Random Movie Endings That Are Better Than Books They Were Based On (12 items)

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  (#5) It

  • Tim Curry, Seth Green, John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Jonathan Brandis, Harry Anderson, Chelan Simmons, Olivia Hussey, Richard Masur, Laura Harris, Emily Perkins, Richard Thomas, Jay Brazeau, Venus Terzo, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid, Frank C. Turner, Tom Heaton, Michael Cole, Gabe Khouth, Florence Patterson, Sheila Moore, Ryan Michael, Charles Siegel, Ben Heller, Brandon Crane, Steve Makaj, Adam Faraizl, Tony Dakota, Jarred Blancard, Donna Peerless, Drum Garrett, Marlon Taylor, Caitlin Hicks

  How the book ended: The book jumps from "the Losers" characters as children to the same characters in adulthood. But the childhood portion ends with a Bill-versus-It sewer showdown with the help of an ancient tortoise named Maturin. After defeating It, the Losers have a casual orgy and make a blood oath to return to Derry if It should ever return. 

  How the movie ended: The Losers venture into the sewers to save Beverly, who has been captured by It. It attempts to lure in Bill by appearing as his deceased brother Georgie, and then attempts to turn the group against Bill, offering to take only him and go into hibernation. Ultimately, the friends all face their fears to defeat It, and they swear to return to Derry if It comes back.

  First of all, the book's version of events is way too complicated for the film version. The more otherworldly and fantastical elements that are added to the final battle, the less terrifying and important It seems. By simplifying the film's ending into the characters all battling their own fears, the audience can better understand what It is and what It wants, making It a more satisfying monster. And thankfully, the movie decided to do away with the child group sex scene.
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  (#1) Forrest Gump

  • Tom Hanks, Sally Field, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Brendan Shanahan, Dick Cavett, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Bobby Richardson, Mykelti Williamson, Afemo Omilami, Michael Jace, Sam Anderson, Mary Ellen Trainor, Geoffrey Blake, Joe Alaskey, Peter Dobson, Hanna R. Hall, Sonny Shroyer, Brett Rice, Al Harrington, Greg Brown, Aaron Michael Lacey, Bob Penny, Harold Herthum, Jim Boeke, Hallie D'Amore, David Brisbin, Jacqueline Lovell, Stephen Bridgewater, Byron Minns, John Voldstad, Mike Jolly, Margo Moorer, Rob Adams, John Randall, Richard D'Alessandro, Shann Johnson, Markus Alexander, Robb Skyler, Vanessa Roth, Don Fischer, Rebecca Williams, Dick Stilwell, Bill Roberson, Marla Sucharetza, Michael Connor Humphreys, Bryan Hanna, Shawn Michael Perry, Troy Christian, Jeanne Hanna, Zach Hanner, George Kelly, Ellsworth Hanna, Ione M. Telech, Michael Burgess, Charles Boswell, William Shipman, Daniel C. Striepeke, Nora Dunfee, John Glenn Harding, Kirk Ward, Michael Mattison, John William Galt, Bob Harks, Christopher Jones, Jason McGuire, Tyler Long, Deborah McTeer, James Ent, Rob Landry, Jed Gillin, Elizabeth Ann Hanks, Keri-Anne Bilotta, Joe Abby, John Worsham, Christine Seabrook, Nathalie Hendrix, Joe Washington, Paulie DiCocco, Timothy McNeil, Isabel Rose, W. Benson Terry, Steven Griffith, Eric Underwood, Christopher James Hall, Scott Oliver, Timothy Record, Matt Wallace, Hilary Chaplain, Ed Davis, Jim Keller, Lazarus Jackson, Kevin Mangan, Joe Stefanelli, Alexander Zemeckis, Lonnie Hamilton, Bonnie Ann Burgess, Grady Bowman, Steve DeRelian, Juan Singleton, Logan Livingston Gomez, Frank Geyer, Teresa Denton, Emily Carey, Chiffonye Cobb, Tim Perry, Tiffany Salerno, Aaron Izbicki, Mark A. Rich, Kitty K. Green, Mark Matheisen, Daniel J. Gillooly, Marlena Smalls, Danté McCarthy, Jim Damron, Ben Waddel, Jack Bowden, Gary Robinson, Calvin Gadsden, Lenny Herb, Pete Auster, Jeffrey Winner, Kevin Davis, Russ Wilson, Fay Genens, Aloysius Gigl, Michael Flannery, Matt Rebenkoff, Bruce Lucvia, Michael McFall, Michael Kemmerling, Paul Raczkowski, Jay Ross, Kenneth Bevington, Angela Lomas, Peter Bannon

  How the book ended: Forrest runs into Jenny (a very different character than in the film) after an impromptu trip to Savannah, where he is playing harmonica on the street. She is with a boy, also named Forrest, who she reveals is his son. Forrest Gump talks to the boy briefly and then they part ways. Forrest decides to set aside money for his son from his shrimping business. He briefly considers attempting to reunite with Jenny, who is married and raising Forrest Jr. with another man, but ultimately decides his son is better off without him as the father.

