Letters to Juliet and the Romantic Comedy Ending

I have come to greatly dislike the term "chick flick." It tends to have rather negative connotations regarding the quality (or lack thereof) as well as trivializing the emotions and subject matter depicted. I also find it offensive that films with a female lead, told from a female perspective are marginalized with this label and deemed unworthy of a male viewership (unless of course one is unfortunately tied up and dragged there by said "chick" as part of their Friday night out). Women constantly view films from a male's view (since most films fall under this category) --from the obvious overtly high-testosterone action movies to the more subtle, typical drama. With that said, like most women, I admit I enjoy a good romantic comedy.

Like most mainstream Hollywood films, romantic comedies follow a predictable formula. In the case of the romantic comedy this usually consists of an established romantic relationship followed by a serendipitous encounter between one member of the original couple and an outsider. Usually the latter two are uncompatible and seem as though they would rather stab their eyes out with a blunt knife than be in the other's company. But, as the story unfolds, they realize that the other is exactly what they have been searching for all along and proclaim their true feelings; all resulting in the proverbial "happy ever after." We all know the plot yet we still greatly enjoy the journey (at least when the film is well done).

Letters to Juliet is no exception to this formula, although there is an endearing parallel storyline going on with Vanessa Redgrave's character, Clair, that adds great appeal and substance to the story. Throughout the film, there are very cute moments and even some nice comedic moments and lines (especially delivered by Christopher Egan's character, Charlie, the unwilling participant). However, as much as we enjoy the journey, and as much as we know the inevitable outcome, namely that Clair will find her much loved and much missed Lorenzo and Charlie and Sophie will see that they are meant to be together, the ending still has to deliver. But does it? Here is where I had trouble and fear the "chick flick" label descending. The corny factor became so elevated in the last scene that what was previously a smile on my face was now a wince. It actually brought back recollections of Pretty Woman, a film I greatly enjoyed, but whose ending was similarly cringe-inducing. Both movie endings have cheesy dialogue in their last scenes and ironically feature a balcony. In both films, the balcony does seem a fitting place to end (because in Letters to Juliet there are obvious references to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and in Pretty Woman Julia Roberts' character has a fantasy of a prince climbing a balcony to rescue her and take her away). Therefore, the balcony should be the perfect ending. But why doesn't it work? Is it too hackneyed? Or does it have nothing to do with the balcony setting afterall? Are we just expecting so much, anticipating and envisioning this wonderful ending that when it happens we can't help but be disappointed? Could it be that as much as we like and hope for the romanic "happily ever after" when it actually happens the spell is broken and we fall back into our cynical everyday selves?

Shutter Island: The Big Twist Ending

Most reviews for Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island were not overly positive. In fact, rumor has it that the release date was pushed back because the studio did not want the film coming out during Oscar season because they felt it was not worthy of the Academy Award and wanted to spare the great director the embarrassment of being neglected come awards night. So, what was it that made this film below standard for Scorsese? Was it the subject matter? The execution of the film? Maybe the manipulative twist ending?

Personally, I rather like twist endings. I have always been a fan of The Twilight Zone series and loved the goosebumps that unexpected story twists create. My love of twist endings lead me to a period in my college writing career where I was constantly producing "tricky" little short stories. One of my creative writing professors, a visiting professor and acclaimed writer, cautioned me about these stories, which were clearly not her cup of tea. She told me that people don't like feeling used like that. To me, all movies manipulate the audience, even at the most basic level --that's not really snow, that wasn't the actor jumping from that 60-foot building, etc. Movies operate on the suspension of disbelief. We are being fooled at every moment of the journey and we are supposed to sit back and enjoy the ride. It is a magic show meant to delight and playfully deceive. I remember in an interview one time Jamie Lee Curtis, while plugging Christmas with the Kranks, actually got angry when she was asked about specific scenes and how they were pulled off behind the camera. She wanted it all to remain a mystery to audiences. While I have to admit, I really enjoy extras and behind-the-scenes footage found on most DVDs today, I can understand her point. Are we taking the fun out of movies? Have we gotten too clever for our own good?

With all this said, however, I have to admit the twist in Shutter Island was not overly unpredicatible. I had it figured out less than half way through the film and I'm sure other people did as well. I don't know if this is because in all the coming attractions and hype surrounding the film the phrase "twist ending" was included and I was very actively looking for clues and making predictions. Or, perhaps, being a savy movie watcher who lived through the whole Sixth Sense phenomenon, I have learned to see these things coming and refuse to be manipulated.

The Big Premier / Up in The Air

Hello and welcome to my blog! Being a big film buff, I have been interested in starting a movie-related blog for some time but was hesitant since there are so many great blogs and websites already out there devoted to this subject matter. I didn’t want to just critique current films or provide plot summaries. So what could be the focus?

I got the idea for this blog about a month ago. I was sitting with two friends in a café in SoHo. We all took the same intensive filmmaking class together last summer, so of course when we get together we inevitably discuss films –making and seeing them. We got to talking about some of the latest films playing in theatres that had some Oscar buzz. One movie we mentioned was Up in the Air, starring George Clooney (now available on DVD). We ended up specifically discussing the ending of the film –not just what happened, but the tone of it and how it made us feel. My friends seemed to think it was quite depressing and rather pessimistic. I strongly felt there was hope, and not just a glimmer, but real, tangible hope. We all argued our sides but the friendly debate ended with one of my friends saying, “Oh, let’s just stop! Jennifer is just too optimistic!”

I then started to realize that the ending of movies are more than just the period at the end of a sentence. My college screenwriting professor used to tell us, “If you are having trouble writing the third act, you have an inherent problem in Act I.” This shows just how important the ending of a film truly is. The ending can embody the themes of the film, the message, and often form our lasting impression of the entire film –be it disappointment, surprise, happiness, or despair. Sometimes we leave the theatre thinking we are the characters in the film –strong, smart, sexy heroes and heroines. My dad once told me how when he was a young boy his father took him to an intense action film. After the movie ended, the people all got in their cars and spend out of the parking lot, more quickly and aggressively than normal, acting like they were in a Hollywood high-speed chase. Movies also can provide us with closure or leave us hanging, even confused (and I actually tend to like the films that are not neatly tied-up). Endings can be very thought-provoking, even when they don’t appear to be on the surface, like Up in the Air.

Therefore, I would like to use this blog to discuss different movie endings –our opinions on them (i.e. are they successful or do they fail) and how they relate to the story as a whole. It goes without saying that every entry will come with a SPOLIER ALERT! I hope this will not deter people from participating, but please resist conjecture if you have not actually seen the film at hand. Although we will concentrate on current films, we will certainly discuss some older films as well. I welcome comments and questions and hope all of you movie fans out there in cyberspace will join this community! As this blog grows and evolves, I will certainly include links to other blogs and sites.

For now, we can start where my conversation with my friends left off: Is the ending of Up in the Air optimistic or pessimistic about life and love? What do you think?