Random Movies With 'Happy Endings' That Were Actually Unspeakably Tragic (18 items)

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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

  This epic tale ends as it begins: with a symbolic feather symbolically floating on invisible currents, much as Forrest himself has bobbed, twirled, and run through life, almost entirely without agency to decide his fate. It's been quite a ride, and the hero is now the father of adorable little boy. Given that the film strongly implies that Forrest Jr.'s mother died from AIDS, there's a decent chance the kid was born HIV-positive.

  Setting aside that kind of speculation, though, Forrest still lost the love of his life and little Forrest Jr. lost his mother, leaving him in the care of a good-hearted and kind man who nonetheless presents issues as a parent. He is, after all, a feather on the breeze.
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  (#2) Big

  • Tom Hanks, Jon Lovitz, Elizabeth Perkins, Mercedes Ruehl, Robert Loggia, Debra Jo Rupp, John Heard, David Moscow, Josh Clark, Jared Rushton, Oliver Block, Kimberlee M. Davis

  The crowdpleaser Big ends with Josh Baskin back to his natural state as a 12-year-old boy, ready to return to freewheeling days of pining after girls, messing around with his sidekick, and waiting in line for carnival rides he's not quite tall enough to ride. The autumn leaves all over the suburban street in the closing shots suggest some bittersweetness to the resolution of Josh's' time as a 30-year-old Tom Hanks, sure, but those leaves only hint at the damage Josh has done.

  Susan Lawrence, the go-go '80s businesswoman Josh romanced, has to live with the fact that, yes, she slept with a 12-year-old, the same 12-year-old with whom she had the most fulfilling romantic relationship of her life, and who may have also damaged her career by abandoning an important meeting on a huge project. As if the quiet horror of her relationship weren't already enough, she actually watches as her boyfriend transforms into a child. Josh's experience pales in comparison, but just imagine the years of therapy ahead of him after peaking as a pre-teen.
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  (#3) The Thing

  • Kurt Russell, Keith David, John Carpenter, Adrienne Barbeau, Wilford Brimley, Richard Masur, Norbert Weisser, Donald Moffat, Charles Hallahan, Joel Polis, David Clennon, Richard A. Dysart, T. K. Carter, Peter Maloney, Thomas G. Waites, Larry J. Franco, Nate Irwin, Jed, William Zeman

  For horror movies, the hero simply surviving qualifies as a happy ending. Generally. John Carpenter upends that notion with the conclusion of The Thing, though, as the two survivors are still stranded in Antarctica with food, shelter, supplies, or hope of rescue.

  That's already not ideal, but considering that one of them is almost certainly host to a malevolent shape-shifting alien, it's downright grim.
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  (#4) Kill Bill Volume 2

  • Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Samuel L. Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Chiaki Kuriyama, Sonny Chiba, Chia Hui Liu, Bo Svenson, Sid Haig, Michael Parks, Michael Bowen, Julie Dreyfus, Jonathan Loughran, Lawrence Bender, James Parks, Laura Cayouette, Jun Kunimura, Christopher Allen Nelson, Gary Rodriguez, Akaji Maro, Kazuki Kitamura, Perla Haney-Jardine, Sakichi Satô, Larry Bishop, Shun Sugata, Ambrosia Kelley, Clark Middleton, Caitlin Keats, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Jeannie Epper, Venessia Valentino, Kenji Ohba, Shana Stein, Issei Takahashi, Juri Manase, Tom Hartig, Stephanie L. Moore, Goro Daimon, Reda Beebe, Helen Kim, Yuki Kazamatsuri, Yamanaka Soh, Ronnie Yoshiko Fujiyama, Tetsuro Shimaguchi, Jorge Silva, Stevo Polyi, William Paul Clark, Victoria Lucai, Maria Del Rosario Gutiérrez, Sachiko Fujii, Lucia Cruz Marroquin, Veronica Janet Martinez, Maria de Lourdes Lombera, Sonia Angelica Padilla Curiel, Graciela Salazar Mendoza, Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Thea Rose, Patricia Silva, Citlati Guadalupe Bojorquez, Al Manuel Douglas, Claire Smithies, Yōji Tanaka

  Throughout the Kill Bill movies, Beatrix crisscrosses the world to get revenge on her old gang, who stole her baby and left her behind. The finale of Vol. 2 is an almost anti-climactic showdown between Beatrix and Bill: she uses the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique to fulfill the title, and whisks B.B. off to a new life.

