1. The Best Friend Is Josh Duhamel's Dead Wife - Safe Haven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj6i_Z1Srsw And alas, we end with a brand new film that's been amusing the Internet for the last few weeks. I saw Safe Haven at a press screening back in January, and to have to stick to my embargo for over a month was mortifying given that I was bursting at the seams wanting to talk about its ludicrous, laughable plot twist. Basically, the film is mostly a standard fare adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel; two starcrossed lovers fall for each other, though the key aspect in this film is the appearance of Cobie Smulders as the protagonist's friend, Jo. Her screen time is suspiciously limited to a glorified cameo, popping up every so often to offer Julianne Hough relationship advice about a potential romance with Josh Duhamel's character who, by the way, is a widower. In the final three minutes of the film, an out-of-nowhere twist knocks the viewers for six, revealing that Jo is in fact Duhamel's dead ex-wife, a ghost who has been nudging Hough's character in the right direction for the entire movie. Hough promises to love Duhamel and his kids forever more, and Jo suddenly evaporates into the ether, her business on Earth apparently finished. What. Just. Happened? At the press screening, it was quite a surreal experience indeed; nervous laughter began to spread throughout the screening room like a plague, infecting just about everyone. We couldn't quite believe what we were seeing, and sure enough, when the curtain raised on the press embargo, the film was widely lambasted for its loony last-minute plot twist. If you were determined to go that route, how about massaging it more neatly into the script rather than introducing it at the last possible moment for pure shock value? Ludicrous. What's your least favourite plot twist of all time? Let us know in the comments below.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
See more from
Shaun