Endings--the Good, the Bad, the Ugly

by Christine Wells

Because this is my final post for Popculturedivas (at least for now), I thought I'd talk about endings--the memorable, the satisfying, the forgettable and the disappointing.

Usually, I consider myself a happily ever after kind of gal. I'm not terribly keen on weepies or tragedies or and ending to a movie that comments on the pointlessness of our existence. I suppose I read and write romance because I like a satisfying ending, one that makes me exhale a sigh of contentment when I close the book.

But it's true that some of the most memorable movies and novels don't end happily. Gone With the Wind is an example where our heroine still hasn't learned her lesson by the book's close and she doesn't get what she really needs. Frankly, my dear... After all she has put him through, Rhett finally up and leaves. Would the story have the same resonance if they kissed and made up? I don't think so.

Then there's Roman Holiday, one of my favourite movies of all time. The ending is poignant and true, and makes me cry every time. The lovers don't end up together but that doesn't stop me revelling in the romance of a princess who gets to be a normal girl for the day and a cynical journalist who gives up the scoop of a lifetime for the woman he can never have.

And even when the ending is happy, sometimes a hint of bittersweet realism makes it even more satisfying. In An Affair to Remember, the final scene is all the more poignant and real because of the undercurrent of sadness.

What about you?

Do you like happy endings? Tragedies? Bittersweet?