Why Do American Audiences Have Such A Tough Time..

[Guest NoCalMike]

I know a lot of people who loved Requiem for a Dream and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for about 99% of the movie, then when the sad endings took place, it destroyed the whole movie experience for them. I am not sure why this is a trend with american movie audiences, but everywhere else in the world audiences have no problem with it. I am sure you all heard about the original ending to Pretty Woman, basically Richard Gere dumped Julia Roberts, which made her just like all the other girls he ever picked up, but when they test screened it, everyone hated the ending, so they changed it. Arghh, Personally I think it is quite refreshing to see something other than a sugar-coated happy/sappy ending, when in real life that is usually not how these strange/impossible/crazy situations pan out.

[Guest red_file]

I think there are two reasons why Americans are enamoured with the "happy ending."

 

1. We've been trained to expect it. For over fifty years of movie making, Hollywood demanded that the movies have a happy ending. All the fairytales used to end "happily ever after," so the studio execs believed that that was the best way to end their movies. What they found out was that by injecting the schmaltz into the end made people come back to see the movies time and again. Even a lot of the noir movies of the 40s/50s have endings that, while not entirely happy, are far from the bleak endings their European counterparts had.

 

It wasn't until the 70s that directors started demanding that they be able to attach the ending to their movies that best fit the story, which sometimes was an unhappy ending. Even then it was only a small minority of the movies that came out with unhappy endings. So, most people only saw movies that ended happily and were trained to believe that's how movies should end.

 

2. Movies are a form of escapism. One of the primary functions of movies is to allow the viewer a brief reprieve from his/her life and immerse himself into another world (the same applies to most of art). As such, when the viewer comes out of the other world (when the viewing come to an end) the viewer typically wants to come back to their own world with a happier attitude than when they left. Nothing is more cathartic than watching a movie where bad things happen to someone just like you only to have everything eventually turn out all right in the end (i.e. good things can happen to good people).

 

Unhappy endings typically make viewers evaluate their place in the world; they show the world to be an unhappy place where things are unfair and even when you try your best you end up failing in the end. These types of ending are very good if what you're looking for is something to spark your mind and help you examine some facet of your life you'd yet to examine. It's not so good if what you're looking for is something to distract you for two hours. Sadly, most people that watch movies merely want to be distracted, far too few want to be intellectually stimulated.

 

Another thing that might factor in is that unhappy endings are typically viewed as "European" and Americans traditionally have a dislike for that which doesn't conform to our values. To recognize something as foreign, or different, is often to see something as bad. I'm not sure how much that factors in to the directors/writers/producers/stars decision to forgo unhappy endings, but I'm sure it contributes.

[Guest franchise632]

Because America in general is a sugar coated society. We have grown up with Disney and happily ever after. We have been preconditioned to need a happy ending to feel good about what happend. When you get older it makes for a disappointing movie going expeirence when you know that the good guy is always going to win or get the girl, etc etc. Its no real suprise, we are constatly seeking visual mediums to brighter our days because most peoples lives suck and we want to go to a movie and be happy, we dont want to shell out 9.00 bucks a ticket and getting an "unhappily ever after" So thats what hollywood gives us.

[Guest TUS_02]

Movie audiences were trained to happy endings because of the Hayes Code. One of the big rules of it was that all villians had to get their just due. For example, if I commited adultry, I would have to at least break my arm and lose in a (non-gruesome) fight. If I killed someone, I would more or less be tortured until I was killed myself, etc..

 

Hollywood back in the old days made it the rule and I think it's just carried over since people of those generations still go to the movies...

[Guest starvenger]

Check out "The Player". It's a Robert Altman movie about the movie industry and what goes on behind the scenes. A bit dry at times, but still a pretty decent movie.

[Guest converge241]

good points..

 

i love realistic endings like requiem or sad like memento..

i dont want them all the time, but i could see why some people have problems with the un-formulatic endings. Foreign is a totally different atmosphere.

[Guest Human Fly]

The main complaint people I've talked to have with Spiderman is the ending. When people walk into a movie, they expect everything to turn out great and exactly how they want it to turn out, when it gets realistic they don't like it. Some movie need the happy ending, others can get away with it being not so happy. I personally like the realistic endings. There has been one time when there has been an ending and I hated it. That was Jeepers Creepers. I won't spoil it, but there were a lot of reasons why that ending was just lousy.

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

It's easy.

 

The rest of the world can handle depressing endings better than America because the rest of the world is more sophisticated and emotionally mature.

[Guest razazteca]

I hated the way how AI ended.....Blue Fairy, Damn.

 

What is the deal with Terry Gillian of Brazil and 12 Monkeys, Fisher King fame? What is this fasination with "what is reality" theme?

[Guest red_file]

It's easy.

