As a moviegoer for
more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really
bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in
their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were
released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw
some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being
afraid of The Thing.
Many times I disagree
with the critics. I don’t call and tell them what I think of their reviews, so
now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure
there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will
agree. I hope to hear from all of you.
We all delight in happy endings. Maybe it was those fairy
tales our mothers and fathers read to us as small children. Maybe it is our
hope it will happen to us. What we do know is that in the movies happy endings
are possible. We don’t dwell on what happens after the movie declares “The
End.” Here are but a few of the many,
many movies with happy endings.
Pride and Prejudice (2005): This is not the best adaption of
Jane Austen’s book. There is a dark, smarmy feel to it. Keira Knightley’s eye
makeup made her look as though she was dying of a horrible disease. She did
have a great supporting cast to shore her up: Matthew Macfadyen, Donald
Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn and Judi Dench.
Jane Eyre (1944): Orson Welles is properly haunted by his dark
secret and Joan Fontaine is properly wide-eyed in this adaption of Bronté’s
novel. Margaret O’Brien and Agnes Moorhead fill out the cast. It does have a
happy ending, of sorts.
Sleepless in Seattle (1993): Cute Meg Ryan and likeable Tom
Hanks star in this sweet tale. You know from the first that they will find each
other and live happily ever after. Rob Reiner and Bill Pullman costar.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): This film is less sweet but more
enchanting. Audrey Hepburn is at her waif-like best and blond George Peppard is
hunky. Patricia Neal, Mickey Rooney and Buddy Ebsen
costar. Clever veiling of Hepburn’s real profession.
About a Boy (2002): Looking for new angles for meeting women,
Hugh Grant signs up for single-parent meetings. When he meets a needy
12-year-old boy and his despondent mother, the film becomes charming and
heartwarming.
Meet Me in Saint Louis (1944): Harken back to the good old days
when girls sang about the boy next door. The 1904 world’s fair is the backdrop
for this musical with Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Leon Ames, Tom Drake and
Margaret O’Brien. In those days, happy endings were expected.
His Girl Friday (1940): Newspaperman Cary Grant is trying to
keep wife Rosalind Russell from divorcing him to marry dull Ralph Bellamy. The
dialogue is fast and witty. Great writing and a delightful film to watch.
An Affair to Remember (1957): Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr meet
on the high seas and fall in love. They promise to meet in 6 months on the top
floor of the Empire State Building. He shows up. She doesn’t. This is a
tear-jerker with a happy ending.
Sabrina (1954): Billy Wilder’s wonderful film stars Humphrey
Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. Hepburn plays the daughter of the
chauffeur for brothers Bogart and Holden. She has been away at school and when
she returns, she has become a beauty. Which brother will she choose?
The Goodbye Girl (1977): Ex-dancer Marsha Mason has been dumped
by her boyfriend. She and her daughter are living in his apartment, which has
been sublet to Richard Dreyfuss. Although he is brash, he allows them to stay.
Thus begins this nice tale.
Bringing up Baby (1938):
Scientist Cary Grant is the object of heiress Katherine Hepburn’s eye.
She lures him to her home and the madcap adventure begins, which includes a dog
with dinosaur bones and a pet leopard.
The Graduate (1961): Ann Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katherine
Ross, and Murray Hamilton star in this great film with a great score (Simon and
Garfunkle). Hoffman is seduced by Bancroft in some hilarious scenes. His heart
lies with Bancroft’s daughter, Ross. As she is marrying her parents’ choice for
a husband, Hoffman shows up and steals her away. How’s that for an ending?
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011): A sheik (Amr Waked) wants
to introduce fly fishing in the Yemen. He enlists a hesitant fish snob (Ewan McGregor).
The task is made more pleasant by the sheik’s assistant (Emily Blunt).
Something a little different and very entertaining.
The Quiet Man (1952): Ex-boxer John Wayne returns to native
Ireland with thoughts of living a quiet, settled life. He gets anything but. He courts fiery Maureen O’Hara without
her brother’s (Victor McLaglan) consent. Wayne and McLaglan fight a long, long
fight. Wayne and O’Hara marry.
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001): Much too cute for my taste, but a
film with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant can’t be all bad. Reneé Zellweger
continues to unimpress.
Sweet Home Alabama (2002): Reese Witherspoon leaves home for
the Big Apple. Then she returns. Then she thinks maybe she should stay. What’s
a girl to do? Josh Lucas, Candice Bergen and Mary Kay Place costar.
The Tender Trap (1955): This musical comedy stars Frank Sinatra
as a womanizing theater agent who falls for Debbie Reynolds. Can he give up
chasing women to win his true love?
The Searchers (1956): Although this is not a silly romantic
comedy, there is a happy ending. John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood, Vera
Miles, and Ken Curtis costar.
