YMMV / I'm Thinking of Ending Things

• Award Snub: The movie, despite its critical success, was completely overlooked through the awards season. Its failure to resonate with audiences was more understandable concerning the Golden Globes, but aside from a lack of acting nods at the Oscars, Charlie Kaufman did not even get any adapted screenplay credit.
• Critical Dissonance: The movie was critically acclaimed, but revealed itself to be Kaufman's most contentious work yet. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes dipped to a "rotten" 48% compared to the "fresh" 82% from critics. Kaufman even went so far as to address how some of the criticisms felt personal.
• Ending Fatigue: Given the film was advertised around Jake and the woman's visiting his parents' house, you might expect it to finish up not long after they leave. Instead the film is just entering it's third act. And that last act has several scenes that seem to be closing the story only for it to keep going with another.
• Funny Moments: At one point, after the woman questions Jake on his knowledge of Oklahoma!, he insists he is not a big fan of musicals and is only familiar with a few... right before citing a long list of musicals he is familiar with.
• Genius Bonus: There are many cultural references throughout that are not heavily acknowledged as being cultural references, meaning if you don't know what is being referenced, you will likely be confused as to what is going on. A good example would be when the Young Woman seems to take on a completely different affect while critiquing the movie A Woman Under the Influence. You are likely to be confused about the sudden personality shift out of nowhere, but it makes much more sense and is a big hint towards the Plot Twist of the film if you realize that she is quoting a review written by Pauline Kael verbatim, with the impersonation the Woman puts on being one of her. Knowledge of the musical Oklahoma! also goes a long way.
• Tear Jerker:
  • Jake's dad saying sadly how much he loved his wife when she was alive, while she sits next to him.
  • The revelation that the woman Jake has been imagining as his loving girlfriend is really just a fantasy of a woman Jake wished he'd spoken to decades ago and that Jake is really just a lonely, middle-aged janitor who has spent decades imagining the life he could have lived.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Some believe the story would've been better if it remained in the house with the parents throughout, believing it starts to drag on once that location and its characters are abandoned.
• The Woobie: Jake is a brilliant but socially awkward person who never gained the healthy social connections necessary for him to self-actualize and instead spent decades working as a janitor and imagining the life he could have had and is now on the verge of taking his own life.