Movies that end more than once

[Inyarear]

I recently picked up a copy of 13 Going On 30 from the local Wal-Mart's $5 bin, thinking the fantasy premise of jumping forward a few years might make it worth watching. It was indeed worth the watch, though it was also definitely worth waiting for the DVD to come out and to get surplussed into the $5 bin. It's a bit predictable and pretty obviously a chick flick--the credits are even done in pink! Still, I enjoyed seeing a bit of 1980s nostalgia and the whole feminine take on the modernized Rip Van Winkle fantasy premise.

One point of particular interest to me was that even leaving aside the alternate beginning and ending shown in the special features on the DVD, the main feature essentially ended twice: once with the failed romance in 2004, and then again with a do-over in 1987 that leads to a successful marriage in 2004. These were both fairly logical endings: a successful romance in the first case would have been very unrealistic, and in the second case the rules of these modern fantasies pretty much demand that what a magical anomaly has done has to be undone; the main character has to be given back the years between her 13th birthday and 30th that she never got to experience the first time.

All the same, that's two endings in one film. Ever seen a movie that gives you two endings in sequence with each other this way? Ever seen one that ends more times than that? Moreover, was this a good or bad thing? I've heard some people complain about false endings that revealed a lack of skill on the writer or director's part, but on the whole these two endings seemed just right for this film. Examples, anyone?

[frank]

It probably doesn't really fit, but Donnie Darko sort of started with the first ending and actually ended with a second, other ending. I still did not totally "get" this movie, but especially the confusing starting sequence together with the similar but tragic ending worked well for me.

Another example is the, of course, German movie Run, Lola, run. Three (!) alternate endings, however also three times the basically same, but slightly different storyline. Thus, might also not fit, but I liked it. Moritz Bleibtreu, the male leading role, is one of my favorite German actors, so I'm biased.