Questions and spoilers ahead - What did the ending mean?
First of all my wife and I enjoyed this film it was lots of fun.
We think that John was on the other world at the end, or 'The other side' as Neely called it. That is probably why all the suitcases were opened when he woke up in the desert. You open your suitcase when you arrive...and all those others had arrived with him. Also, his luck changed after the incident in 'The Big Empty' (desert), he was out of debt, he got a part though not the lead, he and Grace were together and he finally saw grace as beautiful, agent Banks made up all the excuses for him to tie up loose ends and start over. Both he and agent Banks have that band-aid on the back of their necks. Grace said he had been in the desert for three days, to him it must have seemed like one night. And most of all after he kisses Grace and bowls that last frame at the end his eyes turn from brown to blue right in front of us. Graces eyes are also blue now in the bowling alley (earlier they were not blue), the same stunning shade of blue as Neely's eyes were at the beginning. John now has the #11 bowling shoes on (the cowboy wanted him to put them on) and he is at lane 11 at the alley. After the 10th frame Grace said they were starting another game. John says he had never bowled two strikes in a row before. What that all means beats me, the fun now is figuring it all out...assuming there is something to figure.
Only problem was we were left with a lot of questions TO figure out. I hope one of you has some answers.
-Neely had that neck brace on when we first meet him. Later his head is cut off...or was the brace holding it on in the first place? Or was the brace to hide something about his neck, maybe to protect it.
-Why did Neely feel he would die for raising John's fee to 27K+ instead of 25K? He even pulled on his neck brace like he knew he would lose his head for it.
-Volkswagens seemed to show up, likes John's Volkswagon bus, the junkyard full of mostly volkswagon beetles later. Maybe it represented for John getting rid of his old volkswagen (putting in in the junk yard too) and starting new.
-Was Ruthie really from the other world? Stella (Daryl Hannah) said she had been found in the desert and was adopted by her.
-The color blue played an import role, blue eyes, blue sweatsuits, Blue cases, blue blowing bowl at the end.
-References to Hawaii seemed to show up a lot too...perhaps a reference to our concept of going to 'paradise' as the cowboy described the other side. Stella's dream was to go to 'Hawaii'. The hotel was 'The Royal Hawaiian' and all that.
-What was the significance of the circle. John used a circle to represent a new head shot for himself. And the circle of suitcases in the desert. The Indian also had the paper with a circle and Johns name in the middle.
-The cowboys neck noticably changed in front of johns eyes during the circle scene. Another neck/head reference.
-The cowboys reference to his job never being done. Perhaps there were so many people in need of leaving 'the big empty' or their empty lives to start new.
-The bowling bowl going out into the desert at the end as yet another flare goes up into the sky. I guess the Cowbow was continuing his work.
-The sky drawn in the umbrella John used at the end of the film to walk out of the desert. Looked like the umbrella Ruthie used earlier in the film. Did Ruthie leave it for him.
-At the beginning Neely asks John what his shoe size is. Evidently it is size 11 since that is the size on John's bowling shoes at the end. The same size shoes that the Cowboy gave to Ruthie when John didn't want to put them on at the circle. Later he IS wearing them. Ruthie had also put on size 11, since they were the ones he turned down and the cowboy threw to her. At one point I thought that Ruthie was taking John's place amoung those leaving. She seemed happy to be getting the shoes meant evidently for John. And she even thanked him for her being there.
-Why did John and agent Banks have those bandages on their necks? Another neck reference like the neck brace on Neely and seeing the cowboys neck change in appearance.
-What was in each of the suitcases? Perhaps it was what each person needed to start life over. For John it was the money he thought he needed to begin a new life by getting out of dept.
Anyway, it was a fun movie and we enjoyed it. I hope some of you may have some thoughts on the meanings to what we listed above or on the movie as a whole. I know very well I am asking questions and have few answers.
Oh yeah, I loved that music during the end credits 'He was a honky tonk maniac from Mars' !!!! Very catchy. BTW it was also playing earlier in Grace's apartment when John stopped by to say he was going to the desert.
Mike and Elaine