Happy Endings

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.