The Last Laugh

I can't think of much worse than spending the twilight years of my life in an old folks home. It just looks like a septic way to finish off your time. Lumped in with a load of medicated zombies, forgotten, left to die. The first thing any sane person would do would be to leg it out of there. Providing you're able bodied of course. Which brings us to The Last Laugh.

Al Hart has let himself be talked into moving to a retirement village by his grand-daughter Jeannie. The thought of it has him in flitters but a chance encounter with his old client Buddy makes the transition a little bit easier for him. Back in the day Al was a talent manager and Buddy was a struggling comedian with a dream to appear on the Ed Sullivan show. With their friendship rekindled they decide to go on one last adventure when they realise everyone around them is sick or dying. Buddy wants to give comedy one last shot and Al is more than happy to book him a tour. So off they head.

This makes a nice companion piece to Stan & Ollie, the new Laurel And Hardy film in the cinema at the moment. The story of two old friends reuniting and heading out in an effort to reclaim old glory while staving off the aging process in a modern world they don't quite understand. The Last Laugh isn't a patch on that film but there's a lot to enjoy here. 2 very likable lead performances from Chevy Chase and especially Richard Dreyfuss. Seeing them making a comeback feels quite meta too. Both had huge careers in the 70's and 80's before fading away in the 90's and 00's. Seeing them headlining a film again (Chase's 1st leading role in 19 yrs btw) gives the story a genuine feel and they play off each other charmingly, relighting a friendship that feels real and lived in.

Not everyone shines in it though. Andie McDowell plays the part of Doris, a woman Al meets and falls for on the way. Doris is a woefully underwritten part and seemingly only exists to rev up Al, to remind him that life ain't over yet. She's a manic pixie dream 60 year old. Fun, vivacious, no life of her own so she can up sticks and leave when the story demands it. The choice to inject romance into a story that doesn't need it is a silly mistake. Not a fatal mistake but it does take from the central relationship and it tends to sideline Buddy at times too. If you want a love story at least create a three dimensional character to take part in it. It's a pity. Roles for actresses of a certain age are few and fair between and when they do crop up it tends to be stuff like this.

Luckily most of the rest of it works. Buddy's comedy routine is a gentle sort of comedy, the kind that will rise a smile more than a belly laugh but it suits his character, his life experience. It's the sort of comedy you could see working with a modern day audience, especially audiences who aren't afraid to call out bullshit. There's plenty of age related humour too, most of it hitting the spot. The wheelchair bound harbringer of doom who lives to spread bad news in the retirement village, Al's predictive text issues and his attempt to appear hip in front of a pile of skate kids. Not surprisingly it all ends in a wave of sentimentality but our two leads do just enough to prevent it turning too mawkish and sickly. 

A pleasant enough way to pass 90 minutes provided you can overlook it's flaws. Available to watch on Netflix now.