Monday, February 5, 2018
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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I feel like the ending scene of The Last Laugh was made more to be made as a parody of a happy ending. But I also feel like this ending was meant to teach some more important lessons too. The ending seems like a parody because of how it changes pace so fast from the old ending and because of how ridiculous it is. Because the studio did not want to release this movie with a sad ending, I feel like the creators of the movie decided to make the ending super ridiculous to kind of mock the studio and happy endings in general. I think this because the creators of the movie did not want to make a happy ending to begin with, so I feel like they just came up with something super ridiculous to make fun of happy endings and to kind of make fun of the studio who didn’t let them end with the original ending. The ending is super ridiculous because of a lot of things, one of those things is how the doorman gets rich in the first place. The person who dies in the doorman’s arms has a will that says, “Whoever’s arms I die in will get my money”. That will is definitely not a will anyone in this world would right, especially not a very rich person which is why it’s so funny and ridiculous. It’s also funny how the doorman is eating all this expensive and fancy food like it’s nothing like caviar and champagne, which no one in real life would realistically be able to do. These elements help accomplish making the ending of the movie ridiculous and funny to mock happy endings and the studio. Although it’s really funny, I feel that the ending also teaches some good lessons too. There are two men who go up to the doorman and although these two men are shooed away by other people, the doorman lets them join in in his fortune. And I feel this is a lesson that shows that when the doorman didn’t really have anything, no one ever helped him. So I feel the ending shows that he knows how they’re feeling so he decides to share his fortune with them and help them. In conclusion, I feel the ending scene was made more to be a parody of a happy ending, but I also feel like the ending succeeds in teaching some lessons too.
ReplyDeleteI think that the point of the ending is to show what life was like for the rich people that were shown in the movie because you only got to see what life was like in the lower class life through the door man. I think that this is a parody happy ending because there is no way that a millionaire at that time would have been willing to leave all of his money to the guy’s arms that he dies in. This might have been a dream that the door man was having to try to escape the true reality and humiliation that has become of his life. It was a parody of a happy ending also because how many times do you have a millionaire leave his fortune to the person whose arms they die. I think that this is a fantasy because the door man had to try to escape all of the people that were making fun of him and laughing at him for losing his job. For the door man this would have been the best thing that could have happened to him there might not have been anything better that could have come to him so I think that that part is a fantasy that one person could be so lucky to have a millionaire die in their arms and then have their will be to give all their money to the persons arm that they died in. I think that the ending in just about entirely cynical because the guy wanted to be respected by people that were around him and what better way for that to happen then for him to because this rich millionaire. There also might have been some deeper meaning to ending. One thing that the ending tries to show a deeper meaning to is that you should not be afraid to give back to people and that good things tend to happen to good people.
ReplyDeleteThe point of the ending is to show the happy side of what could happen if he was wealthy and how he would break the mold of being snotty and rich. He would be generous and kind the people underneath him compared to the people who treated him like dirt when he was extremely poor. I think this is showing a different side of the world but I also think it is trying to make fun of the stereotypical rich person. By ordering all the food and having all the extravagant things its showing that rich people in the rich community are spoiled. This community dines in luxury, and they eat and drink whatever they desire. This is something the doorman always envied and was a reason he loved being doorman. I think this is a fantasy at the end. This is all in the head of the doorman who, in the real ending that the director wanted, does not get anything and ends up in misery. I think this is fantasy because this is the life he always wanted, and also wanted to be mingling around the rich society. I think this ending does not have any deeper meaning besides the fact that he always wanted to be rich and now he was. I think this was also the ending because the film producers wanted something like this and not the way the director wanted it to finish.
