Friday, February 8, 2019
Shiny, Happy People
The concluding scene of The Last Laugh depicts the incredible gluttony and generosity of the unnamed, demoted doorman after he miraculously inherits a fortune from a dying American millionaire. He feasts on mounds of food, eating caviar as if it were candy and drinking champagne as if it were water. A tracking shot of the "spread" emphasizes the opulence and indulgence of our hero. What is the point of this ending? Is is a happy ending or a parody of a happy ending? Is this supposed to be objective reality or a fantasy? Is this a cynical commercial ploy or is there deeper significance to the ending?
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The film The Last Laugh tells the story of a doorman who gets downgraded from his door job to become a bathroom worker. After being humiliated by people knowing that he is no longer the doorman of the hotel, he somehow inherits an enormous amount of wealth from a man who died in his arms in the bathroom. The ending scene portrays the doorman eating the most expensive items and ordering, what it looked like, the entire menu at the hotel in which he used to work. As known, this ending is the ending that was forced upon the director before airing this film to the world. With that being said, this great wealth received is not only received in a very impractical way, but it is also very unrealistic for someone such as the doorman to be able to jump up classes into high society so quickly. This endings purpose is only to please the audience. Although this movies ending is somewhat impossible, the audience will enjoy watching it because it will leave them feeling good rather than leaving them with a scene of the poor man working in the bathroom. With this happy ending comes the complete story of a lower class man who enjoys his job, to being demoted to have a demeaning job drying people’s hands in the bathroom, and ending with him becoming richer than everyone around him. The happy ending finishes the story with a beginning, middle, and end as the viewers will be more entertained with this heaven-like ending.
ReplyDeleteThe concluding scene of The Last Laugh reinforces the idea that hard work pays off, however, in doing so in such an unrealistic way, the scene also attacks that flaws that both the wealthy class and working class possess. Throughout the film, we were introduced to a protagonist who worked all of his life as a doorman of an upper-class hotel. However, one day he was demoted due to his old age and frailty. This news literally broke his spirit as he struggled to keep up with his new job. It also attacked his self-esteem as his neighbors and family around him ostracized him due to his new lower status. The movie would originally end with the protagonist in despair as he slept in the bathroom chair with the night guard. However, the director felt that this wasn’t right and created a new unrealistic scene to fill this void of despair. In my opinion, this scene was supposed to highlight the rewards one would get after working hard throughout your entire life. Although it may be unrealistic, the scene provides a glimpse of happiness that anyone can achieve. This happiness may either be in your head or it may not last for long, but the directors of this movie were trying to say that you should remain optimistic. At the same time, this scene provided a subtle commentary about the different classes. Although the protagonist acquired this much wealth, he was only able to do it in a very unrealistic way. This fantasy-like method of instantly changing classes makes the story of the protagonist more tragic than before. It is almost like a pity reward. This scene makes the audience emphasize with the protagonist and offers the audience a way to avoid this problem in the future for others. In order to change this fate for many, the working-class should not ostracize and humiliate a fellow member due to his status. Rather, they should support him. The wealthy class should also change their views on how they treat the workers. In reality, they work so hard, only to be given nothing. Instead of focusing on the materialistic goods, the wealthy should care for the work that the working-classes provide. This film illustrates how society at the time only focuses on the appearance and status of a man, but this scene suggests ways to change it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the final scene of The Last Laugh was not part of the director’s vision, it serves to further reinforce the film’s theme that one’s fortune is fickle. Originally, the protagonist enjoys a fairly comfortable life and is well-respected. The opening shot shows the audience the luxurious environment that the doorman is surrounded by—because he works at this high-class hotel, the doorman has a fair amount of social status. However, the plight of the doorman comes without warning—with a single letter, he is demoted to bathroom attendant, losing all his status. This downfall establishes the idea that one day, a person can have all the glory in the world, and the next day, they can be at the bottom of society. The revival of the doorman as a rich man is even more sudden, and the cause is especially improbable—he inherits a vast fortune when a millionaire dies in his arms. Now, our protagonist has even more status than he did when he was working as a doorman. The scene of the protagonist feasting reinforces the ridiculous nature of how he gained this wealth. Yesterday, he had nothing. Today, he can eat all the food he wants and give away money as he pleases. With the addition of the concluding scene, The Last Laugh tells the viewer that one can easily go from riches to rags, and then from rags to riches. And perhaps in due time, our protagonist may lose his wealth by some stroke of misfortune and again become poor. An important point to note is that this additional scene may have indeed been a ploy by the studio to give the audience a happy ending. But whether intentionally or not, the concluding scene works exceedingly well to reinforce the theme that fortune is fickle. The viewer has the freedom to create their own interpretation, and therein lies the beauty of cinema.
ReplyDeleteThe ending to The Last Laugh, was added at the studio’s request because the original ending, one where the doorman ended up a penniless bathroom attendant, was too sad and dark to make for an entertaining film. To inject an ending like the one that actually ends the film, could be for a variety of different reasons. One reason could truly be that the ending was too dark to sell. Most movies had a happy, or at least, resolved ending. Another reason could be to add a lesson to the story, making it a parable, the lesson being, things work out in the end no matter what happens as long as you work hard. The third possible reason why this ending was added could be due to historical context. The Last Laugh was filmed and released in the 1920s, a time which not only is associated with good fortune and capitalism, and new communist revolutions. Because Germany was heavily reliant on the United States for money during these times, it would naturally not be ok to make film that would suggest they support the ideology of communism. New American millionaires were also not unheard of at the time, so that makes the film’s ending at least remotely plausible. Perhaps this ending is a parody. The mere fact that he obtained the money speaks volumes as to why the ending is a parody. Fitting in the idea of German Expressionism, peeling back the gilding to reveal the dark truths of life, the ending, although great for the doorman, is a satirical representation of “what could never be”. The story should have had the original ending, which contains the dark truth that the added ending only alludes to.
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