# Needed: Books or dvds with happy endings that aren't love stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498 "2009-01-29T03:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/21 "2009-01-29T22:21:52Z")
When I can’t handle heavy or romantic stuff, I like to read Peter Mayle’s books on Provence: _A Year In Provence Encore Provence Toujours Provence_ They’re lighthearted, sunshiney, humorous reading. Of course, you’ll want to book a flight to France afterwards, but hey. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/22 "2009-01-29T22:37:48Z")
Any W.C. Fields or Mr. Bean. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/23 "2009-01-29T22:43:52Z")
**jsgoddess** , have you read any of the Hillerman books? _Listening Woman_ or _Thief of Time_ would be a good ones. The #1 Ladies Detective books are even lighter and more affirmative. There is a romance subplot, but it’s secondary and not at all explicit. I second the Carl Hiaasen recommendation. They’re funny, fast paced and kind of warped – books you can pop like m&ms. Finally, _E: A Novel_, by Matthew Beaumont is a book written entirely in emails that fly back and forth between various characters in an ad agency. It’s a two sitting read and very funny. (You’ve probably already read all these, though.) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/24 "2009-01-30T00:13:14Z")
Oh, I’ve always meant to read the Peter Mayle books! These suggestions all look like very good bets. Thank you all. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/25 "2009-01-30T00:27:09Z")
Laurie Notaro is a hilarious writer. She’s the female & straight version of David Sedaris. Well, she’s not _quite_ that good but I’m biased because I just adore him. She makes some really funny observations. Movies: [ul] [li]If you’re looking for silly and girlie _Legally Blonde_ and_Clueless_ are fun, and the relationships in them aren’t really serious or the bigger part of the stories[/li][li]_The Birdcage_ always cheers me up when I watch it[/li][li]It’s kind of old but _Baby Boom_ with Diane Keaton is a sweet movie. The relationship is between her and a baby.[/li][/ul] If you’re into standup comedy, YouTube has a metric crap-ton of clips ranging from 3 or 4 minutes at a time up to 30ish minutes. Hang in there, we’re thinking about you. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/26 "2009-01-30T00:40:47Z")
[Portuguese Irregular Verbs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Irregular_Verbs), by Alexander McCall Smith. Very light-hearted, and I can’t remember any significant romance in it, except for the Romance languages. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/27 "2009-01-30T01:22:32Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Thanks. I’ve seen most of the movie suggestions, but I can watch them again. > > I’m not sure that a love story would even bother me, but why chance it, huh? When my uncle died, a few weeks later my cousin tried to get her out of the house, so she took her to see _Brokeback Mountain_. This is NOT a recommended course of action. How about _Galaxy Quest_? Hilarious, and I don’t remember a love story. Or the various seasons of _Blackadder_ that aren’t the fourth one. For books, how about something that has nothing to do with relationships at all? I just finished Bill Bryson’s book on Australia, _In a Sunburned Country_, and it was very funny and interesting. In addition to the Sherlock Holmes stories mentioned above, the Jeremy Brett productions are awesome and available on DVD. Jeremy Brett is _awesome_. I mean, unless the obvious sexual tension between Holmes and Watson would bother you. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/28 "2009-01-30T01:25:10Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > When my uncle died, a few weeks later my cousin tried to get her out of the house, so she took her to see _Brokeback Mountain_. This is NOT a recommended course of action. Steve watched Brokeback Mountain one day, came to me and said it was so terribly sad and then said the next movie he was going to watch was Million Dollar Baby. “Maybe that’ll be more cheerful.” I had to laugh when he came back after watching that one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tenar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@Tenar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/29 "2009-01-30T02:52:03Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > How about _Galaxy Quest_? Hilarious, and I don’t remember a love story. Or the various seasons of _Blackadder_ that aren’t the fourth one. It just doesn’t get funnier than _Blackadder_ in my book, but as I recall, the end of the last episode of each season tended to be just a _wee_ bit of a downer, really… I’m pretty sure that they each ended with the Blackadder getting slaughtered. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/30 "2009-01-30T03:41:57Z")
Yeah, but none of them are _sad_ until the last one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/31 "2009-01-30T03:53:13Z")
\*\*The Shawshank Redemption \*\* (dammit – I missed that Auntie Pam already listed this! \*\* Around the World in 80 Days\*\* (the Michael Todd version) \*\*Star Trek IV The Lord of the Rings The Flight of the Phoenix\*\* (the original, with Jimmy Stewart) I’d like to add **Charade** , which is primarily a mystery/comedy with a love story, and **Creator** , which is science fiction with a love story, since they’re not primarily romances, even though they’re partly love stories. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/32 "2009-01-30T03:57:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Charade** , which is primarily a mystery/comedy with a love story, and That’s one of my favorite movies. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/33 "2009-01-30T03:58:48Z")
How about Clue? oh, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/34 "2009-01-30T04:04:16Z")
How about [Secondhand Lions](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327137/)? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/35 "2009-01-30T04:20:21Z")
Oh, yeah, and Gerald Durrell’s _My Family And Other Animals_ is funny (actually hysterical in a couple of places), and there’s no love story involved - unless you count a love of animals and Greece. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/36 "2009-01-30T04:47:25Z")
_Blazing Saddles_ ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/37 "2009-01-30T05:11:13Z")
_Cold Comfort Farm_ - either the movie or the book. One of my favorites. “I saw something nasty in the woodshed!” “Did it see you?” _Arsenic and Old Lace_. You can’t get happier than Cary Grant when he finds out he’s the son of a sea cook. _Killer Klowns from Outer Space._ Seriously. Have some friends over, drink a few drinks, and howl at the cheez. Pair it with _Leprechaun_ or _Critters_ for a double-cheez delight. {{{jsgoddess}}} ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/38 "2009-01-30T05:21:46Z")
More movie recs from the gals in the book group – I love these! 9 to 5 Harvey Cat Ballou Chicago Max Dugan Returns (iffy because of the relationship between 2 main characters, but the movie’s main focus isn’t romantic) Miss Congeniality Monsters, Inc. My Cousin Vinny O Brother, Where Art Thou? Oscar Stripes Trading Places And a big ditto for **teela brown’s** recommendation of the Durrell movie. That movie really takes you away. I wish there were more like that. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498/39 "2009-02-01T03:42:06Z")
Thanks again, everyone. I think I’ve added all of the books that I hadn’t already read to my to-read list (unless I missed something), and ordered a couple of the movies from the library. Historically, books are more my thing than movies are, but historically I haven’t needed distraction quite as much as I do now! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/needed-books-or-dvds-with-happy-endings-that-arent-love-stories/483498.md?page=1)