ReplyDeleteThe ending The Last Laugh sort of came out of nowhere. Throughout the entire film, here was an old man who had lost his job and continually became miserable and all of a sudden, he was happy and forgot everything that happened to him in the past. Once we had learned that the ending was actually a request by the studios, the movie made a lot more sense. Since the director initially wanted the movie to end sadly, the build-up and downfall made a lot more sense. The ending in this film however portrayed a happy, lighthearted ending that let everyone win. This would typically never happen in real life. The odds of a super-rich person having a will to give all their money away like that is very unlikely. This also gives a false sense of happiness because it shows that happiness can only be achieved if you have money. This overall discourages the people who watch it and encourages them to pursue money rather than a true passion. While the ending may be clique, the lessons it tells are very true. This sort of reflects off the title, The Last Laugh. The lessons of treating others with respect reign true through this ending and have a profound impact on the characters of the film. This odd combination of endings threw me off a bit but as long as you can understand what the thinking behind their productions, the film can be very interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteEnding the movie with the doorman inheriting a fortune is a mockery of typical happy endings. The job represented the doorman’s social status and respect and without it he was made fun of and laughed at. As result, he was embarrassed and miserable. This added on ending, is a clear representation of the Hollywood style movie. A man loses something very important to him, becomes depressed, tries to retrieve it, is unsuccessful, but instead ends up with something even better. The portrayal of the doorman and his friend ordering all the food on the menu and the most expensive champagne is an obvious addition to the movie. Inheriting the money was a quick and easy turn around for the writers of the movie to turn a melancholy story into a happy, blissful one and while doing so, created a parody of happy endings. The man did not have to work or prove himself to obtain this large quantity of money. He simply got it through doing the job he was assigned and a lot of luck. This fantasy ending is unrealistic and delivers the message to the viewers that it is pointless to fight for things you care about or love because in the end it will work out. Ending the movie with the scene before the doorman receives the money would leave the viewers on a sad note but gives them something to think about. What will happen to the man? Will he continue to work in the bathroom? How will he handle this sudden loss of respect? Overall, the ending is a mockery of typical endings by creating false realities and the movie would be better off without it.
ReplyDeleteIn The Last Laugh, writer Carl Mayer and director F.W. Murnau create two endings. In the first, we see the main character (the doorman) as his life dwindles, and with nothing to look forward to he dies a sad, lonely death. This was the ending originally written by Mayer and was what he fully intended to cap the film off in this way. However, following this scene, a text enters the screen explaining that Murnau and Mayer were forced (by their producers) to create an alternate ending as the original was too grim. "Here our story should really end, for in actual life the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death. The author took pity on him, however, and provided quite an improbable epilogue" (The Last Laugh). In this new alternate ending, unlike the grim and depressing one that was originally intended, the doorman encounters every happy accident conceivable, culminating to form the ultimate "happy-ending". The doorman is able to live out his greatest desires with little to no effort or work - all of his success is merely coincidental. For instance, when the doorman encounters a millionaire in the bathroom, the millionaire- by chance- suffers a heart attack, and the doorman catches him in his arms. As luck would have it, the millionaire's will stated that all of his fortune would go to the person who's arms he died in - aka our doorman. Obviously, this is a highly unrealistic and fortunate turn of events for the doorman. The rest of the ending is a drawn out montage of the doorman feasting on expensive food and beverages, and indulging in the finer side of life with his new fellow members of the upper-class. Although our doorman doesn't seem to necessarily deserve the bad ending he was originally endowed with, the alternate ending is a little too over- the-top. The doorman is seen as almost greedy and gluttonous - gorging himself on caviar and devouring bottles of champagne. This paints the doorman in an unfavorable light, and makes him seem piggish. Because the alternate ending is the ultimate combination of unlikely events, there is almost a sardonic edge to it. It is so over the top that it seems facetious- perhaps the writer was feeling a little bitter about being forced to create an alternate ending to his masterpiece, and decided to spite the producers by making the ending a mockery of their ideal happy-ending.
ReplyDeleteI would say that this is more of a parody ending of a happy ending for a few reasons. I think a big reason why it felt more like parody rather than true happy ending, was due to the abrupt change in course of the film. For example, for the duration of the film, the viewers are drawn into this world of misery and despair alongside the doorman and every scene becomes seemingly more and more hopeless. Then suddenly, he is rich, happy, and popular. In addition, the change here is just so unforeseen that it’s almost as if you can’t even feel truly happy for him. Of course, the viewer may no longer feel bad for him the way they might have before, however, his lack of influence and effort on how he obtained his riches and the manner that he utilizes his new money, is just so outlandish and unrealistic. Another big thing that added to the feeling that this was more of a parody of a happy conclusion was the idea that being rich in the time period meant anything and everything you needed to be happy and content. I would also argue that this is definitely supposed to be more fantasy-like. I feel this is because, the idea in reality is that you have to work hard to get good things, whereas in fantasy, it is much easier to have things just sort of happen on their own. To me, this is quite similar to a cynical commercial ploy while at the same time appears to carry a deeper significance within the unrealistic characteristics of it.
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