** Lots of potential spoilers**
When I started thinking about movies that have a "freakishly weird" ending, I started realizing I could barely remember the end of a lot of movies, particularly ones that have "freakishly weird" parts in them. So I'm going to go with a movie with an ending I hate instead. So my post will be retitled:
Movie Meme Day 26 - Worst movie ending
There are lots of movies where the ending is really sad because someone dies (The House of Sand and Fog, Cold Mountain), or just annoying because the main couple doesn't end up together (My Best Friend's Wedding) or both. However, there are also movies where you can feel yourself disliking a movie unless the ending resolves in a satisfying way, and the one that I'm choosing for this post has my least favorite ending because it does almost nothing to redeem the 2 hours you've spent watching it. The Pursuit of Happyness is the story of Will Smith, and his real-life son Jaden, playing a father and son down on their luck. We watch them go through divorce, eviction, living in a shelter, sleeping in a subway bathroom, etc. They drive us deeper and deeper into his sadness and hopelessness. And then we get one moment when Smith gets a job and they walk down the street and you're supposed to know everything will be all right. THEN IT ENDS. No payback for experiencing all their sadness by sharing in some of their joy. It just ends. I hate it.
7 comments:
To be fair, it is called The 'Pursuit' of Happyness and not The Joy of Having Happiness.
I didn't care for the film either, but it wasn't the ending that bothered me, it was most of what came before. It became very tedious to watch them go through all of that. I just wanted to yell at the screen "Yeah, they're poor and destitute. I freaking get it already."
As for the ending, I think the writer relied too much on the fact that it was based on a true story and people would hear, or look up, the success part of Chris's life.
Trivia: Chris and his son are walking down the street and pass a man in nice business suit who Chris glances at. That was the real Chris Gardener they passed.
@ David - We never get to actually "see" happyness, so there's no pay off.
@ Rachel - I actually saw Chris interviewed on Oprah around the movie, and that was pretty neat seeing him at the end but didn't save the movie.
I liked The Pursuit of Happyness. I don't think we need to see them enjoy their well-deserved "happy" ending because we know it's there since they made the movie. I would recommend you read the book if you haven't already. Definitely a lot more to the story than what the movie shows.
I don't like this movie...and I don't like Will Smith.
@ Castor - I would read the book upon which it's based. That might be more enjoyable than what the movie produced. And I'm fine with even text describing how it all works out, I don't need to see them enjoying it, just knowing a little more is enough.
@ Andrew - Thanks for the support. I don't like this movie either.
Love or hate Pursuit of Happyness though, I can't believe you consider its ending worse than say The Village.
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