The Last Laugh
2016, 145 minutes
A Comedian Tells his woes on stage
“The Last Laugh” is a black comedy / family drama . Depicting universal problems many people face in modern life through the eyes of a self-confessed failed writer. Martin is a man who has failed in many areas of his life, as a Screen Writer, as a Son, husband and father, as a teacher and employee. Most of his misery has been self-inflicted and partly brought on by his brief affair with an attractive and glamorous film agent. At the start of the film we see a much damaged man, damaged by his miserable failure (as he sees it) and his strained relationship with his Mother. We see him embarking on a midlife crisis that seems to have no possibility of a positive outcome. The film takes us on a journey through his attempts at Stand-up Comedy where we see his unbearable situation and his struggle to come to terms with his current situation laid bare in a cathartic rant. “The Stand Up” is part “With nail And I” and part “Billy Elliot”, a story of dark into light, a story of discovery and revelation, of pain into joy but most of all a story of real life. It is typically northern with rough magical humor that grabs the audience and draws them in to, what in the end is a loving tale of final Triumph over adversity and understanding of family past.
