I completely agree - this was way too cliche of an ending. I agree with you that Mike is an idiot because he gave up on Alex when he truly loved her.
However, more importantly, I hate this ending because of Dylan. Don't get me wrong, I loved Dylan as a character, and admire her for her views on marriage/divorce, as well as recognizing that a marriage (or any relationship, for that matter) takes work, no matter how perfect you are for each other. That being said, I think she made the wrong choice taking him back, regardless of her feelings for him. Even though (I assume) she said she "forgave" him for the choices he made being with Alex, in real life, I don't think this would have been enough. Mike was her knight in shining armor - he gained the trust of her family, converted to Judaism, and proved that he was worthy of her. Because of this, I think it would be even more difficult for her to genuinely "forgive" Mike, because he fell so short of the expectations he set himself up at. Even though the movie ended at the divorce ceremony, I don't think it's realistic to believe that Dylan would have absolutely no resentment towards Mike because his actions, no doubt, broke her trust.
Furthermore, it seemed clear that Mike had feelings for both Dylan and Alex throughout, and him picking one of those women to spend the rest of his life with seemed like an extremely tumultuous decision. In other words, just because he says he chooses Dylan (and maybe, at the time, really believes) doesn't mean that his feelings for Alex will disintegrate. I feel like a year or two down the road, these unresolved feelings for her will inevitably come back up, especially after the "Honeymoon" phase of their marriage (aka when he has the child and his new "norm" is changed"). And for that matter, if he so easily can fall in love with a woman while married to another, even if it was his "high school sweetheart" or whatever, I can't see him not faltering again.
reply
share