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?
The Last Laugh’s ending was subpar to say the least, as it makes no sense in the context of the film. The doorman just so happens to find a Mexican millionaire dying and inherits his wealth because his will said “whoever catches me when I die gets my fortune”? It seems ludacris and that's because it is. However, the ending is not a happy one, but a tragic one. This is due to the fact that the ending in of itself is a fairy tale and not reality. For starters, we see the doorman get fired and have to bear the struggles of his family, friends, and neighbors all turn their backs on him just because he lost his prestigious job as the doorman of the hotel. Now he works as a bathroom attendant, cleaning floors on his hands and knees, wiping mirrors, scrubbing toilets, and doing everything a person wouldn't want to do. And up until the very end it seems as if this is the doorman’s fate. However, as previously mentioned, he inherits the will of a millionaire and lives a lavish life. Eating to his heart's extent and not worrying about anyone turning their backs on him. Unfortunately, this ending is so far from the reality of the world that the doorman lived in that it can only be described as a fairy tale. This makes the ending tragic because to the audience, it only tells them that if you're poor with no one to help you out, then your only hope is someone dying in your arms and they will say that you've become rich. Luck like that does not happen in real life, only in movies you watch as an escape from yours.
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