History YMMV / TheLastFiveYears

** AdaptationalJerkass: The movie has especially added to this--particularly the line where he {{gaslight|ing}}s Cathy, telling her she's "being crazy" for suspecting him of cheating on her (which he is). Many cite as one of the main moments they lost sympathy for him. Also, in the film, he's shown cheating on Cathy with ''several'' women, as opposed to just one like the musical implied. This almost entirely removes any credence to the idea that he legitimately loves his mistress.
* TheWoobie: Both of the leads, for different reasons.

* WinTheCrowd: A lot of people were skeptical of a film version -- many wondering if the show even ''could'' work as a film, and others worrying the two-person cast would make it hard to find actors strong enough to carry it. Then they announced the leads would be Broadway veterans Jeremy Jordan and Creator/AnnaKendrick, and, as if to further prove their point, they released a clip of Kendrick singing "I Can Do Better Than That." Cue a whole bunch of sighs of relief and people saying, "Oh, okay."

** Nearly every problem that led to the breakup can be traced squarely back to Jamie, while nearly all attempts to save the marriage are on Cathy's part.

** Did Cathy's jealousy drive Jamie to cheat, or was she ProperlyParanoid all along?

* BrokenBase: Want to start a FlameWar in five seconds flat? Go to a group of fans of this show, and ask them, who was more at fault for the marriage breaking down? (Most of the fanbase agrees Cathy and Jamie both contributed, but who contributed ''more'' is an argument they've been having since the show opened.)

-->"Have I mentioned today how lucky I am to be in love with you?"

* JerkassWoobie: Those in the fandom who don't consider Jamie to be the sole person at fault in the breakdown of the relationship tend to see him as this. He cheats on his wife (with multiple women in the movie version) and is occasionally generally not very nice to her - but then Cathy is also shown to be controlling and paranoid (bordering on ClingyJealousGirl status) and doesn't have nearly as many moments of explicitly supporting Jamie's career and telling him how much she loves him that Jamie has of supporting hers and telling her how much he loves her. In fact, several fans have theorised that the only reason Jamie tends to be seen as more unsympathetic throughout is simply because the very first thing we see is [[TheWoobie a broken-hearted Cathy]] singing about Jamie abandoning her.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: While most of the fandom agrees that Jamie is likable and not without his sympathetic moments, many find it hard to feel ''too'' sorry for him, considering he's the one that cheated on Cathy and not the other way around. The movie has especially added to this, particularly the line where he tells Cathy she's "being crazy", which many cite as one of the main moments they lost sympathy for him. Also, in the film, he's shown cheating on Cathy with ''several'' women, as opposed to just one like the musical implied. This almost entirely removes any credence to the idea that he legitimately loves his mistress. The fact that he dumped Cathy via a letter, rather than face-to-face, doesn't help his case, either.

* JerkassWoobie: Those in the fandom who don't consider Jamie to be the sole person at fault in the breakdown of the relationship tend to see him as this. He [[YourCheatingHeart cheats on his wife (with multiple women in the movie version)]] and is occasionally generally not very nice to her - but then Cathy is also shown to be controlling and paranoid (bordering on ClingyJealousGirl status) and doesn't have nearly as many moments of explicitly supporting Jamie's career and telling him how much she loves him that Jamie has of supporting hers and telling her how much he loves her. In fact, several fans have theorised that the only reason Jamie tends to be seen as more unsympathetic throughout is simply because the very first thing we see is [[TheWoobie a broken-hearted Cathy]] singing about Jamie abandoning her.

* EarWorm:
** "I'd say 'hey, hey Shiksa Goddess, I've been waiting for someone like you!'"
** "Then he smiles, and where else can I go?"
** "Nananana, oh Schmuel, you'll get to be happy! Nanananana, I give you unlimited time! Nanananana, just do it and you can be happy!"
** "I've got a singular impression things are moving too fast!"
** Norbert's riffs in "Moving Too Fast". Eargasm.
** "I could shove an icepick in my eye/I could eat some fish from last July…"

* PainfulRhyme: In "The Schmuel Song," Jamie describes those who "can't get out of Klimovich" and suggests Cathy is one of them because she's afraid to "go out onto a limb… o-vich." In the movie, he {{lampshades}} this with an agonized noise.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: "The Schmuel Song", a seven-minute, complete short story told through song, in which Jamie simultaneously proves his writing chops, his support of Cathy's dreams and his love for her.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: "Shiksa Goddess" and "A Miracle Would Happen" for Jamie; "A Summer in Ohio" and the first 3/4ths of "Climbing Uphill" for Cathy.
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming:
** The conclusion of "The Schmuel Song", when Jamie gives Cathy her Christmas present.
-->"Have I mentioned today how lucky I am to be in love with you?"
** The end of "A Summer in Ohio", along with a CMOF: "Love, the midget, the stripper, Wayne the snake, and Mrs. Jamie Wellerstein--that's me!"
** "Would you share your life with me/for the next ten lifetimes/for a million summers/'til the world explodes!"

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Nearly every problem that led to the breakup can be traced squarely back to Jamie, while nearly all attempts to save the marriage are on Cathy's part.
** The very conceit of the musical deliberately invokes this, as both Jamie and Cathy each get to tell their side of the story, and each characters' actions are cast in a different light depending on who's doing the telling.

** When Cathy Hiatt wants to start a new craft, it changes to -->''"I want ''glue''/And ''glue''/And nothing but ''glue"''

* MemeticMutation: Cathy's line --> ''"I want you/And you/And nothing but you/Miles and piles of you,"'' has caused many memes such as:

** Cathy's line about Jamie loving Doritos has caused some millage as well.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: While most of the fandom agrees that Jamie is likable and not without his sympathetic moments, many find it hard to feel ''too'' sorry for him, considering he's the one that cheated on Cathy and not the other way around. The movie has especially added to this, particularly the line where he tells Cathy she's "being crazy", which many cite as one of the main moments they lost sympathy for him. Also, in the film, he's shown cheating on Cathy with ''several'' women, as opposed to just one like the musical implied. This almost entirely removes any credence to the idea that he legitimately loves his mistress.

** The end of "A Summer in Ohio", along with a CMOF: "Love, the midget, the stripper, Wayne the snake, and Mrs. Jamie Wellerstein - that's me!"

** "I could shove an icepick in my eye/I could eat some fish from last July . . ."
* PainfulRhyme: In "The Schmuel Song," Jamie describes those who "can't get out of Klimovich" and suggests Cathy is one of them because she's afraid to "go out onto a limb. ...o-vich." In the movie, he {{lampshades}} this with an agonized noise.

* TheWoobie: Both of the leads, for different reasons.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: While most of the fandom agrees that Jamie is likable and not without his sympathetic moments, many find it hard to feel ''too'' sorry for him, considering he's the one that cheated on Cathy and not the other way around. The movie has especially added to this, particularly the line where he tells Cathy she's "being crazy", which many cite as one of the main moments they lost sympathy for him.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Nearly every problem that led to the breakup can be traced squarely back to Jamie, while nearly all attempts to save the Marriage are on Kathy's part.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: The conclusion of "The Schmuel Song", when Jamie gives Cathy her Christmas present.

* EarWorm: "I'd say 'hey, hey Shiksa Goddess, I've been waiting for someone like you!'"