Movies That Shouldn’t Have Happy Endings
Movies That Shouldn’t Have Happy EndingsSkip To Content
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17 Movies That Did Us Dirty With Their Happy Endings
"And they lived happily ever after," –
by Tom Vy ContributorLink
We’re all used to the typical Hollywood happy ending now. A movie can be 90% miserable, and then somehow, in the final scene, everyone gets what they want.
Fox But it’s the realism we want. Here are 17 films that, I'm sorry, did not deserve the happy endings they got.
Warning – big spoilers ahead, obviously!1. War of the Worlds (2005)
Paramount Pictures The first half of this film is actually kinda good. But the ending of War of the Worlds is the definition of roll your eyes. Ray’s angry teenage son Robbie is so annoying that I prayed the aliens would get him. He, for some wild reason, runs off to fight the aliens and manages to make it back in the end for a family reunion. It definitely would have felt more poignant if one of them had died. I choose Robbie. 
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 2. Frozen II (2019)
Walt Disney Pictures The cold does bother me now, because this ending was just too happy. Now I know you’ll say ‘‘It’s a Disney film, it’s for kids’’ — but plenty of Disney films end sadly (hello, Toy Story 3 ). Among other things, Arendelle should have been obliterated by the flood, leaving them to rebuild, Thor: Ragnarok style. 
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 3. Passengers (2016)
Sony Pictures Entertainment Christ Pratt dying would have made for a much better resolution. Case closed.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 4. Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
Overture Films Okay, so the ending isn’t technically happy— nothing in Law Abiding Citizen is. It just ends with a nice Hollywood resolution where Clyde (Gerard Butler) dies, with Nick (Jamie Foxx) having basically planted the bomb there. The fact that Nick is just watching a musical stage performance as if he is absolved from everything is a joke. I’d have much preferred Clyde to keep going on his little Home Alone rampage. 
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Universal Pictures I’m not overly fond of any recent Jurassic Park film, they’re all a bit meh — but the climax to Fallen Kingdom made me just go, What? The ending of this felt like an idea that seems nice, but in reality, would be awful. In a U.S. Senate hearing, they decide that we can just all co-exist with dinosaurs letting them roam free. No, definitely not what anyone wants. As if they hadn’t learned anything from the previous dinosaur experiments and parks.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 6. Grease (1978)
Paramount Pictures If you watch it back now, it’s even weirder. Sandy just changed her whole personality to get Danny. Then they got into some Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car and went flying around. The last few minutes of this film are sickeningly sweet — I do also love it though, so I’m conflicted.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 7. Game of Thrones (2011—2019)
HBO I know it's not a movie but let it be. For the most part, GOT isn’t happy and you could even make the argument that the ending wasn’t exactly all smiles. I just felt like the ending was not only rushed but it ended too sweetly. Kill someone off. Or just let the White Walkers go wild on Westeros. 
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 8. Hancock (2008)
Sony Pictures Entertainment The second half of Hancock is already a mess so it’s obvious the ending would stick to that. It started off quite dark but ended in such a Hollywood happy way that it’s even more insulting. It’s all soulmates and everyone adoring Hancock and trips to the moon. I want to go throw up.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 9. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Warner Bros. Pictures Good movie. In fact really good movie. The ending is a little bit forced though and that ruins it for me. Most of these films have a certain pace to them, and then they suddenly rush to have an ending that is nice for everyone. Cage shouldn’t have survived and the film would have been better for it. 
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Warner Bros. Pictures My favourite trilogy but the ending was just unnecessarily happy. I loveThe Dark Knight Rises and I felt that Batman dying would have made sense with the journey he had been on. They could even have opted to not show Bruce Wayne’s face, but showing it just didn’t work for me.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 11. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Warner Bros. Pictures Emily should not have a happy ending in Crazy, Stupid, Love. She cheats on her husband, doesn’t generally treat him well, keeps the house and kids after doing all this, and still gets a happy ending. It’s probably the ending that you wanted, but not what she deserved.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 12. Rampage (2018)
Warner Bros. Pictures Dwayne Johnson stars in this and so there’s a very good reason why it has a relatively happy ending. He apparently really dislikes sad endings, often refusing to star in films that have one. It makes sense then in Rampage that George, a mutated giant ape, survives when in the original ending he sacrificed himself to stop the other infected monsters. Sometimes losing someone helps with the emotional arc of a film. Someone tell the Rock that. 
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New Line Cinema This film is unmatched in terms of its brilliance and the ending is actually good. My problem here is the number and length of the happy endings we have to see. I get it. You’re happy.
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Summit Entertainment Source Code starts well, with Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) reliving eight minutes again and again, in an attempt to find the bomber. He eventually saves the day and while inhabiting someone else’s body just goes off to have a date. What?!? This seems like a happy ending but it’s actually really dark. It’s not his body. What about that man’s life? Why is no one thinking about this? 
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 15. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Sony Pictures Releasing The Arthur Golden novel which this movie is based on has a much more satisfying ending. In the film, Chiyo (Zhang Ziyi) becomes fulfilled because she finally gets to be with the Chairman. The book is more empowering, having Chiyo open up her own teashop, content with her own life. I much prefer the book version.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 16. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Summit Entertainment The last 20 minutes almost feel like a different film, as they race to tie up loose ends. It just doesn’t match the atmosphere of the rest of the film. Watch it back, if you don’t believe me. 
View this video on YouTube youtube.com 17. There's Something About Mary (1998)
20th Century Fox He hired a private investigator to look into Mary. That’s just weird. What’s worse is that the investigator, Pat, is the shadiest guy he could have hired. He basically hired a stalker. In the end, Ted and Mary get together, but I’m sure we can all agree that he didn’t deserve a happy ending.
View this video on YouTube youtube.com Are they any movies that you think I’ve missed?
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