by Devin McCue, Sumner Newscow — I love movies. There’s nothing better than sneaking two beers into a theater and sitting still for three hours pretending I don’t need to use the restroom. I even enjoy the long ones, even though I feel like it can be shorter at times.

That’s why I get especially upset when I don’t see the movie I tuned in for.

A popular shortcut in cinema these days is starting to get out of hand. It’s an easy way to get out of writing and can make the director look “artsy” without earning it. The formula isn’t hard to follow either:

1. Cut to black right before the dramatic climax;
2. Put the name of the movie on the screen.

I think there’s a place in cinema for ambiguous endings, sure, but you don’t need to watch many movies to already know this schtick by heart. Ambiguous endings were created to serve the plot rather than trick the audience into thinking they didn’t “get it.”

Two movies, in particular, made this practice widely known.

The first was 1967’s The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman. The Graduate was a strange and off-putting movie, but the ending was brilliant. After the saga of establishing weird power dynamics, breaking up, then finally running away together, the camera lingers just a little bit too long. The couple’s smiles fade as the reality of what they’ve done sinks in.

The director, Mike Nichols, didn’t tell the actors he hadn’t cut to see what they’d do. But the effect was too good to leave out.

There were plenty of other films that had ambiguous endings, but the movie that really popularized this trend was Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Inception was a mega-hit that proved you could have a blockbuster full of explosions and guns while also telling a complicated psychological thriller. It’s one of my favorite Nolan films, and I think it does a good job of selling its central thesis to the audience:

Reality is whatever the individual makes it, even to delude themselves.

That’s why the movie’s end is improved by cutting away a half-second early. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character has a top that will never stop spinning if he’s in the dream world. When he finally gets to see his family after years away, he spins his top to make sure it’s real. But instead of waiting to see if it falls, he goes to be with his kids, and the camera cuts to black.

Leo nor we find out if the top tumbled down. It’s ambiguous but extenuates the message rather than cheats us out of the answer. Leo’s reality is that he’s with his kids; he doesn’t care if it’s real. And the message for the viewers is the same way; we will believe what we think happens because it’s our reality too.

Unfortunately, film studios with bad writers took from Inception that they could get away without writing the hard part of their movies (the thesis). Now, every fourth movie cuts to black before you find out what the hell they were building up.

Sometimes it’s to lay the ground for a sequel, mostly in comic book movies, but sometimes it’s just lazy. And the latter is on full display with Olivia Wilde’s new movie Don’t Worry Darling.

Don’t Worry Darling is in the news lately because of the turmoil surrounding the release and the actors. In some ways, that’s a blessing for the film, otherwise, the headlines would just be about how mid it is.

It’s well shot, the soundtrack slaps, and apart from Harry Styles, it’s very well acted. Unfortunately, that can’t compensate for the poor pacing and the worst twist I’ve seen recently. It also can’t make up for the ending.

Without spoiling too much, our protagonist, Florence Pugh, makes a final mad push against the forces against her. The plot is furiously trying to wrap up every character arc in the last five minutes of the movie that we barely have time to enjoy the car chase happening.

Then, just as we’re about to discover her ultimate fate…you guessed it. Cut to black, “Don’t Worry Darling” graces the screen.

I was pissed. Putting aside all the other choices Wilde made for the ultimate conflict of the film, why would she end it like that? It was her last chance to say “yes, everything that happened was wrong, and they’ll be held accountable,” or even “nothing good happens because the system is rigged.” But instead, she doesn’t get to say anything because she realized her movie was already half an hour too long and figured nobody would care about the ending anyway.

But “Don’t Worry Darling” was going to be so-so, no matter how it ended. The same cannot be said about another new movie, Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul, streaming on Peacock.

Honk for Jesus was directed by Adamma Ebo and starred in two brilliant lead performances by Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown. The story follows the p comeback of a Baptist megachurch preacher who got caught in several sex scandals.

It’s a tale as old as time in the real world, but this is the first movie I’m aware of to use it for a comedy premise. As we follow the leading couple’s attempts to re-open their church, we see all the ugliness in commodified religion.

There are the industrious, up-and-coming mega preachers down the road, the hypocritical pastor profiting on behaviors he decries on Sundays, and even the loyal flock who make excuses for overlooking the glitz and glamor. This movie is a comedy, but it has some fair critiques about megachurches as an institution.

It differs from “Don’t Worry Darling” because it’s an excellent film. That is why I was even more upset when it cut right before some of its most important messages were about to pay off. The main conflict was how Regina Hall’s character fit into this industry and worldview, which was resolved as well as you’d expect.

But the larger themes of for-profit religion, would the parishioners return if Sterling K. Brown deserved forgiveness or comeuppance? Not so much.

I still wholeheartedly recommend Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul. It’s a hilarious flick with great acting and good writing for 98% of the runtime. I just wish Adamma Ebo could hear what I’m about to tell all Hollywood movie writers:

Please, just finish your damn movie.

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