Ending

I had never heard of this movie until I watched it last night and was surprised that it had received so many awards and nominations without me noticing. I, too, thought that I had missed something and luckily I have DVR so I could rewind that last few minutes and watch it several times. I think it's just left open-ended -- she's getting her act together with herself and her daughter instead of trying to latch on to a man, and Dan left them alone to do just that. Unfortunately, I've known several women who only felt validation if they were with a man, and their children suffered in the process. The only thing I felt was a little "dishonest" about the movie was how easily Mary Jo seemed to acquire things -- a little apartment, a year's lease on a house (with her kind of financial history, in "real life" in San Diego, she would have had to have put down about 6 months cash).

After seeing this great movie for a second time, I decided that Mary Jo and her daughter are gonna live one day at a time and Dan will go on a trip to have some closure about his wife and when he'll come back, he'll ask Mary Jo out and start a wonderful and healthy family with her. How's that? :)

No, I don't think so. Dan really liked Mary Jo and Ava but he understood that they needed each other more than they needed a man in their life. He accepted that and that's why he left that picture at their front door. It was a sweet ending but it was also kind of sad because you feel bad for Dan.