  How the movie ended: Forrest is visiting Jenny in Savannah after receiving a letter from her. Upon seeing her, he meets his son, Forrest, and Jenny reveals that she is sick with an incurable virus (thought by many viewers to be HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C). Mother and son move back to Alabama to live with Forrest, where he and Jenny marry. She passes the following year, and Forrest is shown taking his son to the bus stop for his first day of school.

  In the book version, Jenny is content raising Forrest's child with another man and never informs him of his existence until she happens to run into him on the street. Rude. The other problematic piece of the book ending is that Jenny and Forrest both seem to believe that because he is intellectually disabled he is incapable of raising a child. The ending of the book suggests that Forrest does the right thing for his son by removing himself from the picture, whereas the film ending shows Forrest as the loving and devoted father we all know his character can be.
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  (#12) A Clockwork Orange

  • Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Steven Berkoff, David Prowse, Adrienne Corri, Aubrey Morris, George Coulouris, Patrick Magee, Pat Roach, Michael Bates, Gaye Brown, John Clive, Margaret Tyzack, Philip Stone, Carol Drinkwater, Miriam Karlin, Anthony Sharp, John Savident, Godfrey Quigley, Peter Burton, Clive Francis, Gillian Hills, Sheila Raynor, Madge Ryan, James Marcus, Virginia Wetherell, Michael Gover, Carl Duering, John J. Carney, Vivienne Chandler, Katya Wyeth, Neil Wilson, Billy Russell, Michael Tarn, Paul Farrell, Robert Bruce, Norman Gay, Katharina Kubrick, Andros Epaminondas, Prudence Drage, Fred Hugh, Helen Ford, Maurice Bush, Alec Wallis, Shirley Jaffe, Barrie Cookson, Olive Mercer, Frankie Abbott, Leslie Nye, Tom Sye, Margaret Heald, Nat Pearn, Sister Watkins, Jeremy Curry, Steadman Clark, Winifred Sabine, Rex Rashley, Craig Hunter, Dr. Gundry, Barbara Scott, Jan Adair, Lee Fox, Richard Connaught, Cheryl Grunwald, Shane Shelton, Lindsay Campbell, Henry Robert, Arthur Tatler, Peter Hannon, Roy Beck, Pauline Taylor, Nicholas Hill, Fred Real, George O'Gorman, David Dawkins

  How the book ended: Alex briefly reunites with former droog Pete and meets his wife. Alex begins to picture a family of his own and yearns for a future unlike his violent past. He finds he has grown up and is ready to abandon the criminal lifestyle of his youth.

  How the movie ended: Alex is recovering in the hospital after his suicide attempt. Through psychological testing, it's revealed that his aversion therapy no longer works and he has reverted to his previous self. Government officials offer Alex a job in an attempt to keep him on their side as their successful guinea pig. Alex fantasizes about having exhibitionist sex with a woman and realizes he is "cured" of the aversion therapy.

  The final chapter of Anthony Burgess's novel, which shows main character Alex growing up into a changed man, was omitted from the US publication of the book and from Stanley Kubrick's film version. Burgess believes that the final chapter is crucial to the novel, as showing characters capable of change is essential to preventing a novel from becoming a fable or allegory. Kubrick's ending definitively changes the story and finishes on a much darker note. It suggests that Alex does not change and that his desire for violence is an innate part of his nature. It's a stronger ending for the film, whereas showing Alex growing out of his perverse predilections would feel sudden and untrue. It also heightens the central conflict of the story between individual free will and the greater good of society. If Alex turns out to be good after all, it gives us the answer rather than leaving viewers to think it through.
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  (#11) Election

  • Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein, Colleen Camp, Nicholas D'Agosto, Molly Hagan, Matt Malloy, Holmes Osborne, Jessica Campbell, Mark Harelik, Frankie Ingrassia, Jeanine Jackson, Jason Paige, Phil Reeves, James Devney, Jillian Crane, Rohan Quine, Rob Kunkel, Kaitlin Ferrell, Delaney Driscoll, Marilyn Tipp, John Ponzio, Sarah Burgduff, Matt Justesen, Amy Falcone, Loren Nelson, Nick Kenny, David Wenzel, Heather Koenig, Jonathan Marion, Christa Young, Emily Martin, L. Carmen Novoa, B.J. Tobin, Jeannie Brayman, Joel Parks, Larry Kaiser, Matt Golden

  How the book ended: After Mr. McAllister's election tampering is revealed, he gets a job at a car dealership. His wife decides to stay with him. A year later, Tracy visits him at the dealership and the two end up making nice, with Tracy asking him to sign her yearbook.