 

The rest of the world can handle depressing endings better than America because the rest of the world is more sophisticated and emotionally mature.

Er, no. Far too simplistic.

 

But that does bring up a somewhat interesting question: are sad endings inherently better/more sophisticated than happy endings? Are dark/realistic themes inherently better than happy/fantastic themes?

 

I'd have to say that the answer to both questions would be no, but often it seems that people want to believe that. When someone complains about a movie having an unhappy ending often the reaction is to believe that that person is not sophisticated enough to enjoy a movie that doesn't end happily, that somehow if they were more "sophisticated and emotionally mature" they'd be able to appreciate what the movie was saying in its less than happy ending.

[Guest GenerationNever]

I believe "happy' and "sad" endings can all be in the eye of the beholder. What is happy to one person may be sad to another, and vice-versa. That being said, I like realistic endings that make you think.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

I like the movies that just have an ending. Alien 3 is a good example, in my opinion. The ending had the main character die and the company walking away able to cover it all up, but it also had the company not get the organism they were willing to kill for to use as a biological weapon and the last alien organism known was dead. Sure, the rest of the movie sucked, but the ending was good.

 

I think happy endings are a necessity at times, depending on the movie. A happy ending will make you see the movie again soon, usually. A sad ending will make you think about the movie, and then see the movie after thinking about how good the rest of the movie was.

 

I think the Phantasm series applies here as well, as do most of my movie-based posts. The endings had the heroes win for a moment, and then lose just a few moments later, leading into the next film.

 

Dammit, those movies kick so much ass.

[Guest King_TIL]

I like the movies that just have an ending. Alien 3 is a good example, in my opinion. The ending had the main character die and the company walking away able to cover it all up, but it also had the company not get the organism they were willing to kill for to use as a biological weapon and the last alien organism known was dead. Sure, the rest of the movie sucked, but the ending was good.

And then they had to go render the ending useless by creating Alien Resurrection. Stupid. Just stupid.

[Guest jimmy no nose]

A lot of times people don't want a realistic ending, because movies are often something that they use to get away from real life. Really whether or not people will accept a sad ending depends on the kind of movie it is. If it's some kind of dark movie people will go in expecting it. If it's not expected people won't react well to it.

[Guest Vyce]

I believe "happy' and "sad" endings can all be in the eye of the beholder. What is happy to one person may be sad to another, and vice-versa. That being said, I like realistic endings that make you think.

 

Ron Bennington of the Ron & Fez show (7p.m. to 11 on WNEW, NYC radio listeners!) has a great bit about the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" that relates to your point.

 

He talks about how that movie is the perfect example of the differences between women's perceptions of movies and men's perception of films. The women LOVE this movie, because it's "romantic" and because Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan hook up in the end.

 

But meanwhile, no one talks about the boyfriend / finacee that Meg dumps to hook up with Tom. Doesn't HE love her? Didn't HE want to be with her? And yet there he is, left holding the bag. Nothing romantic or wonderful about that. If you're a guy who's had your heartbroken by a chick (and most of us can raise our hands to that one), you gotta take a step back and think, "What the hell is this?! This isn't a happy ending! At least not for that poor schmuck!"

[Guest Steve J. Rogers]

The main complaint people I've talked to have with Spiderman is the ending. When people walk into a movie, they expect everything to turn out great and

 

That surprises me about Spidey. I wonder just how much they knew of the Spiderman storyline, because yeah Peter and Mary Jane do end up married and all but that is years into the future, the Spiderman movie tried to be true to the comic storyline (which Marvel does a great job in showing human flaws in all its characters) plus they will make at least one sequel (which was ordered up BEFORE Spidey was released) so technically the ending should have left movie goers with a cliffhanger to keep them waiting till the next one.

 

Steve

[Guest AlwaysPissedOff]

There has been one time when there has been an ending and I hated it. That was Jeepers Creepers. I won't spoil it, but there were a lot of reasons why that ending was just lousy.

Yeah, the JC ending was so retarded and lame that I just laughed my ass off when I watched it a couple of months ago.

 

Sad endings don't bother at all, but stupid sad/bittersweet endings like the aformentioned Jeepers Creepers and Final Fantasy: The Bomb Within either make me laugh or just flat out piss me off.

[Guest J*ingus]

Jeepers Creepers pissed me off a LOT, in several ways, but none worse than that godawful fucking ending. Jesus, but I hated that, it made me want to hunt down the writer and beat the shit out of him.

[Guest Vyce]

Jeepers Creepers pissed me off a LOT, in several ways, but none worse than that godawful fucking ending. Jesus, but I hated that, it made me want to hunt down the writer and beat the shit out of him.