  While the audience may see this as a win over the biggest of big bads, B.B. has just been robbed of the only parent she ever knew and taken away from her home. There's no way she's not going to have huge questions or lingering trauma after meeting her mother this way.
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  (#5) Dirty Dancing

  • Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Wayne Knight, Kelly Bishop, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston, Bruce Morrow, Lonny Price, Garry Goodrow, Max Cantor, Emile Ardolino, Charles Coles, Neal Jones, Paula Trueman, Miranda Garrison, Jane Brucker, Jennifer Stahl, Antone Pagan, Heather Lea Gerdes, Lori Janney, Doriana Sanchez, Jesus Fuentes, Alvin Myerovich, Andrew Charles Koch, John Gotz, Dwyght Bryan, D.A. Pauley, Karen Getz, Thomas Cannold, Dwayne Malphus, Clifford Watkins, M.R. Fletcher, Tom Drake, Karen Kaster, Jonathan Barnes

  At the end of Dirty Dancing, everyone is mad at each other. Baby's father thinks Johnny got one of the girls pregnant, and everyone at the camp thinks Johnny has been stealing from the guests. But things are settled when Johnny and Baby dance like they've never danced before to the anachronistic "I've Had The Time Of My Life."

  It's all very heartwarming, but what happens immediately after the credits roll? At best, Baby's father can talk to the staff of the summer camp and get Johnny his job back, but would he even want to? This is guy who spent the summer hooking up with his daughter while giving her "dance lessons." 

  And what's going to happen to Baby and Johnny? Presumably, they'll never make it work. Baby's a teenager and Johnny seems to be a full adult. If they do try to stick it out, will she live with him in his abandoned dance studio? Or is he going to move to Mount Holyoke to try and keep up with his gal? No matter how you look at it, this relationship is doomed.
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  (#6) Ferris Bueller's Day Off

  • Charlie Sheen, Matthew Broderick, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Kristy Swanson, Ben Stein, Lara Flynn Boyle, John Hughes, Mia Sara, Louie Anderson, Cindy Pickett, Edie McClurg, Harry Caray, Scott Coffey, Alan Ruck, Steve Stone, Richard Edson, Max Perlich, Del Close, Virginia Capers, Lyman Ward, Robert Minkoff, Larry "Flash" Jenkins, John Richard Petersen, Dee Dee Rescher, Katie Barberi, Joey D. Vieira, Jonathan Schmock, Annie Ryan, Tom Spratley, Stephanie Blake, Dick Sollenberger, Polly Noonan, Kevin Bassett, Eric Saiet, Robert Kim, Tim Boxell, Brendan Baber, Joey Garfield, Jason Alderman, Bridgett Baron, Robert McKibbon, Eric Edidin, Edward Le Beau, Lisa Bellard, Dave Silvestri, Paul Manzanero, Bob Parkinson, Miranda Whittle, Kristin Graziano, Tiffany Chance, Richard Rohrbough, Debra Montague, Joseph P. McDonnell

  "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris utters this immortal line at the closing of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, after he narrowly made it back to his "sick" bed. 

  Viewers are supposed to leave the film feeling like they've spent a riotous day with Ferris, the boy who can do no wrong, but there's an inherent nihilism in his approach to the world. He absolutely ruins his principal's life, makes his sister lose her mind, convinces his best friend to destroy his father's property, and essentially promises to break up with his cool girlfriend. You're charmed by his sweater vest and lack of planning, but the guy really doesn't think through the consequences of his actions.
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  (#7) Independence Day

  • Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, Randy Quaid, Harry Connick, Jr., Mary McDonnell, Harvey Fierstein, Frank Welker, Bill Pullman, Adam Baldwin, Judd Hirsch, Andrew Keegan, Brent Spiner, Robert Loggia, Mae Whitman, James Rebhorn, Lisa Jakub, Erick Avari, Christine Devine, Rance Howard, Dan Lauria, John McLaughlin, Richard Speight, Jr., Margaret Colin, Wendy Walsh, Tracey Walter, Leland Orser, Bill Smitrovich, Dean Devlin, Jerry Dunphy, Eleanor Clift, Fred Barnes, Tim Kelleher, Jim Piddock, Thomas F. Duffy, James Duval, Carlos Lacámara, Robert Pine, Ron Pitts, Anthony Crivello, John Capodice, Sharon Tay, Jeffrey Gold, Jay Acovone, Kevin Cooney, Greg Collins, Kiersten Warren, Raphael Sbarge, Nectar Rose, Morton Kondracke, Thom Barry, Sayed Badreya, George Putnam, Giuseppe Andrews, David Pressman, Ross Bagley, Lyman Ward, Devon Gummersall, John Bennett Perry, Johnny Kim, Bob Friend, Pat Skipper, Kimberly Beck, Mark Thompson, Barry Del Sherman, Malcolm Danare, Ernie Anastos, Bobby Hosea, Randy Oglesby, Frank Novak, Jack Germond, Gary A. Hecker, Adam Tomei, Jeff Phillips, Levan Uchaneishvili, Wayne Wilderson, Derek Webster, Peter J. Lucas, Jana Marie Hupp, John Bradley, Scott McKinley, Jessika Cardinahl, James With, Barry Nolan, Darla Rae, Volker Engel, Jon Matthews, Julie Moran, Gary Pike, Kevin Sifuentes, Kristof Konrad, Michael A. Valenzano, Elston Ridgle, Nelson Mashita, Jack Moore, Vivian Palermo, Joyce Cohen, Mark Fite, Lee Strauss, Michael Winther, John Storey, Daren Dochterman, Tadao Tomomatsu, Mike Monteleone, Robin Groth, Steve Giannelli, Joe Fowler, Michael Haddad, Bonnie Silco, Eric Michael Zee, Marisa Johnston, James Wong, Lisa Star, Paul LeClair, Roy Newton, Barbara Beck, Andrew Warne, Richard Pachorek, Eric Neal Newman, Jonathan Adler, Michael Moertl, Ross Lacy, Yelena Danova, David Chanel, Greg Bronson, Carlos Lara, Arthur Brooks, Matt Pashkow, Gary W. Cruz, Michael Vacca, James J. Joyce, Jonathan Khan, James Woodson, Vanessa J. Wells, Eric Paskel, Dexter Warren, Troy Willis, Mirron E. Willis, Darin Mangan, Lincoln D. Hiatt, Bryan Moss

  Pretty much every major character survives the alien onslaught in Independence Day. The President gets to be cool in his jet, Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum get to smoke cigars and hack an alien ship – it's very fun stuff!

  But what about the rest of the world population? And how do you govern in a world where everyone knows that there are things from other planets that definitely want to take us out? There's no way to know what happens when the film cuts to black. 
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  (#8) The Exorcist

  • Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, William Peter Blatty, Jason Miller, Mercedes McCambridge, Jack MacGowran, Barton Heyman, Peter Masterson, Titos Vandis, Donna Mitchell, William O'Malley, Eileen Dietz, Kitty Winn, Robert Symonds, Robert Gerringer, Mason Curry, Arthur Storch, Rudolf Schündler, John Mahon, Roy Cooper, Mary Boylan, Dick Callinan, Toni Darnay, Ron Faber, Wallace Rooney, Vasiliki Maliaros, Bernard Eismann, Joanne Dusseau, Gina Petrushka, Vincent Russell, Thomas Bermingham, Paul Bateson, Elinore Blair, John Nicola, Yvonne Jones, Don LaBonte, Beatrice Hunter

  The Exorcist is not a film with a sunny outlook by any means. A young girl is possessed by a demonic entity, and a couple of priests are called upon to save her soul. By the end of the movie, the priest didn't make it and the house is covered in vomit.

   
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  (#9) The Little Mermaid

  • Jodi Benson, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars, Buddy Hackett, René Auberjonois

  In the end, Ariel gets exactly what she pinted for early in the film, becoming part of our world on the surface and bagging a handsome prince in the process. Vanquishing the villainous Ursula and mending her relationship with her father, the titular mermaid seems to have it more or less made.

