Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Gimme My Happy Endings

Let me reiterate - I love my happy endings in fairy tales. Boy meets girl ( or boy as the case may be ) on an adorable meetcute, falls desperately in love, battles some inconsequential obstacle whether dastardly dragon, wicked witch or inane issues, then finally triumphs with that final satisfying stroll into the setting sunset.

That's the kinda sappy ending I like. Not only in the books that I read but that holds true even for the television serials or movies that I watch. After spending so much time delving into the character of a protagonists and rooting for him or her, surely I wouldn't want anything disastrous to befall them.

Kat : Did you like the movie? 
Paul : Hmm. 
Kat : But it had a wonderful story, it was beautifully shot, the actors were superb. 
Paul : The ending sucked. 
Kat : Oh. 
Paul : Everyone has a tragic ending.  
Kat : Surely there's someone... there is that fellow.. maybe the girl... or the bad guy... 
Paul : Died alone in his lonely hotel. Died during childbirth.  
Kat : Hmm. 
Paul : Dammit. Don't get me invested for two hours only to kill off everyone!

So very true. I know critically acclaimed movies just need to knock off the main protagonist - or abandon him or her in some sad lamentably tragic state at the very end - just to win accolades since we all know jolly happy endings rarely brings home the coveted Oscar these days.

I foresee a crummy ending for all of us in this hotel. 

Just look at the list for the last awards. An accursed hotel where almost everyone comes to a bad end, and that includes the pastel pink palace as well. A promising cryptographer who stumbles out of the closet only to undergo miseries till the terrible end. An army veteran who goes through several trials to almost reach his happy ending only to be shot dead at the very end. A washed-up actor takes his final role in a Broadway play only to end... ambiguously.

Seriously we wouldn't want to be in that story at all.



There are a few less blighted ones but ... oh so very few, and none that have that final happy ending that I would wish for. And people wonder why I rarely go through the entire list of Oscar nominees like I used to!

For me, a great movie is one that I would watch again. And again. And possibly again. So far all of the above I wouldn't watch ever, ever again. Just tell me, have you watched Argo, 12 Years A Slave or The Artist again?

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