I was taken off guard the other day when during a discussion
about my favorite Oscar nominated movie this year, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, a
friend of mine commented: “It was good – up until the Pollyanna ending.” And so, Dear Reader, I just have to ask… what’s so bad about POLLYANNA? Granted, the first time I saw the 1960 Disney
classic on television with my mom, by the end, I stomped out of the room crying
that I would never trust my mother to pick out the Sunday night movie
again. It absolutely shattered me. How could a young girl, who had never been
anything but good and kind, be so unfairly rewarded for her optimism with
possible paralysis? And how could the movie
end without letting us know if she was going to be okay? “It’s not fair!” I shouted. To which I received the standard parental
platitude, “Well, honey, life’s not
fair.” My mother tried to explain to me
that the story wasn’t just about the one girl, Pollyanna, but about all of the
lives that one girl changed. “Look how much better those people’s lives are now
because of her.” But I didn’t care about
the other people. Other people didn’t
matter! Or…did they?
That question settled deep down inside, and at that moment,
something in me began to change. There
were other people in the world! Other
people with their own lives and their own hopes and their own pain. The movie wasn’t just about Pollyanna – and
maybe life wasn’t just about me. Pollyanna
helped me to see that optimism is not for the faint of heart. That goodness takes courage. She taught me that each act of kindness can envelop
pain and precipitate beauty, just as a snowflake forms around a spec of
dust. Finally, Pollyanna showed me that
it’s those “other people” who will be there to help you when life isn’t fair to
you. Which brings me back to SILVER
LININGS PLAYBOOK and the realization that my friend was right – it does have a
“POLLYANNA” ending. Sure, Jennifer
Lawrence is a much edgier version of Hayley Mills, but she shares the same
can-do attitude that transforms the lives of the “other people” she encounters
by coaxing them out of their own private hell of isolation and giving them
something to hope for…together. And that
is something both movies do well – they both show the indomitable power of
hope. As Bradley Cooper’s character Pat
says, “The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday. That's guaranteed. I
can't begin to explain that. Or the craziness inside myself and everyone else.
But guess what? Sunday's my favorite day again. I think of what everyone did
for me, and I feel like a very lucky guy.”
How very Pollyanna of him…
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