'Now you know... the rest of the story'

Posted Monday, November 16, 2009 at 2:38 PM Central

by John Couture

Paul Harvey passed away earlier this year, but if ever there was a news story that would fit his trademark line, this is it.

Hollywood seems to be in a period of great infatuation with the ambiguous ending. You know the drill, invest two or three hours of your life and hold back your exploding bladder to finally get to the story's resolution, only to have the movie cut to black and the credits to start rolling by.

By the time, you barely made it to the restroom, it dawns on you that the movie you just invested in could have gone in any number of directions, but simply ended. For instance, in No Country for Old Men, you invest a fair amount in the cat and mouse play between Javier Bardem's sociopath killer with a penchant for cattle air guns and Tommy Lee Jones' folksy man of the law.

But the movie ends with Bardem still out there while Tommy Lee Jones tells his wife about a dream he had the previous night. Really? That's the best you could do? Now, don't get me wrong, I think there's a fine line between letting the viewer complete the dots and force feeding a Hollywood ending.

For the most part, I like to think about the end of a movie when it's over, but as College Humor points out in this hilarious montage, sometimes we need a bit more closure.

What do you think about ambiguous endings? Should Hollywood let you come up with your own ending or should they make sure and tie up every single loose end?