10 movies that would have been better without the 'happily ever
after'
By Martha Brockenbrough
Special to MSN Movies
Sixty-four years after it first came out, the nearly unanimous pick for most romantic film ever is "Casablanca."
"Casablanca."
If this movie were a person, it'd be old enough to qualify for senior-citizen discount tickets at the multiplex. And yet, even as babies conceived in its aftermath have grown old and gray, no one's yet been able to craft a more enduring and compelling love story.
We have a theory why: The filmmakers were smart enough to skip the happily-ever-after part. Instead, Ilsa gets on the plane and escapes Nazi-controlled Casablanca. Rick starts a "beautiful"
friendship with the police chief, in the pre-"Brokeback Mountain" era, when men could walk off into the sunset together without ever having to worry about quitting each other.
There are some movies, of course, that depict true love that we know will never, ever die. "The Princess Bride," "The Wedding Singer," "Shrek." All classics in their own right.
But for our money, more moviemakers should give us good break-ups. After all, it's better to have loved and lost than to be stuck with someone unsuitable, unstable or — egads! — boring.
As we prepare to see real-life couple Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn split on screen in "The Break-Up," here are 10 films we wish had ended with a break-up:
And then she proceeds to list the films and couples she thought were DOOMED … I’d post her list, but that would be leading the listers, right? But if you need help, know that one of her first picks was Harry and Sally from When Harry Met Sally. Why are they doomed? Well, weren't they doomed throughout the entire film to be both in love, and in hate at the same time? (Peggy's aside: Wait a minute - isn't that the definition of marriage?)
Anyway, Cinema Firmamenters – let’s see your lists of the romantic couples DOOMED for a break up. Ready? Set? COMMENT!
3 comments:
okay. Here we go.
1. Grease. It would end up being a while later, she would start to resent him for his lack of drive. He would just want to work on cars, but she wants a family and a white picket fence house. Plus, she'd start missing australia, and probably want to go back there.
2. Say Anything. I think Diane's dad is totally right in this movie. They would move to London, she would be part of an international think tank and he would be kicking punching bags. Plus, she's a little hard angled and would get more so over time, and Lloyd would tire of it. She would have to do the breaking up, though. He would have stayed with her forever.
3. Before Sunset. I guess we don't really know that the end up together. I just think that level of talkiness would either get tiring, or even those two would run out of stuff to talk about. The fast burning flame burns out thing applies here.
Three's all for now. : )
Ok - I'm arguing that Diane and Lloyd might actually make it after where we leave them at the end of Say Anything. I think Diane needs adoration - and without her dad there to give it to her, Lloyd will be of course, more than willing. I'd like to think that today, he's a modern day support "wife" to Diane and a stay-at-home dad (remember how awesome he was to his nephew?). I'll even go so far as to predict that Diane will hyphenate her name upon their eventual marriage - Diane Court-Dobler sounds like the name of an author on modern marriage, dontcha think? Anyway, I think Lloyd will soften her edges, support her with adequate adoration, and they will have a happy life together. Yes, and I'm deluded.
But NOT so deluded as to think that Lucy and Henry will have the future depicted in the epilogue of 50 First Dates. Come ON! "I have serious brain trauma, but thanks to this wonderful VCR, and lovingly-made video tape, it only takes me 20 minutes to get accustomed to a husband, child, (stretchmarks, weight gain, etc.)and scientific vagabond lifestyle I had no idea was my own upon waking up this morning." Earlier in the movie, even Lucy (Drew Barrymore) herself doubts this would work in the long run.
Or how about Jerry Maguire and Dorothy? I love the scene when he comes back to Dorothy and charmingly provides a soliloquy testament to L-O-V-E ... I only wish it were true that I bought in to his L-O-V-E for Dorothy. He's still afraid to be alone. 'Nuff said.
Then there's Tin Cup. Would the same woman who fell for Don Johnson's snooty-patooty golfer actually fall for Kevin Costner's sloppy and poor golfer? I don't think so. At what point in that movie does she decide she likes sleeping on dirty sheets and eating mexican food at a truck stop?
I could go on and on - Four Weddings and a Funeral - LOVE the movie, hate the couple. Don't believe it for a second. Or, Pretty Woman? No WAY. How 'bout the oft' referred to (on this blog, at least) Wedding Date? Nope. Didn't buy it. And finally ... Cinderella - I didn't see enough proof in their relationship that there actually will be a "Happily Ever After."
(Oh - and I should note that I actually LIKE most of the movies I'm listing here! I enjoy the suspension of disbelief in romances! But if I'm really gonna think about couples that should break up ... Well .... )
Here's another - and it's outside of the romance genre - I don't buy for a MINUTE that Han Solo and Princess Leia will work out in the long run. Leia needs conflict, and she'll eventually nag poor Han Solo back to the Millenium Falcon and the lifestyle of a trade runner.
Oh... I've started this list twice and never posted it:
Here's my quick under-the-wire list:
Wedding Date (oft mentioned):
HELLO... he's a hooker made good? She's in love after a crazy wedding weekend? I predict three good dates with sleepovers and then a lot of 'moving on.'
Beauty and the Beast
What was Disney thinking? He imprisons her DAD... then he imprisons her! So, good princesses just learn to love their captors? I cannot even tell you how horrified I was the first time I saw this Disney flick.
Pretty Woman
Obvious... but again with the "falling in love with a hooker" thing. It's supposed to be romantic, right? Right.
I'm such lame lister this week. Did I mention that my coworker left me 2/3 of his work to wrap up this week? Sigh.
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