The Last Laugh is an acute reminder that getting older doesn’t mean you lose your will to live but more so take the idea of living more seriously.
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The Last Laugh Ending Explained (Spoilers)
With Buddy having pancreatic cancer, and months to live, naturally Al wants to give him that big shot. The shot he walked away from because Buddy didn’t need the world to love him. As his son Charlie makes clear, and Buddy does when speaking with Al, he never quit comedy – he just changed his audience. Instead of being on stages across the country, he performed for Charlie’s friends or his patients. It’s just now with him retired, his wife gone, and Charlie grown up, heading back to the stage makes sense.
But, to do that, Al needed Max to give up his spot. Something he wasn’t willing to do because Max was in debt. Yet, due to Al pushing the idea he worked because that made him feel alive, versus worked to make a living, so comes the idea Al had a rather healthy bank account. One healthy enough where Max’s troubles could go away as soon as he gave Al a number. Which he did and thus Buddy got to perform on the Late Show at the Ed Sullivan theater. Thus allowing things to come full circle for while Buddy didn’t get on the Tonight Show, he did get to return to be where Ed Sullivan was and pick up where he left off.
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