Happily Ever After

Last night we watched the movie Enchanted, which in the end is a story about the conflict between dreams and reality. It's the naive, boundless optimism of the Giselle and Prince Edward versus the realism (which is code for bitter pessimism) of Robert (Patrick Dempsey), his girlfriend Nancy and Queen Narissa (Sigourney Weaver). The former are as they are because they have no room for - or concept of - anything negative in their lives, the latter because they have tasted the immense bitterness of life and have let it squelch their views of happiness (not to the same degree, mind you).

So, which one wins? Well, except in the case of Queen Narissa - who turns into a dragon, plummets to her death from a sky scraper and splats into a mass of glitter - both do. Less so in the case of Prince Edward and Nancy, who go back to cartoon-land and have their happily ever after. It's amazing how quickly Edward got over Giselle, by the way, which leaves me wondering how happy he can really be because of how little pain he feels. However, Nancy, the hopeless romantic, got what she wanted in a fairy tale ending. I wonder what the day after "happily ever after" will hold for her.

The real winners in my eyes were Robert and Giselle, and Robert's sweet little daughter. He was rescued from the bitter departure of his ex-wife and the stifling of his emotions that followed that loss. Giselle was saved from a life of ignorance. She didn't realize how wonderfully deep, rich, and meaningful life could be until she was faced with sacrifice and the feeling of loss. But after "true love's kiss" and a little scuffle with a dragon, Robert got back the dreams he lost and Giselle found the reality she never knew existed.

I'm thankful tonight for life and the knowledge that it can go on "happily ever after."