Monday, February 8, 2016
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 ending of this movie is a subtle parody of a happy ending. Upon first glance it seems as if the ending was added on to console audiences after the tragic fate of our unnamed protagonist is realized. However, when the ending is slightly scrutinized one can see that the opulence portrayed is somewhat of a mockery. The entire film follows one demoted doorman through his demise. The film is quite sad and the demoted doorman encounters one tragedy after the next. The extravagance and clout that comes with being a doorman is taken away from him, and throughout the story he deals with his community scorning him and his family leaving him. The beginning 98% of the storyline follows a continual downward trend of luck for the estranged doorman, emphasizing values of community acceptance and hierarchy. The doorman is respected only for his position, not for his character. Once his title as a doorman is stripped from him he is seen as nothing. This is important in determining what the film defines as a happy ending. The doorman is happy at the beginning, when he is living a life in a position of power, and at the end, when living a life of luxury. Happiness, as defined by this movie, can only be achieved through material gains and outside acceptance. I do believe that the ending is an objective reality. But the director took the liberty to make the ending as extravagant as possible to subtly hint at how unlikely it was, how the intended ending was what happens for the entirety of the population. The ending is a parody of happiness because the transition between poor and desolate to rich and happy is based on such a weak link- an American millionaire randomly leaving the doorman his entire fortune. And the impact that results from it is so unbelievably large and decadent. The ending might have been intended as a commercial ploy but the director was able to weave in his own significance; this kind of ending might look nice on the screen, but it will never happen in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI think the ending was created to change the theme of the film from a realistic depiction of man's life and changing it into a fairytale like ending. I believe this ending was chosen because the norm of movies is to end with a happy tone. This was primarily done to attract the audience and appeal to their tastes as a consumer group. If the movie ended off with the man withering away many people would leave the screening of the movie with a bad taste and would not enjoy future productions by the director. I believe this ending was a parody of a happy ending. The real ending would have been one of the doorman withering away in the bathroom, but the director explicitly states how things suddenly turn around adding to the loss of a genuine scene. In the parody of a happy ending it shows the protagonist and his friend the watchman eating caviar and other fine foods while drinking a lot of champagne. The ideal happy ending would be the protagonist be getting his job back because of its more down to earth feel and relation to his goals. The food scenes are an exaggeration of what the ideal happy ending would be and show how the current ending is actually a parody. Another scene that shows this is a parody is the scene where he looks down upon the current door man and treats him under him. This is an exaggeration to his feeling of the job. I believe this ending is the fantasy as the objective reality would be far different than this film. The fantasy relies on luck and a very small chance of something as grand as this to happen for the protagonist. I believe this is a cynical ending critiquing how fairytales aren't really real and how the reality is often far different than the dream. The film adequately shows a realistic life of a man and then takes a sudden shift to show the contrast of the idealistic life of a fantasy.
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ReplyDeleteThe point of this ending is to reinforce two basic truths in the movie. Firstly, it shows that relationships are precious and cannot be remade when they are broken, and secondly, it explains that people continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. On the topic of relationships, the Doorman’s daughter, son-in-law, and love interest are conspicuously absent from this final scene, and instead he chooses to enjoy the company of the security guard. It can be inferred that his family does not profit from the inheritance and that the Doorman is no longer choosing to associate with those who turned their back on him. Despite the justice in this, it is still undeniably tragic. After an entire lifetime, when he should have a family to surround him, the Doorman has only a single, newly acquired friend. Even the money could not change the fact that he could not rely on his loved ones. This tinges the happy ending with sadness and shows that the earlier familial rift is not one that shall be mended. In this way, it maintains the original theme of the movie, and does not fundamentally change anything. Additionally, the alternate ending portrays the fixed nature of the Doorman’s faults. His downfall was caused by his inherent pride. His inflated self view, perfectly captured by the actor’s large form and oversized jacket, alienates his family and neighbors, since his entire identity is wrapped up in his occupation. At the end of the movie, he is still displaying these same exact qualities. He swaddles himself up in a large, fancy coat, again using something else to define him. While he used his comparative wealth to lord over the impoverished masses at the beginning of the movie, upon receiving the inheritance he turns to raising himself above those of higher social standing. He is buying friendship with his wealth, giving money to the guard, the washroom attendant, and the bellboys. This is reminiscent of his charity towards the little boy at the beginning of the movie, when the Doorman gives him candy on his way to work. However that was a gift from an adult to a young child, and by repeating this same action to adults and even those older than the Doorman himself, he infantilizes the other workers and draws a clear line between them and himself, destroying any chances of engaging in a healthy and equal relationship. Overall, although the ending of the movie may appear to be joyous on the surface, it only serves to uplift the darkest messages in the film. Despite everything, it proves that Doorman can never find happiness, and casts a gloom over the assumption that an excessive amount of money can legitimately benefit someone.
