Each year, cute and happy romantic comedies, like Netflix's newest release Wedding Season, come out, offering audiences different takes on thrilling love stories. By traditional standards, romantic comedies tend to have a happy ending. At the very least, producers and directors want to offer an audience a bittersweet ending to their rom-coms.
While these rom-coms are some of the most beloved in the genre, many viewers are unaware that there were plans for different endings for each film. Some of these alternate endings are more shocking than others, but all of them would have changed the tone of the finale.
Pretty Woman (1990)
In this film, a young sex worker Vivian begins working for a wealthy man, only to form a strong and unexpected bond with him. Pretty Woman is considered one of the best romantic comedies of all time. The ending scene, in particular, is one of the most beloved scenes, with fans swooning when Richard Gere climbs the fire escape to win her back.
The original ending, before the movie was picked up by Disney, was much darker (via Slasher Film). Initially, the plan was to have Gere's character toss Vivian out of his car and end with her and her friend Kit heading to Disneyland with the money she earned. While some argue this ending would have been more realistic, the popularity of the film suggests Disney made the right call in changing the finale.
The Princess Diaries (2001)
The Princess Diaries is one of the most beloved teen movies of the early 2000s. In the original ending, Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) reluctantly decides to take on the title of Princess of Genovia.
The planned ending was already a happy one. However, according to Cheat Sheet, when Garry Marshall's granddaughter saw the original cut, she thought the audience should see the castle Mia would be traveling to. The director then decided to add a stock image of a European castle to add to the glam of the storyline. While both endings were happy and many fans believe that The Princess Diaries deserves a remake, they would likely want this storyline to remain the same.
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
In this iconic rom-com, Julianne has been in love with her best friend Michael for years without actively pursuing a relationship until he announces he's going to get married. After failing to sabotage Michael's wedding, Julianne's story ends with her best friend George showing up to be there for her.
This ending has satisfied most audiences. However, the original ending featured Julianne meeting a new love interest at Michael's wedding (via EW). Though she was a fun main character, her deceptive actions didn't warrant quite a happy ending. Her being happy but losing the fight to steal Michael from his bride felt like an appropriate ending to this tale.
Wall-E (2008)
Though not the most obvious of rom-coms, Wall-E features two robots that fall in love and offers a few laughs throughout the film. In this cute animated film, the humans living up in space return to Earth and are shown in the ending credits learning skills to revitalize the world.
In the original cut, the film was simply supposed to end with the remaining humans returning to earth. However, the test audience didn't believe that unhealthy, machine-reliant people could simply return to the earth and survive. Though seemingly a small change, animated films are more complicated to edit and the slight change made the ending far more believable.
Pretty In Pink (1986)
Molly Ringwald is one of the greatest '80s actresses, leading in many popular films like Pretty In Pink. Struggling between two boys she cares for, this movie ends with Andie's (Ringwald) best friend Duckie encouraging her to choose the popular kid, Blaine, over him.
The intended ending of this film actually took the plot in the completely opposite direction. Instead of ending up with the popular kid, Andie had instead chosen to be with her good friend, Duckie. The test audience hated this ending, forcing the director to change her decision. However, audiences today, who often root for the underdog, might have preferred it to this classic one.
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
Critics didn't positively review Sweet Home Alabama, but audiences loved it. In this romantic comedy, Reese Witherspoon's character unexpectedly returns to her southern roots, eventually falling back in love with her first husband. This film ends with the two kissing in the rain and then going to their wedding celebration.
This movie's alternate ending is far more shocking and crude. Alternately, the plan was to have the husband bring the wife's seemingly lifeless body to the celebration, only for her to pop up and reveal the fake death to symbolize the ending of her New York identity (via filmstories). Given that this film also had some darker undertones, this ending would have made the overall film far more somber.
Pride And Prejudice (2005)
In the final take of the Jane Austen adaptation, the couple enjoys a fun dinner with their family after Elizabeth accepts Mr. Darcy's proposal. However, this ending actually went through a couple of back-and-forth decisions.
The original test audience in the UK didn't like the fun, upbeat ending and preferred the romantic marriage proposal ending (NY Times). However, after the US version featured the cute, family-oriented ending, the UK audience demanded the finale they didn't receive. Though not a seemingly large change, the finale scene does change the tone of the film's conclusion.