There are plenty of comedies that make you laugh and dramas that make you cry, but sometimes, a movie with a little bit of both is what you need. Films that balance the happiness and sadness of their stories, culminating in uplifting but melancholic conclusions, stay with the audience for a long time. Classics like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind are well known for their bittersweet tone and philosophical storytelling. Whether they’re more fantastical, like Eternal Sunshine, or grounded in reality, all of these projects hit home.
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These films don’t have the best feel-good endings of movies, as they’re still tinged by the loss and drama of the over-arching plot, but they’re still happy in the end. Even if the characters don’t get what they want by the story’s conclusion, they get what they need and learn a lot about themselves along the way. All the characters in these films take risks and put their hearts on the line in the pursuit of joy and self-actualization, and it inspires the viewer to take a chance and risk being hurt to find that same contentment.
You are watching: 10 Fantastic Movies With Bittersweet & Uplifting Endings
10
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
Directed by Michel Gondry
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
R
Romance
Sci-Fi
Drama
9/10
8/10
Release Date
March 19, 2004
Runtime
108 minutes
Cast
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-
Kate Winslet
-
Jim Carrey
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Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey are at their best as Clementine and Joel, a pair of lovers who split up and decide to have their memories of each other erased. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the perfect blend of sci-fi, comedy, romance, and drama, taking the audience on an unforgettable emotional journey. As the story progresses, Joel realizes that he doesn’t want the happiness he shared with Clementine to be erased, even if that means holding onto the moments that hurt him.
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind reminds us that there can be no love and connection without loss and heartbreak and that the fear of sadness shouldn’t prevent us from finding love. In the end, Joel and Clementine find each other again, only to discover the truth of their previous relationship. However, the fact that they decide to be together, despite the risk, is a testament to the power of love and hope in romance and life.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) |
92% |
94% |
9
Big Fish (2003)
Directed by Tim Burton
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Big Fish
PG-13
Adventure
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Documentary
Drama
Fantasy
Release Date
December 25, 2003
Runtime
125 minutes
Cast
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Ewan McGregor
Ed Bloom (senior)
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Albert Finney
Ed Bloom (young)
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Billy Crudup
Will Bloom
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Jessica Lange
Sandra Bloom (senior)
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Tim Burton’s classic fantastical style and tone lend themselves perfectly to the story of Big Fish. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, Big Fish is about the relationship between a father and son and the different ways they approach their lives. Ewan McGregor plays the young Edward, the father to Will (Billy Crudup), who struggles to accept his father’s outlandish stories and attention-seeking behavior. The father and son reconnect when Edward is dying, prompting Will to reevaluate their dynamic.
It’s easy to understand why Will is frustrated with Edward, but he eventually comes to realize that Edward’s over-the-top tall tales were a way for him to make life more magical for everyone. The film ends with Edward’s death, and Will finally accepts his role in the narrative and his decision to keep Edward’s stories alive. Though we know that Edward is dying, and it’s the only way for Will to come to terms with their relationship, it still hits home when he passes.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Big Fish (2004) |
76% |
89% |
8
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Directed by Valerie Faris & Jonathan Dayton
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Little Miss Sunshine
R
Adventure
Comedy
Drama
9/10
Release Date
July 26, 2006
Runtime
101 minutes
Cast
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Abigail Breslin
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Greg Kinnear
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In one of the best serious movie performances by a comedy actor, Steve Carell shines in Little Miss Sunshine. However, his character, Frank, is far from the only person with a lot of growing to do throughout Little Miss Sunshine. His dysfunctional family sets off across the country to bring the young Olive (Abigail Breslin) to a children’s beauty pageant. As the road trip devolves and all the characters’ worst fears and traits are brought to the surface, Little Miss Sunshine mines both comedy and tragedy from these moments.
The tragi-comedy tone of Little Miss Sunshine isn’t easy to pull off, but the film finds moments of pure joy and freedom immediately after grief.
After facing loss, humiliation, and the death of their dreams, the family comes together to support Olive in her performance at the pageant. Through their experience, the characters have learned not to care so much about what other people think and their expectations, staying true to themselves instead. The tragi-comedy tone of Little Miss Sunshine isn’t easy to pull off, but the film finds moments of pure joy and freedom immediately after grief.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) |
91% |
91% |
7
Secondhand Lions (2003)
Directed by Tim McCanlies
Secondhand Lions
PG
Comedy
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Documentary
Drama
Family
Release Date
September 19, 2003
Runtime
111 minutes
Cast
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Michael Caine
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Robert Duvall
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Haley Joel Osment
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Kyra Sedgwick
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The joys of youth and growing older are at the forefront of Secondhand Lions, which stars a young Haley Joel Osment, Robert Duvall, and Michael Caine. Osment plays the young nephew, Walter, of Hub (Duvall) and Garth (Caine), two cantankerous old men who keep the world out now that the adventures of their youth have come to an end. However, the trio soon form a bond, and the men realize how much they’ve grown to care for Walter as they share the stories of their lives.
While the exciting yarns Hub and Garth spin are lighthearted, Secondhand Lions deals with the fact that Walter’s mother is absent and eventually with the men’s deaths. Walter mourns their loss, but he’s satisfied by the knowledge that they had full lives up through their final moments. In turn, Walter has learned to live himself, providing a heart-warming end to a tale full of magical realism, loss, and unforgettable exploits.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Secondhand Lions (2003) |
61% |
84% |
6
La La Land (2016)
Directed by Damien Chazelle
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La La Land
PG-13
Drama
Musical
Comedy
9/10
8.6/10
Release Date
December 9, 2016
Runtime
128 Minutes
Cast
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Hemky Madera
-
meagen fay
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Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling have fantastic chemistry in all of their collaborations, but La La Land might be the culmination of all of their work. An exploration of love, ambition, and the sacrifices we make for our dreams, La La Land sees Mia (Stone) and Sebastian (Gosling) fall head-over-heels for each other and struggle to balance their relationship with their big aspirations. When they realize they have to go their separate ways, it’s painful but necessary.
Of course, we want to see Sebastian and Mia together at the end of La La Land, but they could never have achieved their dreams this way.
Of course, we want to see Sebastian and Mia together at the end of La La Land, but they could never have achieved their dreams this way. When they briefly reconnect as older and wiser people, they can acknowledge the importance of their relationship and that it changed them forever but that it isn’t what they need anymore. There’s still plenty of love and appreciation between them, but they’re happy with the lives they’ve found separately.
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TItle |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
La La Land (2016) |
91% |
82% |
5
Lars And The Real Girl (2007)
Directed by Craig Gillespie
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Lars and the Real Girl
PG-13
Comedy
Drama
Romance
10/10
Release Date
October 12, 2007
Runtime
106 minutes
Cast
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Ryan Gosling
Lars Lindstrom
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Emily Mortimer
Karin
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One of Ryan Gosling’s best movies is also one of his most underrated. Lars and the Real Girl showcases that despite his good looks, Gosling is at his best as an offbeat character actor. Gosling’s character, Lars, struggles with isolation and social awkwardness, resulting in a relationship with a life-size doll he treats as real and calls Bianca. The way his family and small town rally around Lars and help him grieve her loss when Lars is ready to move on from their relationship demonstrates the tone and heart of the film.
Though Bianca’s “death” is sad and Lars mourns her, it’s a sign that he’s ready to accept real life and test out his ability to connect with others. The premise of Lars and the Real Girl is a little out there, but it develops into a heartfelt and human story about Lars and the universal fear of loss and rejection in relationships. Lars’s problems aren’t all solved, and the past hasn’t changed, but he takes his first steps toward the happiness and connection he’s been denied.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) |
81% |
84% |
4
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
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Cinema Paradiso
PG
Drama
Romance
Release Date
February 23, 1990
Runtime
174 Minutes
Cast
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-
Philippe Noiret
Alfredo
-
Enzo Cannavale
Spaccafico
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Antonella Attili
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Maria Di Vita – Younger
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Isa Danieli
Anna
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A romantic and sentimental film, Cinema Paradiso is for movie lovers. Following the story of Salvatore, a boy growing up in Sicily who eventually becomes a prominent director, Cinema Paradiso is about the pain and beauty of leaving behind the place you once called home. However, Salvatore’s upbringing and life in Sicily remain with him throughout his life, and his relationship with Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) defines him. It’s Alfredo who begs Salvatore to leave, and it’s his death that ultimately brings him back.