  Except that she has to forsake her friends, family, and heritage in the process. She even has to effectively change her species, all so she can marry a man to whom she's never really spoken. Not to mention the patriarchical implications of a woman relying on her father's whims to magically save the day and marry her off to a man.
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  (#10) Gravity

  • Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Phaldut Sharma, Amy Warren, Orto Ignatiussen, Basher Savage

  Gravity follows astronaut Ryan Stone's heart-pounding descent to Earth from a space station that's been wrecked by debris. By the time she makes it back, the audience is too overwhelmed to comprehend what's really happening. 

  The final moments of the film show Stone landing in a lake in the middle of nowhere. She has no supplies, no food, and no way of communicating with NASA. Even assuming people live nearby, the chances of Stone finding a phone are slim. 
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  (#11) Grease

  • John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Sid Caesar, Joan Blondell, Lorenzo Lamas, Michael Biehn, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, Dinah Manoff, Alice Ghostley, Fannie Flagg, Wendie Jo Sperber, Andy Tennant, Dody Goodman, Eddie Deezen, Michael Tucci, Annette Charles, Darrell Zwerling, Sandra Gray, Ellen Travolta, Kelly Ward, Edd Byrnes, Jon Bauman, Dennis Cleveland Stewart, Frederick "Dennis" Greene, Jamie Donnelly, Mimi Lieber, Susan Buckner, Barry Pearl, Scott Simon, Greg Bradford, Dick Patterson, Greg Rosatti, Helena Andreyko, Bob Quinn, Johnny Contardo, Dennis Daniels, Donald York, Lou Spadaccini, Antonia Franceschi, John "Jocko" Marcellino, Sean Moran, Carol Culver, John Robert Garrett, Kristine Greco, Richard Weisman, Lennie Baker, Daniel Levans, Paula Beyers, Judy Susman, Andy Roth, Jennifer Buchanan, Larry Dusich, Cindy DeVore, Vinny Genna, Barbi Alison, Deborah Fishman, Carole Demas, John Mooney, Tod Burton, Donna Felix, J. Andrew Kenny, Lora Marie Oberhofer Taylor

  The ending of Grease may be the most low-key depressing finale ever filmed. Danny and Sandy literally fly off into the sunset while the gang sings "We Go Together." It's supposed to be fun, but it feels like a surreal Viking funeral. The gang is literally discussing how they'll always be friends, even though high school is over before the main characters lift into the sky.

   
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  (#12) Free Willy

  • Danielle Harris, Michael Madsen, Michael Ironside, Mykelti Williamson, Richard Riehle, Lori Petty, August Schellenberg, Jayne Atkinson, Michael Bacall, Jason James Richter, Moultrie Patten, Keiko, Tom Lasswell, Isaiah Malone, Betsy Toll, Rob Sample, Mickey Gaines, Merrilyn Jones, Jim Michaels, Willis Van Dusen, Ed Murphy, Nick Gardner, Robert M. Duque, Alec Nichols, Sam Samson, Justin R. Hall

  It's great that an orca is saved from captivity in Free Willy. But once Willy jumps the seawall and rejoins his family in the waters off Seattle, what's to stop more whalers from capturing him again? 

  And what happens to poor Jesse? He just stole a whale from an amusement park! He may be a hero to the Animal Liberation Front, but he's public enemy number one to the children of the Pacific Northwest. The best that Jesse and Willy can hope for is to live out the rest of their lives in seclusion, away from angry mobs who may realize the gravity of what they've actually done here. 
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  (#13) Whiplash

  • J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Miles Teller, Paul Reiser, Chris Mulkey, Jayson Blair, Damon Gupton, Michael Cohen, Austin Stowell, Kofi Siriboe, Tarik Lowe, Suanne Spoke, Marcus Henderson, Kavita Patil, Adrian Burks, Dakota Lupo, C.J. Vana, Tian Wang, Keenan Henson

  Whiplash is staggeringly tense. Neurotic music student Andrew Neiman finds himself overly stressed by his breathtakingly cruel instructor Terence Fletcher. The end of the film is built around Fletcher tricking Neiman into playing the wrong music in front of a giant crowd of people, and Neiman retaliating by playing drums like a jazz demon. Fueled by their spite, the two men put on an amazing show.

