'lucky out' anyone catch this ?a

Debi- yes, the "Lucky Out" sign has been discussed. I was just writing to someone about it. I just re-read your interpretation; you think it means Fonda got "lucky" cause she got an "out" from having to live w/ her sick husband. But I think it was the opposite: that her "luck" was "out"...she's out of luck. She is coming home (aha another use for the title I just noticed!)to find out her husband left her by drowning himself. No note, no nothing. Her guilt and regret will total her. I WANTED Voight and Fonda to be together, too. I love them together and I couldn't stand Bob. But, per the movie, she's gonna have some serious grief.

I haven't seen too many Hal Ashby films except for this one, Being There, Bound for Glory, and
Harold and Maude. But according to the commentary for Harold and Maude, suicide turns up in a number of his films. Harold and Maude, of course, revolves around a young man who is obsessed with death and suicide and fakes several suicides as a hobby. His friend Maude plans to end her life according to her schedule, instead of waiting for death to come on its own,
perhaps to avoid a slow decline of illness, dementia and death. The original ending of the film supposedly had Harold dying in the suicidal car crash off the cliff, too. Harold frequently fantasizes about dying and how he would prefer to be dead.

The commentary mentions that the recurring themes of suicide in Ashby's films are likely the result of Ashby's father's suicide. The future director was 12 years old when this took place, and he was the one who discovered his father's body.
His perspective on suicide was probably somewhat different as a result. My guess was that maybe he saw the option of suicide as a valid option for some people;
maybe it was even desirable, if only in that the suicidal person got to choose his/her own means of death. When Billy succeeds, one of the onlookers says repeatedly, "The man went out." Meanwhile Bob is somewhat like Harold in the earlier film, as he seems to feel he doesn't belong anywhere in the world anymore. They both chose the "lucky out" instead of resigning themselves to dealing with their painful lives any longer. Maybe Ashby, as someone who was personally affected by a suicide, had moved beyond shock and anger and instead felt a certain amount of acceptance for people who took that option.


I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!

Hewwo.