I recently read the last words to Stephanie Meyer's latest book (thanks for pointing these out, Sam). No, I haven't read any of those books, so I can't really judge them based on this phrase. So if you love those books, please don't take offense; I'm not attacking the books; just the last phrase of the last book. The last phrase of Breaking Dawn reads "And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever." Okay, you have to admit that's pretty laughable. I'm not sure how that one slipped passed her editor.
This has me pondering the last phrases of many movies and books, and I realize that there are many horrible last words. Why is that? It's the readers/viewers last impression of the story. It ought to weigh more than the opening scene. I think of the last words in Spiderman 2: "Go get 'em, tiger." Seriously? Who wrote that? I laughed out loud in the theater when I saw the end of that movie. Another favorite was from King Kong. That was a long, laughable experience all the way through, but when Jack Black said stoically, "It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast," I just had to shake my head. I understand it was a shout-out to the original film, but seriously, if there's a really bad last line in the original, for heaven's sakes, cut it in the remake.
What happened to fantastic endings like "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known," from A Tale of Two Cities? It's those lines which leave you thinking about the story and feeling edified. Or this last line from the timeless King Lear: "The weight of this sad time we must obey, Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say: The oldest hath borne most; we that are young Shall never see so much, nor live so long." As far as movies, what about the awesome last line of Casablanca: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." There's a line worth remembering!
So, what really bad or really good last lines have you come across?
