One of the reasons why everybody loves Romantic Comedies created by Hollywood is that they always have a happy ending. There is a good story, a few laughs, some version of love, and in the end, the guy always gets the girl. Certainly it’s not reality, but that’s OK. We have enough reality in our day to day lives. We don’t need reality when we’re watching a movie. I guess that is half the reason for watching the movie in the first place. For the escape of it all.
Tonight I was flipping through the channels and couldn’t find anything really worth watching. When I’m on the stationary bike, I need background noise. Something, anything. As I was channel surfing I came across “The Break Up” with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.
At first I assumed it would be just another Romantic Comedy like the rest. 90% of the way through, I still thought as much. Even though they had experienced their break up, and the comedy ensued, I expected in the end, as always, the guy would get the girl.
By the time the end credits came up, I was convinced that when they edited the movie for television they must have accidentally cut off the ending. Perhaps somebody inserted the wrong tape? Maybe they let a student edit the movie and they goofed. It didn’t seem possible. They guy didn’t get the girl. That’s not how it’s supposed to happen. Or at least, that isn’t how it’s supposed to happen in Hollywood.
I sat for a few moments processing what had unfolded. The more I thought about it though, the more I appreciated it. A movie that took a chance. A movie that didn’t end with “And they lived happily ever after.” Then again, whose to say they didn’t live happily ever after, simply because they didn’t live happily ever after with each other?
I’m 30 years old and divorced. In my wildest dreams, or perhaps I could say nightmares, that is something I never saw happening. I love my Hollywood movies. The black and white Romances of the 30’s and 40’s and the Romantic Comedies of today. The guy is supposed to get the girl. They are supposed to live happily ever after. That’s just the way it’s supposed to work.
I guess that is why I appreciate The Break Up. Now that I find myself in the position I’m in, I respect the reality of it. At the same time, I also am intrigued by the mystery of it. Just because the movie didn’t give us the happy ending we hoped for doesn’t mean there still can’t be a happy ending.
This is a fact I remind myself of daily. My life is a book. Each day is a page. What I’m learning now is that just because one chapter ends, doesn’t mean the story does. Instead, a page turns and a new chapter begins. What I thought was the end of the story was merely a plot twist. Pen still gets put to paper. There are plenty more pages to write.
Life doesn’t follow a Hollywood script. There are no storyboards that guide the plot. Life is a series of choices. Sometimes we make good decisions, sometimes we make bad decisions. Sometimes, we don’t even get a say in the decisions. All we can do is keep putting pen to paper. When the plot takes an unexpected turn, we take time to collect ourselves, and follow the new path.
Giving up is certainly an option, although it shouldn’t be. There are days when I’ve wanted to. Thankfully, my faith gets me through. On those days, I’ve got somebody that picks me up and carries me. For that, I’m grateful. After all, if we give up before we reach the end of the book… we could miss our happy ending!
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