This montage of famous kiss scenes in cinema reminds Salvatore why he fell in love with movies and sparks a passion that he hasn’t felt in years.
The final moments of Cinema Paradiso are some of the most beautiful and satisfying in film history. The adult Salvatore (Jacques Perrin) comes back to the movie theater of his childhood and discovers that Alfredo saved all the kiss scenes in movies that he once had to cut due to censorship by the church. This montage of famous kiss scenes in cinema reminds Salvatore why he fell in love with movies and sparks a passion that he hasn’t felt in years.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
Cinema Paradiso (1988) |
91% |
96% |
3
The Farewell (2019)
Directed by Lulu Wang
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The Farewell
PG
Comedy
9/10
9/10
Release Date
July 12, 2019
Runtime
98 minutes
Cast
See All
-
X Mayo
-
Gil Perez-Abraham
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Awkwafina leads the cast of Lulu Wang’s The Farewell as Billi, a young woman who struggles over whether or not to keep her grandmother’s illness a secret. The Farewell touches upon the cultural differences between the U.S. and China, as Billi’s family expresses that keeping Nai Nai’s (Zhao Shu-zhen) disease a secret is for the best. Up until the final moments of the film, Billi is unsure what the right thing to do is and questions if she’s being fueled by selfishness.
It’s a complex issue, and when Billi decides not to tell Nai Nai the truth, it’s an intense moment that’s colored by the genuine love and advice that Nai Nai imparts to her. Though Billi has to keep living with the knowledge that she’s going to lose her grandmother, she’s brought closer to her through this burden and understands the value of life more clearly. As she leaves to return to New York City from Changchun, Billi’s experience has affirmed and healed her, even if it was painful.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
The Farewell (2019) |
97% |
87% |
2
The Apartment (1960)
Directed by Billy Wilder
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The Apartment
Approved
Comedy
Drama
Romance
10/10
Release Date
June 15, 1960
Runtime
125 minutes
Cast
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-
Jack Lemmon
-
Shirley MacLaine
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One of Billy Wilder’s best movies, The Apartment, has stood the test of time for a reason, with contemporary themes that translate to the modern age. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine play the movie’s protagonists. They bring not only strong romantic and comedic chemistry but also the sensitivity and depth necessary to their characters. It’s MacLaine’s Fran who goes through the most in The Apartment, as the movie frankly touches upon her struggles with depression, which was significant in the 1960s.
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It can be difficult to see Fran pushed to her breaking point and witness the terrible way the men in the film treat the young women they have affairs with. Though The Apartment lightens the mood with plenty of comedy and moments of levity, there’s a dark undercurrent throughout the story. However, The Apartment slowly builds to a happy ending for both Fran and Bud (Lemmon), which is well-deserved. Seeing them end up together is even more satisfying because of the good man Bud has become throughout the film.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
The Apartment (1960) |
93% |
94% |
1
The Last Black Man In San Francisco (2019)
Directed by Joe Talbot
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
R
Drama
Release Date
June 7, 2019
Runtime
121 minutes
Cast
See All
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Jonathan Majors
Montgomery Allen
-
Jimmie Fails
Jimmie Fails
-
Rob Morgan
James Sr.
-
Tichina Arnold
Wanda Fails
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When a movie centers on the legacy and history of a particular city, it’s easy to call the film a “love letter” to that place. While this moniker has become a little cliche, there aren’t many other ways to classify The Last Black Man in San Francisco other than a love letter. Starring Jimmie Fails as a fictionalized version of himself, The Last Black Man in San Francisco grapples with the changes the city has gone through due to gentrification and the passage of time.
The San Francisco Jimmie is searching for is almost gone, though pieces of it remain; time is moving too fast for Jimmie to hold it together. On one hand, it’s sad when Jimmie decides to move on and leave San Francisco behind, but it’s also freeing and joyful. The important parts of the city, his loved ones, will be there, but Jimmie needs to find himself somewhere else and find a corner of the world to make his own. There’s an inherent sadness in leaving home, but it’s also exciting and full of possibilities.
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Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
|
The Last Black Man In San Francisco (2019) |
93% |
84% |
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Category: Entertainment