 

I thought the first half of Jeepers Creepers was KILLER. It was working itself into a great horror flick. The 2nd half sort of degenerates, but still, overall I think the film is among the best in the genre in the past few years. Well, as far as American cinema goes. It's not "Ginger Snaps" or "The Others", but I don't think anyone could argue that it's worse than the Scream series, or the countless Scream clones (IKWYDLS, Urban Legend, Valentine, the return of Halloween...). The film's basically a b-movie, but a pretty decent one.

 

What exactly about the film's ending didn't you like? It was an unhappy one, sure, but not one that angered me in the same way it did you.

[Guest Madmartigan21]

Ron Bennington of the Ron & Fez show (7p.m. to 11 on WNEW, NYC radio listeners!) has a great bit about the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" that relates to your point.

I have a lot to say about this topic, but screw that. I just want to say

 

Buddy

 

SEE YA!

[Guest J*ingus]

What exactly about the film's ending didn't you like? It was an unhappy one, sure, but not one that angered me in the same way it did you.

Warning, spoilers ahead.

 

 

 

I thought the film started out very promisingly in the first fifteen or twenty minutes, even though it was a pretty blatant Duel ripoff. But for me, it started its long slow slide into suckitude as soon as the guy went down into the pipe. A few specific problems of mine:

 

-How does a winged hellbeast get a personalized license plate?

-They explained just enough about the creature that it didn't make any sense. Why 27 days for every 27 years, anyway?

-The "creeper" seemed pretty easy to please when it came to all the other body parts it consumed. Why was it so picky about the eyes? Especially when it apparently already had a working pair?

-The psychic made no sense. If she KNEW that the kid was going to come to a bad end, no matter what she did, why did she even try to help? Plus, it didn't help that she was played by a really bad actress.

-And finally, the ending had no real reason to be sad. The whole point of a bad ending is to illustrate the very definition of tragedy: that is, that the tragic hero's character flaws led to their bad end. Macbeth was killed because of his murderous ambition, the hero in Being John Malkovich was trapped forever because of his greed, every Tales From The Crypt episode ended in an ironic twist. Why did the kid die at the end of Jeepers Creepers? For no reason whatsoever. The monster won because, well, just because.

 

 

Oh yeah, and on the subject of sad endings, I seem to be the only person on earth who actually liked Chasing Amy's conclusion.

[Guest Shaved Bear]

It's easy.

 

The rest of the world can handle depressing endings better than America because the rest of the world is more sophisticated and emotionally mature.

Communist!

[Guest RetroRob215]

I look forward to sad endings because most happy endings are too sappy for me. I'm happy as long as something interesting happens at the end of a movie. Whether it be good or bad doesn't really matter.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Requiem For a Dream comes to mind. The movie starts out by telling everyone's motivation for what they are about to embark on, and about 20-30 minutes into the movie, the sad and depressing nature of Heroin, starts coming down hard. The music for the movie is so perfect, it just further's the despair and anguish.

[Guest PlatypusFool]

You mention Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as having a sad ending, but I don't think it does. *spoiler ahead*

 

 

The student (dont remember the name of the top of my head) throws herself off the mountain... this is sad, I suppose, and so is the fact that her true love is left without her. But, in throwing herself off the mountain she gets one wish granted, which we can assume is to make Mu Bai alive and well again... this is happy as the protagonist of the film survives and gets a chance to be with his true love. The conclusion is that the ending is a pretty neutral one, but still a conclusive one as the student has shown that she has grown into a respectful and caring person, which was Mu Bai's goal throughout the film.

 

Crouching Tiger is my favourite film of all time, easily, by the way.

[Guest Some Guy]

Who wants to be depressed when after they watch a movie? A movie is supposed to be an escape from reality for a couple hours.

 

Look at the difference in the endings for the original "Ocean's Eleven" and the new one. And then tell me which left you feeling better. If I wanted depressing stuff I'd watch the news.

[Guest DawnBTVS]

One movie I really dug was the end to American Beauty just because it fit so well with the story. I liked the fact that instead of trying to please the audience and making the ending happy, they ended up sticking with the story. Then again Kevin Spacey as the narrator just owns all.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

I like endings in movies like Goodfellas where it's not really happy or sad or whatnot, it just ends logically where it should and you can decide what you think of it.

[Guest wwF1587]

I myself like the fact that not all movies dont end happy. It adds something to the movie when we dont get the expected happy ending.

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

*Spoilers*

 

What pissed me off about the ending of Jeepers Creepers wasn't that the kid was killed at the end for his eyes, it's that the next day, the sister is just sitting there waiting for her parents. Cops are walking around and it's business as usual.

 

Hello?

 

The creeper killed at least 6 cops and flew away with the brother. Wouldn't they be searching for the creeper? Wouldn't the sister take them to the church were the pipe was? Nope. She just sits there and waits for the parents, and the cops just pick up business where it left off.

 

That's just lazy screenwriting.