan’s mother needs to treat her better and that she needs to stop pressuring her daughter. Rowan runs back to Walt to tell him that she has committed a mistake. She wants one chance to make it up to him, and she knows he is the one for her because he made her happy, which is the most important thing for her. Walt has refused to talk to her and has chosen to let her go. Rowan tells him that she will wait at the competition for him to show up, but even if he doesn’t, she is grateful to him for everything. 

Will Walt Show Up To The Competition? 

Rowan is nervous that Walt is not going to show up. But Rowan’s mother has always had her back. She tells her the story of when she met Tomato Jones, aka Walt, at a carnival. She is very happy with Rowan’s dad, but a part of her still feels that she belonged somewhere with Tomato. All the performances are going great, but Ro is nervous because Walt has not shown up yet. It is time for the performance of Roman and Walt, but there is no sight of Walt. Rowan decides to make a big speech about how she has messed up things between her and Walt. Wait for a second, is that Walt who just cut Rowan in between her speech and said, ‘I am here’”? Yes, that is Walt. The boxer boy dancing is making me sob. Rowan and Walt have showcased a spectacular performance, and Ro has perfectly changed the choreography so that Walt does not hurt his knee and, at the same time, they can win the competition. 

Do They Win The Competition? 

The judges have given their scores, but that is not good enough to win the competition. Rowan and Walt are happy to just perform and receive all the appreciation from the audience, especially Rowan’s mother. But in any competition, the winner is only decided by the audience, and clearly, it has to be Ro and Walt. With this win, Rowan and Walt have decided to be business partners, converting the gym into a gym and dance studio. Also, they are no longer just a dancing couple but also a real-life couple. 

The Boxer And The Butterfly is such a feel-good movie and definitely should be on your list. It arouses a lot of different emotions in you. There could be a sequel about Rowan and Walt’s lives as a couple.