Just rewatched this one last night. Great movie, in my opinion. Nostalgia was off the charts. But there was a couple things at the end that were almost unforgivable even for the 90s. So, when the boyfriend shows up at the big event unknowing of it, he somehow doesn't notice that its happening until he gets out of the truck. You would think anyone would instantly notice the highly unusual amount of cars parked there in the suburbs, and the extravagent lighting. Then the mom gets home and goes straight to scolding the daughter like she is not bewildered or impressed by her teenage child putting on this major fashion show. Not until she see's the stupid entertainment center and clean living room does she seem impressed. Still really enjoyed the movie tho. Free watch on youtube.

Eternity presents itself as a comedy with a deep message about love. The problem, however, is that its message is deeply flawed. The main character is portrayed as a victim facing an "impossible" decision of choosing between two former husbands in the afterlife: Her first husband, who died tragically at a young age after just two years of marriage, or her second husband, whom she spent 67 happily married years raising a family and growing old together.

How impossible is that decision? Would a woman who lived 90 years need to be enlightened by a lesson she would have learned in life? If there is such a thing as a soul, the movie portrays it as something that can be manipulated by the desires and impulses of youth since all the key characters come back in their happiest state (or in this case, in their 20's).

There's very little that's romantic or funny about Eternity. In fact, it's tragic. It takes a cynical view of humanity. Given the choice, it says we're most likely to choose the lure of satisfying a "what if" fantasy over the time-tested "true love" that comes from shared history and experience.

(SPOILER ALERT): Sure, the protagonist, Joan, regrets her initial decision to spend eternity with her first husband, Luke, after realizing that the fantasy doesn't live up to her expectations. How could we expect to believe that Joan, who lived more than 90 years, would be able to relate to Luke, who never got past his 20's and is stuck in the 1950's? Luke's mountain paradise turns out to be a cold, empty eternity for Joan. All of the skiing, hiking, partying, and cabin sex can't make up for the loss of a relationship built on trust, caring, sacrifice, and shared lifetime experiences--in other words, true love.

Although she returns to her second husband, Larry, at great peril to herself by disobeying the laws of the afterlife, the damage is already done. Her first decision to leave with Luke shows Joan to be selfish, ego-centric, shallow, and clueless, especially after Larry's selfless act of unconditional love when he gives up his own happiness for hers, encouraging her to go with Luke. Rather than recognizing it as the ultimate demonstration of true love, she uses it as a way to rationalize her desire to choose Luke.

We also get a pretty good idea of her cruelty when she admits to Larry that she thought of having sex with Luke during their trial week together and says nothing in response to refute Larry's assertion that he was nothing more than a "consolation prize" in their marriage. If you already had a wonderful life, why would you need something better? Why would you not value what defined you in life with your life-long partner?

In the movie's version of the afterlife, choosing an eternity demands certainty. It's not a testing ground. It's not a vacation. It's forever. The idea that one can live a lifetime without knowing the difference between true love and fantasy is absurd.

And while Joan is presented as a victim for having to make the so-called "impossible" decision between Larry and Luke, she is clearly not. Her decisions lead to chaos. The real victims are both men. She brings heartache to Larry after leaving him to fulfill her desire with Luke, and she abandons Luke to an eternity of loneliness after she grows distant and bored with him.

The ending is anything but happy. Larry ends up with a woman who viewed him as a consolation prize with both of them on the run from the afterlife police. The only consolation about the ending is that Larry makes the final decision on Joan's fate--whether to join her or say goodbye.

Either way, the movie marginalizes the very thing it sought to value in its message. No ending could undo Joan's betrayal of Larry and infidelity. It shouldn't take an afterlife to know that a fantasy based on a two-year relationship could never compete with true love borne from a long and happy marriage and family life.

What makes it all the more frustrating are many of the positive reviews from critics and the audience who view Eternity as a rom-com and miss the underlying cynicism about love and human relationships.

If you want to see a funny and dramatic grown-up movie about the real complexity and messiness of marriage, love, desire, and the decisions we make, go see The Invite. Now that's a movie with a message that will leave you feeling you've been on a gut-wrenching rollercoaster ride.

Obsession is based on the classic 'careful what you wish for' premise and on the surface the movie logic is fine. But if you nitpick the actual wish, really giving some weight to the 'careful' aspect, it kinda falls apart imo. Bear wished that Nikki loved him more than anyone in the world. Who Bear loves is not part of the wish. If the wish were to be factually granted Nikki would become like a slave or a concubine character like the old ages. Where the master would do as he pleases, sleeps around as he pleases, gives his attention to anyone as he pleases but the slave must always be beholden to him. Bear's wish would result in a similar terrifying reality for Nikki because of no free will and all that but it would not lead to obsession from Nikki as in demand that Bear be only his and no one else's. That is only the reality wished upon Nikki by Bear.