This movie is a classic case of how a good storyline (about a loser who can not or will not overcome his personal flaws) is ruined by an "everything will work out if you let it" ending.
You get the feeling the producers did not feel the audience had the maturity to accept a less-than-pleasant finale'.
This is disappointing, but not unusual. During the time period, "feel good" family movies were the rule rather than the exception. It was very rare to see a family film that didn't have some sort of sugary-sweet happy ending. It was that mentality the nearly ruined the Disney industry.
You make sense of it!
You get the feeling the producers did not feel the audience had the maturity to accept a less-than-pleasant finale'.
This is disappointing, but not unusual. During the time period, "feel good" family movies were the rule rather than the exception. It was very rare to see a family film that didn't have some sort of sugary-sweet happy ending. It was that mentality the nearly ruined the Disney industry.
You make sense of it!