ReplyDeleteThe conclusion of The Last Laugh is an exaggerated representation that happy endings aren’t realistic. Immediately preceding the ending, a title card reads, "Here the story should really end, for, in real life, the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death. The author took pity on him and has provided a quite improbable epilogue." The film itself acknowledges that this ending is unrealistic, so it cannot be taken literally. Viscerally, it appears that this is a simple mockery of happy endings; it is over the top and stems from a highly improbable situation. However, there is more depth to the statement it makes on the ‘fairytale ending.’ Throughout the film, the doorman’s stature is completely dependent on the prestige of his job. As the hotel greeter, he is respected and adored by his neighbors, but once he is demoted, the same people ridicule him. After he stumbles upon a fortune in the end, people are eager to be around him once more. This comments on the nature of friendship because the majority of people around him only want to be there for the good times and leave him during the bad. The night watchman is the only one who is truly there for him when he is suffering. Even the exaggerated ‘happy ending’ is not sincerely happy because he still lives a materialistic existence. Once his wealth runs out, he would be back to the same life he experiences in the original ending. Not only is the ending unrealistic, but it is also a commentary that our perception of a happy ending is not an authentic one.
ReplyDeleteThe ending in The Last Laugh exemplifies a parody of a happy ending. In the director’s cut version, it ends with the man completely defeated in the bathroom. This defeat is emphasized by extremely high angle shots that make the man look increasingly weaker. After an hour and a half of watching him struggle with his emotions, we never even witness his climb back to happiness. In the transition to the second ending, it is literally just handed to him when he inherits the money from the man dying in his arms. Keeping in mind the definition of German Expressionism, the man’s emotions are what further the plot. However, the happy ending completely skips over all of the emotions of him finding happiness. In fact, he never found happiness. It was simply given to him. In this way, the final ending mocks the root definition of German Expressionism. However, it also mocks the theme of the movie, self-identity. Throughout the movie, we see the man’s happiness and self-worth defined by how others see him. A clear example of artistic choices to emphasize this point is the optical effect of superimposition when the faces are laughing at him as he is walking back to his apartment. The distinction between his “poor” and “wealthy” self are also conveyed by his change in appearance, from the doorman’s uniform, to the bathroom cleaner’s uniform to finally wealthy coats and monocles. Clearly, his happiness and self-identity are materialistically defined by the opinions of others. The second, happy ending mocks this theme as it shows the other rich people are still laughing at the man, even when he is “one of them”. This highlights the idea that no matter whom you are in society or how much wealth has been given to you or you have earned, you will never please everyone. The entire movie, the man defined his self-identity by status, because that is when people accept you. However, the ending shows that even when you have status, people will still mock you. By mocking the underlying theme of German Expressionism regarding emotions and also by mocking the man’s definition of self-worth, the concluding scene of The Last Laugh is a clear parody of a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ending of The Last Laugh is exaggerated to the point of satire and parody. As the intertitle which precedes it speaks along the lines of suggesting that while the doorman enjoys a happy ending, so many are not fortunate to receive their own “happy ending”. Due to the fact that the inclusion of this final scene was upon the prompting by the production company, rather than by the volition of the director himself, I think it’s easy to see the satirical value in suggesting such an unrealistic, dramatic shift of fortune for the protagonist by making the fortunate reversal so opulent and exaggerated. I think in some ways, the thought should be entertained that the happy ending really isn’t real at all, and supposed to be fantasy, and a product of the rapidly deteriorating mind of the protagonist. In addition, I definitely think there’s deeper meaning behind this ending, one with tinges of cynicism and distain at such grandeur and gluttony. The tracking shot depicting the spread helps give perspective to the degree of just how much overindulgence there is, as well as the fond smiles of those around him, also presumably very rich, albeit not demonstrating their wealth in such a garish show as the doorman himself.
