One of the worst endings in film

Rating: 5/10 (25 October 2005)

I'm sorry to fans of this movie, but I, like many critics, was sorely disappointed with the final product. Given the renowned talents of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, this should have been a big hit and a smart film. Unfortunately for the audience, it is neither.
The premise is striking, if seemingly implausible: A foreigner who lost his passport literally becomes trapped in an American airport. The set design is fantastic, as each room is instilled with its own unique feel, so that the audience, like Tom Hanks's central character, can begin to identify with the airport as his new (if hopefully temporary) "home." In addition, the character development is strong, and Hanks, who has previously proved he can pull off just about anything on screen, is delightfully colorful and out of character. There are a few good supporting turns, and, at worst, the movie always maintains a hint of the discovery potential in the airport, a simultaneously inviting and intimidating barrier to a new world.
However, the film suffers from a plodding pace and a lack of unity that can bring together the several pleasant but meaningless subplots. The script tries not to be cursory in its character development, but its touches are never quite successful in engaging the audience's interest as well as their sympathy. Particularly, Catherine Zeta-Jones is, as always, an energetic star, but here she is relegated to essentially a supporting role and should have entered the storyline sooner and stayed with it longer. Even her general enthusiasm can't make up for the slower scenes, and Zeta-Jones, though on par with an old-school glamor/movie icon in everything that she does, frankly seems a little miscast here as the wronged wife to be pitied. Her chemistry with Hanks isn't strong enough, either.
But the most appalling aspect of this otherwise skillfully made movie was its throwaway finale, perhaps the WORST film ending I have seen (at least since "The Stepford Wives"). It's not a totally implausible ending, as in that aforementioned movie, but it's just as distasteful and disappointing. Hanks, after being green-lit to finally go home to his war-ridden country, decides to venture out into New York City to get the autograph of his dead father's favorite jazz legend (forgive me, I'm hazy on the details, but it's not like this ploy makes the dramatic tension of the rest of the movie seem worthwhile anyway, nor does it do much for character development). Catherine Zeta-Jones, who, when we last saw her, apparently feigned complacency with her boyfriend so as not to prevent Hanks from flying home as soon as possible, doesn't even return in the final scene! WHAT A COPOUT!!! Give the audience what they want! Granted, a perfect Hollywood ending might've seemed a little too predictable, even for Spielberg, but this film was billed as a light romantic comedy (released in the summer, for Pete's sake!), and it is neither very funny nor ever moving enough to qualify as pure drama. There is nothing worse in a borderline movie than a bad ending that lasts longest in the audience's collective memory. This production is at times enjoyable and never offensive, but its wrap-up is a complete washout that the filmmakers never should have approved.