MovieChat Forums > Crazy Heart (2010) Discussion > Aren't MEN bothered by these kind of wom...

Aren't MEN bothered by these kind of women?


So, this chick that dumps a guy (and for good reason), tells him to hit the road and he cannot see her boy ever again..."if you love us you will leave." A short time later, she has the unmitigated arrogance to walk up to him, out of the blue, and is looking for a story a year later? Folks, just a year before, she stuck a knife right into his heart, turned around, and locked him out of her life.

All she wants from him is to use him for a story, to further her career, to get more money...so, she puts on the cutsey, I am just an innocent little girl face on and walks up to him...for what reasons one must ask? To show off her engagement ring? To "get the story," which is nothing more than a selfish and self centered reason. That bothers me. That a woman can give him the boot (again, for good reason), but then thinks she has the "right" to ask him for a story, that all is forgiven as long as she puts on a cute smile? To forget about that knife still sticking out of his chest? She refued to forgive him/give him a 2nd chance & gave him the boot. Why should he give her a 2nd chance? Especially knowing her only reason for being there is to use him. Absurd.

Fair is fair, I would have reminded her of HER words, "If you love me, you will leave now." At the very least...she should have started with some sort of an apology, but Nooooooo, she starts right in with her selfish... I need a story reasons. The real Bad (and a good writer) would have wished her and Buddy well and been on his way. Or better yet, his new lady would walk up to him, give him a kiss and off they go. He owes her nothing, but reminding her of her choice, just a year ago. Bad does have a Crazy Heart for giving in like that.

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I guess what you could say is that he is a very forgiving person all most to the point were it is absurd to a lot of people. I once was insulted by someone at work when I was hanging out with them but they were drunk. So I forgave them and now we are good friends.

Always remember actions speak louder than empty words

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I think this poster is a misogynist.

Best Supporting Actress:
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

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I highly doubt that davidpitt9 unless you were trying to be funny.
Always remember actions speak louder than empty words

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What I didn't understand is, why on earth did he hand over all that money to someone he only had a relationship with for a few months? He's older, and will probably need the cash a lot more than her son in the future, A bit idiotic, if you ask me..

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[deleted]


It was merely one royalty check among many that were now building up his annuity.

--------------------
"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

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Because he loved her and the son. Doesn't matter how long they were involved, you either love someone or you don't. He could do something for the son, unlike for his own son, who shut him out. (Note that her son and his son were both 4 when they were in touch.)

As noted, he was getting steady royalty checks, this was just one of them. And at that age, it probably felt a lot better to give that to the woman he loved, and her son, than to just spend it on stuff. Nothing feels better to a man than to support the people he loves, that's the primary reason they work, beyond simple survival.

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Not For the Woman; she supposed to give to kid when he turns 18!

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I think the ending was just to show two adult people moving on from their relationship and being grown up about it.

I also think some people are being a bit harsh on her character. She was in love with him and like she said that is why she took the risks even though deep down she thought better of it. She couldn't trust him or herself again and so had no alternative but to end it, because her son meant more to her than anyone else.

Also, if that had happened in real-life and she stayed with him, how many people would then condemn her for putting a guy like that before her own son?

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And more important, why didn’t he sign the check first?

One little detail movies don’t deal well with ... is details.

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I think you're forgetting some important elements:

1. He lost her kid and broke his promise to her that he wouldn't drink in front of him.

2. He loved her. He would have been dead if it were not for her... he basically quits drinking (not sure on the smoking).. which would have killed him. Don't forget the scene where he almost killed himself from the driving accident, as well as, him vomiting all the time.

3. He went back after he sobered up and asked if she could ever forgive him. What reason could she, she said to him the most important thing to her is her child when they first met.

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I am guessing that no one posting here has read the book. The ending of film has bit of Hollywood to it, with her approaching him at the end for an interview. In my opinion this scene is purely there to show you he has fully recovered (stayed sober) and she has moved on (engagement ring)and of course that there are no hard feelings between them.

