20 More So-Called Happy Movie Endings That Absolutely Aren't

As a romantic comedy boasting the kind of star power given by Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal, Materialists didn't exactly set the world on fire. It told the story of a love triangle, typifying the choice between love and financial security.

Lucy (Johnson) had previously dated John (Evans), but ultimately broke up with him because he couldn't give her the financial security she deemed an essential in her romantic life. Harry (Pascal) could, but she never truly loved him; he simply ticked the boxes of someone she felt should be desirable.

The film didn't exactly reinvent the wheel with its ending, as Lucy chose the poor love interest, but would this have been as happy an ending as it appeared? Since she broke up with him due to his financial restrictions, there was nothing to suggest she ever actually let go of the value she put on her partner having money, and no matter how nice the honeymoon period, it feels as though they were bound to fall into the same situation again.

Then there is the fact that the film acted as though Harry and John were Lucy's only two choices in the world. It's perfectly reasonable for neither man to completely satisfy what the materialistic Lucy wanted in a partner, and there was no need for her to settle for someone she knew couldn't make her happy. As nice as John was, he clearly wasn't the right man for her.