Throw the Dirt Over It Anyway

My husband and I have been discussing the finale of The Soprano's for the last 24 hours. He thinks it was great. He has no problem with open-ended endings that leave no solid answers. Me? Not so much.

Here's my take, a story must have three things; a beginning, a middle, and an end. I am not one of those writers who feel I can fudge an ending and let my readers come up with their own conclusions. A story needs and END. I feel artists who do that are lazy. L-a-z-y. If this is your creation than the responsibility of an ending is on you. If you can't, then you shouldn't be a story teller. It's that simple, folks.

David Chase had this to say about it: "I have no interest in explaining, defending, reinterpreting, or adding to what is there," said Chase, 61.

Hmm, sounds to me like someone just got tired of it. I don't see a genius at work, I see someone who no longer gave a shit, and that's a slap in the face to his loyal viewers. Oh, and it's not just Chase. Have any of you read Stephen King's "Cell?" Yeah, the master of horror got a little lazy on that one, too. And don't even get me started on Pirates of the Cab: Dead Man's Chest.

I have no interest in seeing anything else David Chase has to offer. Why? Because I can't trust him. Why should I invest time into a story knowing it may never have an ending? Or, it will have an ending so cryptic it will only piss me off. Not worth it. But to amuse myself I have created David Chase endings to some of my favorite movies:

Sleepless in Seattle
Meg Ryan stands in the garden, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her email pal. She smooths her pretty dress and wrings her hands. She hears a male voice calling, "Einstein!" The camera closes in on her face - fade to black.

Casablanca
Humphry Bogart and Ingred Bergman stand on the airport tarmac. She is crying, and her lover stands behind her getting ready to get on the plane. Bogart is sad. She turns to him and the camera closes in on her face - fade to black.

Men In Black
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones sit on the sidewalk covered in intergalactic cockroach goo. Will has the galaxy, Tommy has his gun. "I like this gun," Tommy says. From behind them the top half of the cockroach begins to stir - fade to black.

Braveheart
Mel Gibson is tied to the torture rack. His buddies watch from the crowd as the guards do unspeakable things to him. Mel turns his head and sees his dead wife peeking out from behind his friends. The camera closes in on his face - fade to Black.

Usual Suspects
At the Police Station the Sargent has just released Kevin Spacey. His officer goes to the fax machine to retrieve the incoming fax. He looks at it, then hands it to the Sarge. The Sarge's eyes go wide as the camera closes in on his face - fade to black.

I think you get the idea...