*** Book Spolier***

However in the book (which to be fair the film is pretty true too) there is a different ending. Bad does get sober as a result of losing the boy (but with other factors involved too - he visits his son in the book and is rejected). However, once sober he becomes overly confident in his own ability to stay sober and starts not taking the medication which stops him from drinking while admitting that he fancies a drink. He doesn't go back to Jean's house he only phones but basically gets the same response and these factors combined with his AA sponsor (who is not his long term friend the bar manager in the book) trying to get him into Jesus leads him back to the bottle. The book ends with Bad on a cross country bender with a drunk women. His car breaks down on a dirt road in heavy rain. The woman is passed out so he goes to get help (taking the bottle with him) he slips in the mud and falls down an embankment into an muddy pool. Unable to get up as his ankle is still weak him he lies there with his bottle. I liked this ending better as it is left open. Does he die there? (no one knows exactly where he is); Does he get found and if so can he sober up? Is he destined to spend the rest of his days a drunk?

So bascially the women she is made out to be in the film is only for the film. In the book she tells him she cannot have him in her (or Buddy's life) and there is no further contact. It is sad that Hollywood feels the need to stick happy endings onto the ends of films. I was actually convinced that this has lessened in recent years but maybe not.

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i dunno if i was bad i would feel kinda teased actually. I mean she comes back flashes a ring in the face of the man she hurt then they act like everything is fine? id be pretty depressed.

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Nah. It showed just what kind of a b^tch he missed out on. He should consider himself lucky.




"Fail" is not a noun. It's a verb

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However in the book (which to be fair the film is pretty true too) there is a different ending.

Thank you for writing that, I would've never known otherwise. I would've loved to see that as at least an alternate ending.

The real trick to life is not to be in the know, but to be in the mystery. -Fred Alan Wolf

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It´s on the DVD, among the deleted scenes.

"Be it a grain of sand or rock, in water they sink as the same."

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I wouldn't exactly call this a happy ending. He still doesn't get the girl. And nothing wrong with happy endings -- they inspire people, while sad endings do not. One reason America is generally successful, and Europe is a cesspool.

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[deleted]

And your point? so he should have gave her his check?? I don't think so at all, but he was an incredible guy with a "crazy heart!" So, she's the one who lost out in the end.

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draftzero, EXACTLY! BUT!!! that still did not give her the right to show up 16 months later now did it??!! NO.

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Here's what I'm bothered by. Here you have an attractive, smart (supposedly) single mom who seems to kinda have her act together. She interviews a broke, chain smoking alcoholic washed up has been who's old enough to be her father, and who drives an old piece of crap suburban to his gigs at bars and bowling alleys, then decides it's a good thing to jump in the sack with this guy who probably stinks like hell besides. Then, knowing he's a drunken alky, lets him take her 4 y.o. son on little excursions to the playground and the mall, knowing he'll be driving drunk to and from these places. Then, she's astonished when he loses track of the kid! Can you say Negligent Mother of the Year candidate??
Why would we be surprised that she shows up to see him at the end of the movie? A woman of this caliber would show up under the ruse of an interview to simply show off her wedding ring, and remind him of how unfortunate he is to have lost her (maybe to some other chain smoking alcoholic washed up has been).
I liked the movie in many ways. I was glad to see it had a "good" ending, instead of a "happy" one. But this woman had no business being part of this story.

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Bingo! The Jean character was ridiculous and very unbelieveable, for all the reasons you've already stated. She is more to blame than Bad for her son getting lost. Shame on her for leaving him with Bad. What happened was inevitable.

On the other hand, having never before been too attracted to MG, I will say she looked hotter than usual in this film.

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I agree and I was so mad and wanted to slap her down!! LOL, but then the more I thought about it it just showed what a wonderful guy he really was. Then her stupid ring, what a B!! You know that had to hurt cause He was so happy to see her I thought she was so there to forgive and forget, well in my opinion it was so her loss.

