What is everyone's take on the ending (1972)? My first impression was that once he obtained what he was trying to get (the girl) he realized that what he had before was actually what he wanted. Or maybe he was a narcissist and it was time to move on. LOL.
I may be way off here but what do you think??
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While freudified made some good observations the movie did show that the marriage between Lila and Lenny was not going to work in the long run.
The song that was played at the first reception along with Lenny acting dishonest with the guests at the end is supposed to draw attention to the fact that he seemed to have something that he lost later on.
Lenny lost something by being dishonest starting with Lila. Back during the first reception he could just be himself. Now in the second reception he is dishonest...and more of a lying prick proven by the kids walking away and his other speeches. Winning something came at a cost to him. Likewise, it seems that the second reception guests left him alone (why he was talking to the kids) and Lenny at the first reception was dancing and could just be himself.
He was certainly happier at the start of the movie. That is a fact.
The book/movie "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" has a similar theme. The Jewish character gains something, but loses quite a bit by gaining that something. Worth a look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apprenticeship_of_Duddy_Kravitz
The novel might possibly have inspired the concept of the Jewish underdog gaining something, but losing other things in the screenplay. Though I can't say for certain.
We should not try to speculate what will happen. Maybe the marriage worked. Maybe it didnt. But Lenny certainly did become more dishonest over the course of the movie and seemed less happier at the second reception. Plus he seemed isolated compared to the first reception. On the plus side Lenny did gain quite a bit also. His employment prospects would rise and he has a rich wife.
My interpretation of the ending was that Lenny's pursuit of Kelly was really all about the thrill of the chase and the challenge of getting something unattainable. Once he got her, the thrill disappeared.
shareFinally, someone got it right. I really do think it is as simple as atomicgirl says, as I've posted elsewhere.
The whole point of the movie, as I see it, is the challenge of the conquest.
Lila is unattainable sexually until he marries her. Everything about her seems desirable until after they consummate the marriage. It is only then that he sees her little faults as insurmountable obstacles to happiness.
Even so, until Kelly practically throws herself at Lenny in outrageous acts of flirtation, they may have had a chance.
Once he compares Kelly to Lila, in his mind there is comparison. Now the conquest becomes one of getting a WASP princess. Miss Unattainable Defined. Not to mention the Grand Canyon of roadblocks in a fiercely protective, wealthy, father. Lenny throws himself into the challenge with all the gusto his "New York mind" can muster.
Finally, even the father capitulates to Lenny's determination.
It wasn't Kelly he was after so much as the challenge of something that was off limits to him. Jewish man marries Protestant girl. Once he got what he wanted, he seemed disillusioned once more. Only this time, it doesn't take several days into the honeymoon, it happens on the same day as the wedding!
Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken
This is NOT a happy ending, of course. Like Jay Gatsby, Lenny is merely chasing an ideal -- in his case, the "shiksa goddess" ideal that was so in vogue among male Jewish writers at the time. (The self-hating, not to mention extremely sexist, undertones of this trope has long since passed out of literary fashion, thankfully).
Once Lenny achieves his ideal, he's bored and self-absorbed once again. The final line about "being 10" once gets him to thinking about where he started and where he ended up.
In some ways, it's a very similar ending as "The Graduate," though more cruel. In Graduate, we think Benjamin and Elaine are at the start of a journey, which may or may not end badly. With Heartbreak, we know it will end badly (hence the title) because Lenny is such a self-involved, narcissistic jerk.
It is similar to the graduate. Plus him singing close to you, I can't believe no one hasnt even brought that up,
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At the end, I think he suddenly realizes that he doesn't really fit in with the wealthy WASPs;even the kids who he's spouting his nonsense to excuse themselves from his presence. He has no substance.
shareAt the time this movie came out, some critics felt that it ended too abruptly. I remember hearing that Elaine May had actually filmed subsequent scenes that she later cut out in which Lenny and Kelly go on their honeymoon in Europe, and he discovers that she has some of the same bad habits as Lila, such as eating with her mouth full. If in fact this was part of the original film, it might illuminate what was implied at the end of the movie that the audience ultimately saw: that Lenny was never really going to be happy. That's how critics understood it at the time.
share"At the time this movie came out, some critics felt that it ended too abruptly. I remember hearing that Elaine May had actually filmed subsequent scenes that she later cut out in which Lenny and Kelly go on their honeymoon in Europe, and he discovers that she has some of the same bad habits as Lila, such as eating with her mouth full. If in fact this was part of the original film, it might illuminate what was implied at the end of the movie that the audience ultimately saw: that Lenny was never really going to be happy. That's how critics understood it at the time."
See I always felt that had the film continued on we'd see Lenny as the one chewing with his mouth open, snoring loudly and constant kvetching that would drive Kelly away by their first Christmas together. Running away with her ski instructor.
It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind.