No fairy tales in recent Hollywood movies
Campus Times
May 15, 1998
Movies are trendy, and because the movie industry goes through phases,
movies that have been released in the past few months have started a new
Hollywood genre of entertainment.
I realized last week that something was wrong when I attended a private
screening of "The Horse Whisperer" and walked out of the theater
at the end of the film feeling angry and disappointed once again. It seems
that there have been numerous movies that are ending on a bad note.
Take for instance the movie "The Object of My Affection."
It looked like a really good movie, but it did not end the way it made the
audience think it would. At least in "Titanic," viewers expected
people to die because most of that movie was based on the true story about
the ship that was thought to be "unsinkable."
Another movie I really thought was excellent, until the end, was "City
of Angels." It was a beautiful love story. It was different because
it gave us some perspective about the duties of angels and what they do
on a daily basis, if we believe in them. However, I left the theater depressed
and wiping tears from my eyes because the end killed the whole movie. If
anyone wants to see any of these movies, I recommend seeing this one because
at least it taught me something, even with a bad ending.
People go to the movies for entertainment, whether it is a comedy, drama
or action flick. I have always thought of movies as some sort of "getaway."
I watch them and go into my own little world. They used to give me hope
and make me believe that life is not always bad. For a while, I even used
to believe that some fairy tales do come true. Leaving the theater recently
has made me sad and wondering that if nothing good can happen in a movie,
it probably will not happen in real life.
Sure there are plenty of movies that have happy endings and maybe I
am just watching all of the wrong films. But I want to see more new movies,
such as "Sleepless In Seattle" and "Pretty Woman," the
romantic comedies that have good endings.
The thing that I see happening in Hollywood is that more and more people
want to be entertained, but also want reality.
Film producers and writers seem to be doing just that. Robert Redford
did a marvelous job directing "The Horse Whisperer" and also put
reality into it. It was one of those great movies that ended so bad that
it made the movie a disappointment in the end.
It is no coincidence that 80s clothing, music and movies are making
such a strong comeback. Those were the days when things were good and issues,
such as divorce and homosexuality, were seldomly brought into the Hollywood
movie scene, though they existed back then. At least the girl got the guy
she wanted and the football team won the championship game. Come on now,
in such a small town as La Verne, we need a little excitement in all of
our lives and some of that entertainment should come from the movie industry.
The moral of this story was not to spoil the endings of these new movies
but to make students aware of what they are going to be paying for.
So if you are having a bad day and are looking for entertainment to
get away from the stresses of college, I recommend rollerblading, bowling
or even reading because it seems that there are more happy endings in books
these days than in movies.
Erica Aguilar, a junior journalism major, is editorial director of
the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at aguilare@ulv.edu.