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I think that you have all missed the point and so many other things that go on in the mind and emotions of people. Jean was attracted to the wrong kind of guy by her own admission in the beginning. She hooks up with Bad despite her own gut telling her not to. This happens all the time. Why? Many reasons but that would take a whole text book to describe. Bad is looking for connection and something good in life. That is what Jean and Buddy give him. He messes up big time, as most alcoholic/addicts do at some point. This becomes his wake up call. He has hit bottom and seeks help. Going back to Jean to apologize is part of his AA program but I think he also wanted to reconnect and really seek forgiveness. She wasn't ready at that time to let him back into her and Buddy's life. Too painful for her and too risky. She needed to "grow up" and separate emotionally from him. When she goes to the concert, 16 months after he asks her forgiveness, she is there on business and also takes the opportunity to make a connection with Bad. There was nothing to indicate to me that she had really any initial intention other than to show that she forgave him. She offered to let him see Buddy, which Bad declined in a mature decision not to make it hard on the boy who would likely be confused, maybe angry, maybe want to stay around which wasn't going to be possible. He gave her the check probably to make up for the hurt and/or because he wasn't there for his own son. He didn't need it. He was getting regular royalty checks for songs he wrote since he got his life together. Jean did not shove the ring in Bad's face. She was simply wearing it and he saw it. She has moved on in her life as well. She asked him for an interview, which seems to me to be a "let's start over", and instead of going into the trailer Bad says they should go sit outside. They were both able to accept each other for what they were and be friends. Sometimes that happens with people. Very little in life is simple, cut and dry. People are complicated. This movie portrays two people who met, separated, changed, and reconnected while they were moving forward in their own lives.

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I guess, you do have some good points here.BUT i still think it was wrong of her to go knowing it would crush him again, and "Oh he is a great guy speech." She knew when she put her hand out to his the ring would hurt him. Also just to get an interview, I just don't know if it was right of her, knowing pretty much that he still wanted to be with her. That really was the point when he went to her, yes to apologize, but obviously to begin there relationship again, after he went and did rehab, (which he did not try to re connect before doing so.) I think "real love" would have gave him another chance anyway, so it's just hard for me to agree

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Huh! what do you know. I just watched Crazy Heart for the second time tonight, after seeing it for the first time last night. I think all the reading I did on this site last night made me want to watch it again. So, in saying that,I must confess I have changed my mind a lot. First of all I think Jean was acted out so much better than I thought after my first viewing. Maggie did an excellent job, last night I could not say I felt that way at all. I hit rewind and watched the ending twice. I don't feel she came to flaunt her ring at all, last night I did. I also understand she wanted an interview, and truly I think she did want to see him, (but she was strictly there on business) I think in her mind enough time had gone by and she had healed from the hurt of their relationship. I also feel she had forgiven herself by now for letting Bad watch him knowing of his drinking. I kind of realize now why she could not take him back when he came to her door. She could not live with what she had done, and seeing and being with Bad just reminded her of putting her son in danger. So I have a completely new take on this the second time around. The check, well that was just ridiculous how some had debated whether she took it or not, that was so clear that she did, only because he insisted though. Another thing i realized was she was not already married to the new guy, just engaged. So we never know what that interview may have brought about. She could have changed he mind and called the engagement off, we don't know!(wishful thinking on my part, but hey, we just don't know, but one things for sure, she did not have a wedding ring on at this point) I also realized that she sincerely cared for Bad, she really did, and she wanted a life with him. So, I guess you never know what a re-watch can do, I am so glad I did, and I loved it even more the second time.

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I concur with oldyfan. Just finished watching CH and came away with a subdued good feeling...something like that. I don't think she "needed" the interview for her job. That was her way of saying she more or less forgave him. She didn't "wave the ring under his nose" but neither did she hide it. He had his life together and could see she was doing ok. At least that's how I read the ending.

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Great reply! Reading the OP made me a bit sad about his narrow and materialistic view. That mindset is all about optimizing everything for maximum gain and profit for yourself. But that is not what life is about for many people, certainly not for crazy hearts. Maybe OP is a bit young and we all have to figure it out for ourselves.

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You would be right if the guy was right, but he lost her child because he was drunk, he neglected his 18 years old son for 25 year, she already had bad experiences with men like him and she decided to split, in a friendly way. It might hurt but sometimes it's necessary for both parts.

Juliet Parrish: You can't win a war if you're extinct!

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The whole thing makes me feel unease. I dont like her but what was he really expecting? He's an old bag of bones. he never wouldve met her if he didnt have money and he should look for women he's own age. In a way he had it coming.

But don't change a hair for me
Not if you care for me

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The truth is, if you want a man to be smitten with you, treat him like crap.
They seem to adore that.



This is not a signature

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sailinanalong1, you totally nailed it! my thoughts exactly!

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I thought she was asking about the interview to go back to Square One and show forgiveness

that didn't bother me

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