ReplyDeleteThe added ending of The Last Laugh can defiantly be viewed as a parody of a traditional happy ending. The entire scene is so over the top and unrealistic that it doesn't mesh with the rest of the movie. The inter-title between the scene of the man in the bathroom and the over the top ending even says that endings rarely turn out in such a happy way. The over the top nature of the scene suggests that the happy ending is more of the man's fantasy rather than reality. The demoted doorman miraculously obtains a large amount of money and is put into a position of power compared to the hotel patrons and employees who previously looked down upon him. A major theme of the film is self worth based on the opinions of others. When the man lost his job he was looked down upon by the people where he lived and by the people who demoted him or took his position. He based his own self worth on what other people thought about him. A fantasy he might have because of low self esteem is to be in a position of power over people who had previously looked down upon him. When the man decides to leave the hotel he shows his power over the hotel employees by allowing a man to sit in his carriage after the doorman had tried to remove him. The power given to the man by the miraculously acquired money is probably a fantasy of the man that is so over the top and unbelievable that it can be viewed as a parody of a traditional happy ending where everything goes right.
ReplyDeleteI believe the ending of the Last Laugh movie was meant to exaggerate the typical notion of a “happy ending” to the point of satire. The majority of the movie is based on the economic and social hierarchy struggles of an aging man. The tales of this story are not upbeat, but rather depressing and solemn. The defeated emotion of the main character is exemplified through the many high angle shots, showing the main character in a vulnerable light. The original ending of the story, which has the old man withering away in his unglorified job, keeps with the despairing nature of the plot. The additional ending, separated by the intertitle, opens with a long shot to display the extravagance of the event unfolding. The viewer is then exposed to the reason for the quick transition; they learn that an extremely wealthy man, who dies in the bathroom where the main character works, stipulated in his will that his fortune is to be left to the person whose arms he dies in. As a result, the main character inherits the large sum of money. The emotion of the story improves with his economic status; this metamorphosis is emphasized through the low angle shots on the main character, which demonstrate superiority. The fanatical transition between a depressed bathroom attendant to an aged billionaire amplifies the parody of the second ending. Quick transitions between social classes are considered to be practically an impossibility. The notion that this man went from poor to beyond wealthy so rapidly exacerbates the unrealistic and highly improbable nature of this story. While I believe the second ending follows the title of the story more accurately, I find it extremely difficult to enjoy the final scenes because of how improbably the events really are.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the last scene of The Last Laugh is used to emphasize how impossible a happy ending would be for the doorman because of how unrealistic this ending is. Therefore, it is most definitely a parody of a happy ending rather than a true happy ending. While an audience would most likely want to see a happy ending, a happy ending like the one created for this movie does not fit the rest of the sad film and creates a mockery out of happy endings all together. Any audience member can tell it is a mockery because it is the over-the-top and extravagant version of a happy ending for the doorman. It shows a fantasy with extremely slim chances of actually occurring directly after the tragic scene of the protagonist’s death. If the director intended something different than a parody ending and complete fantasy, he would not have chosen for there to be scenes of the doorman eating a feast and drinking champagne—stereotypical actions that people may assume would occur after inheriting a fortune. He would have instead chose a more realistic turn of events or some sort of realization from the doorman rather than this complete life reversal. Because this ending comes so last minute in the movie and is completely unexpected, this extreme version of a happy ending almost seems like a separated portion of the film. Overall, I see the ending as something that was added on to completely reject the idea of people in movies always having a happy ending because it would never happen to someone in real life after the events that preceded it.
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