  How the movie ended: Mr. McAllister's wife divorces him, and he moves to New York where he works as a museum tour guide. On a trip to DC, he happens to spot Tracy getting into a limo with a congressman. Mr. McAllister throws his drink at the car and runs away. We see him asking a question to students at the museum and a Tracy-esque child raises her hand in the air, which he ignores.

  The book ending of Election just doesn't pack the same punch as the film's ending. The idea of Tracy backing down and reconciling with a former nemesis feels incredibly out of character and just isn't as funny. The ending of the film is also all better for showing the complete unraveling of Mr. McAllister's life and the oppositional rise of Tracy's. The movie shows Tracy winning, as she will always win, while the book version just makes it more of a wash.
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  (#6) The Devil Wears Prada

  • Anne Hathaway, Heidi Klum, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Gisele, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Rebecca Mader, Adrian Grenier, Bridget Hall, Daniel Sunjata, Tracie Thoms, Valentino Garavani, Alyssa Sutherland, Stephanie Szostak, Inés Rivero, Emily Sandberg, Nina Lisandrello, James Naughton, John Rothman, George C. Wolfe, David Marshall Grant, Alexie Gilmore, Julie Jei, Rich Sommer, Tim Krueger, Pamela Fischer, Tibor Feldman, Lauren Weisberger, Jennifer Elise Gould, Andrea Bertola, Denis McKeown, Robert Verdi, Colleen Dengel, Taylor Treadwell, Carl Burrows, Guy A. Fortt, James Cronin, Justin Restivo, Carla Collado, Brandhyze Stanley, Suzanne Dengel, Hector Lincoln, Scott Hatfield, David Callegatti, Mateo Moreno, Alexander Blaise, Mira Tzur, Molyneau DuBelle, Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau, John Graham, Paul Keany, Laura D. Williams, Jimena Hoyos, Stan Newman, Laura McDavid, Steve Benisty, Robert Stio, L.J. Ganser, Stuart Lopoten, Lindsay Brice, Eric Seltzer, Zev McAllister, Caroline Slaughter, Wells Dixon, Ingrid Schram, Rori Cannon, Matt Murray, Ilona Alexandra

  How the book ended: After telling off Miranda Priestly, Andrea is blacklisted from the publishing industry and moves back home with her parents. She works on her writing and sells off her designer clothing. She eventually lands an interview in the same building as Runway and sees Miranda's latest miserable assistant. 

  How the movie ended: On the Paris trip with Miranda, Andy realizes she is morphing into the monster that is her boss, and walks away on the spot. She reunites with her boyfriend Nate and is shown interviewing at another writing job. She gets the job and the editor tells her that Miranda Priestly informed him that Andy was her "biggest disappointment" but that he would be an idiot not to hire her. Andy later sees Miranda getting into a car and waves. Miranda doesn't acknowledge her but smiles once inside the vehicle.

  Lauren Weisberger's ending just feels meh. Andrea moves on from Runway but we don't get a lot of closure on her relationship with Miranda or what her future holds. In the film ending, Miranda and Andy demonstrate a mutual respect for each other that feels true to the characters and their relationship. Neither are black and white characters. They may take different paths but they also share an understanding and appreciation for what the other is trying to accomplish.
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  (#7) Misery

  • Lauren Bacall, Kathy Bates, James Caan, Rob Reiner, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Graham Jarvis

  How the book ended: After knocking Annie unconscious with the typewriter, Paul is despserate to save his Misery manuscript as police arrive on the scene. They eventually find Annie deceased in the barn, apparently heading back toward the house to slay Paul. Misery's Return is published to great success, but Paul is still haunted by Annie.

  How the movie ended: Paul knocks Annie unconscious with the typewriter, but she attacks him again, at which point he beats her to death. Paul is shown 18 months later at a restaurant with his book editor. She tells him that his latest novel (not of the Misery franchise) is getting a positive response. He appears to be suffering from PTSD and hallucinates Annie as a waitress tells him she's his No. 1 fan.

  The main difference in the film's ending is what happens to the Misery series. In the book, Paul burns a copy of the book Annie has forced him to write, saving and publishing it after she perishes. In the film, Paul actually burns the book and goes a different direction with his writing, as he always wanted to do. The book ending almost feels like a creepy homage to his captor - Annie was obsessed with the series and her main goal was to have this final book published. The film ends with Annie's desires for a final book never coming to fruition. Misery ends along with Annie, and Paul realizes his own dreams of writing a different novel. 

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