Meryl's Notes Blog

Spoiler alert warning: Sweet Charity, the musical.

When was the last time a movie or book took you by surprise? Did it also do something that made you unhappy — killing off a main character? Pretty Woman originally had a different ending in which Julia Robert’s character died at the end. The test audience expressed displeasure with the ending, so the producers wrote another ending. Seriously, though… a prostitute gets the man? Oh wait. This happens in Sweet Charity, too, but she loses the man at the end.

Paul always says that No Way Out got him the most of all movies. I couldn’t believe I didn’t figure out the big surprise in The Sixth Sense. My mom figured it out without seeing the movie. The Crying Game also shocked movie goers.

I’ve previously discussed Chronicles of Narnia and its drastic and unpopular ending. What would’ve become of Gone with the Wind had Rhett and Scarlett stayed together?

The challenge for writers is to find a balance between a surprise and satisfying the audience. I’m trying to recall books that did this. Perhaps, John Grisham’s The Firm qualifies. I’m sure James Patterson, Mary Higgins Clark, Jeffrey Archer, and Patricia Cornwell surprised me (been too long for me to remember specifics). What movies or books surprised you in a good way? How about those that shocked, but disappointed you?