  What does that fictional audience think, though? There's no way this performance didn't receive a scathing review in the New York Times, or that Fletcher didn't lose his job by giving Neiman the wrong music, right? 
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  (#14) Baby Driver

  • Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Lily James, Eiza González, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal

  Edgar Wright's thriller/musical Baby Driver is impossible to not enjoy in some capacity. There are stellar car chases, fantastic action, and Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx chew the scenery like it's made out of fried gold.

  The film ends with Baby going to prison, serving his time, and getting out to find the love of his life waiting for him. This is either a dream sequence and Baby is simply hoping that someone is waiting for him once he gets out, or this blissful reunion is brief. Baby's only means of supporting himself is through crime. How long until he turns back to being a getaway driver to make some quick cash to take care of his family?
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  (#15) The NeverEnding Story

  • Gerald McRaney, Limahl, Moses Gunn, Deep Roy, Alan Oppenheimer, Noah Hathaway, Tami Stronach, Barret Oliver, Patricia Hayes, Thomas Hill, Sydney Bromley, Tilo Prückner, Frank Lenart, Heinz Reincke, Beth Anderson, Silvia Seidel, Nicholas Gilbert, Drum Garrett, Darryl Cooksey, Dee Harris

  The finale of The NeverEnding Story follows Bastian as he wishes Fantasia back to its original self and restores what was destroyed by The Nothing. Then, he uses a wish given to him by the power of the Auryn – a magical necklace thing with vague magical properties – to return to Earth with his giant luck dragon and deal with some bullies. 

  This is supposed to be the hero? Bastian is literally the audience insert into the film, and instead of using a wish to make himself a better person, he just scares some kids. 
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  (#16) Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

  • Keanu Reeves, George Carlin, Jane Wiedlin, Diane Franklin, Al Leong, Bernie Casey, Alex Winter, Kimberley Kates, Dan Shor, Jim Cody Williams, Tony Steedman, Clifford David, Terry Camilleri, Hal Landon Jr., Rod Loomis

  In both Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey, Bill and Ted manage to commit genuine miracles and somehow make life worse for everyone around them. In Bogus Journey, Bill and Ted are felled by their robot twins and sent....well....everywhere. They end the film by reminding people that time travel is a thing. Then, they prove the existence of the afterlife by having the Grim Reaper play bass in their band.

  The concept is a bit far-fetched (putting it mildly). 
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  (#17) The Parent Trap

  • Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Kat Graham, Dina Lohan, Natasha Richardson, Ali Lohan, Maggie Wheeler, Lisa Ann Walter, Elaine Hendrix, Polly Holliday, Joanna Barnes, Ronnie Stevens, Simon Kunz, Erin Mackey, John Atterbury, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, Michael Lohan Jr., Maggie Emma Thomas, Courtney Woods

  The Parent Trap is a chilling film. Not only does it center around parents not being able to tell their very different daughters apart, but the whole thing ends in a winning gambit to put said parents back together. What would life even be like for Hallie and Annie after their insane plan works? Would their parents always resent them for meddling in their lives? If the relationship sours once again, would the parents become paranoid constantly looking for future traps?

  The Parent Trap isn't just terrible for the parents, it's also going to have a terrible effect on the love lives of the two sisters. Can you imagine being in a relationship with someone who's concept of love is predicated on international pranks? 
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  (#18) Freaky Friday

  • Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Julie Gonzalo, Rosalind Chao, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harold Gould, Willie Garson, Mary Ellen Trainor, Lucille Soong, Christina Vidal, Marc McClure, Heather Hach, Erica Gimpel, Amir Derakh, Lorna Scott, Dina Spybey, Cayden Boyd, Haley Hudson, Ryan Malgarini, Daniel Raymont, Danny Rubin, Lu Elrod, Jeff Marcus, Hayden Tank, Christina Marie Walter, William Caploe, Chris Heuisler, Jeff Hoferer, Jacqueline Heinze, Zoe Waters, Chris Carlberg, Veronica Brooks

  The idea behind Freaky Friday - that a mother and daughter learn something about each other via magical fortune cookies that cause them to switch bodies - is neat, but it hints at something much darker. By the end of the film everything is surface-level hunky dory. The two women approve of their respective partners, and Lindsay Lohan's band is pretty good.

  But what about the emotional trauma of the entire "switching" situation. Where do you even start to cope?

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