I haven't seen the movie, but reading your response reminded me that when I was watching _Your Sister's Sister_, about halfway through I distinctly thought, "I don't want to see these characters suffer. Even if it feels a little unlikely I would prefer a positive ending " and was glad to get one.
in this case I think there could have been a happy ending *without* giving everyone career success and validation. the film flirted with suggesting that career success and happiness don't have to be the same thing...but then backed off that insight (imo, anyway.)
I think it's really difficult for people who are actors, writers, filmmakers, etc. to see a happy ending that doesn't involve a validation of their talent in one way or another. In a way it's a self-selecting style of story—if you've reached acceptance that you're not all that good at some creative endeavor, then you probably lack the skill to create a compelling narrative about it. For somebody who's beaten the odds and become a success, writing about failure is likely to be like daring their worst nightmares to become real.
I remember seeing a comedian on television once ask, "What kind of thing scares Stephen King?" I looked at my then-wife and said, "Easy—waking up and finding out that he's still teaching English at a small private school, living in a trailer with his wife and kids, and working in a commercial laundry at night, so that his five decades as a bestselling author were all just a dream. Forget monsters, that's REALLY scary!"
I haven't seen the movie, but reading your response reminded me that when I was watching _Your Sister's Sister_, about halfway through I distinctly thought, "I don't want to see these characters suffer. Even if it feels a little unlikely I would prefer a positive ending " and was glad to get one.
people like happy endings!
in this case I think there could have been a happy ending *without* giving everyone career success and validation. the film flirted with suggesting that career success and happiness don't have to be the same thing...but then backed off that insight (imo, anyway.)
I agree (and would say that, _Your Sister's Sister_, has a happy ending without negating the recognition that failure is real and part of life).
I think it's really difficult for people who are actors, writers, filmmakers, etc. to see a happy ending that doesn't involve a validation of their talent in one way or another. In a way it's a self-selecting style of story—if you've reached acceptance that you're not all that good at some creative endeavor, then you probably lack the skill to create a compelling narrative about it. For somebody who's beaten the odds and become a success, writing about failure is likely to be like daring their worst nightmares to become real.
I remember seeing a comedian on television once ask, "What kind of thing scares Stephen King?" I looked at my then-wife and said, "Easy—waking up and finding out that he's still teaching English at a small private school, living in a trailer with his wife and kids, and working in a commercial laundry at night, so that his five decades as a bestselling author were all just a dream. Forget monsters, that's REALLY scary!"