Hollywood history is filled with great comedies, the best of which have managed to have something significant to say about the culture that produced them. Indeed, one of the strengths of comedy as a genre is that it can push the boundaries of what can be said and thought, even in the most restrictive time periods. Very often, it is the last scene in a given comedy movie that helps it to really leave an impression with the viewer. In fact, there are quite a few comedies, both new and old, that have managed to nail their final scene.
Fargo (1996)
Fargo is the perfect blend of drama and comedy, and it shows the Coen Brothers’ signature blend of absurdist humor and tragedy. There’s no question that Frances McDormand is in her best form as Marge Gunderson, the good-natured cop who sets out to solve a grisly murder.
While the movie is blackly (and bleakly) funny, it’s the final scene that really helps to bring it together, as Marge and her husband, safely ensconced in their home, contemplate the birth of their child. It’s a return to balance that is badly needed after the horrors the movie has revealed.
The Graduate (1967)
The Graduate is widely seen as one of the best movies of the 1960s. With its tale about a young man who falls in love with first an older woman and then her daughter, it has had a significant impact on subsequent movies. It skillfully braids together both the drama and the comedy of its material, and there’s no doubt that Dustin Hoffman helped to establish his career with the role.
In the movie’s final scene, its two main characters finally set out on a future together but, in a moment of brilliance, it’s riddled with ambiguity, as they confront the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Clue (1985)
There have been many great cult movies over the years, but Clue deserves pride of place. As a movie adaptation of the popular board game, it could easily have become nothing more than farce, but the inspired performances from its cast–including Tim Curry–manage to elevate it.
Furthermore, it has not one but several endings, each of which make sense given the clues that the movie has given to the viewer. Each one is also more than a little absurd, which is very much in keeping with the movie’s silly ethos.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Coen Brothers have been responsible for many great movies, of which O Brother, Where Art Thou is certainly one. In a fanciful retelling of The Odyssey, it focuses on Ulysses Everett McGill, an ex-con who, with his two companions, sets out to be reunited with his family and reclaim his wife.
The ending, as is usual with the Coens, is brilliant, as McGill’s wife, having promised him she would marry him if he procured a certain ring, abruptly changes her mind and demands another one. It is a sublimely absurdist ending to a very funny movie.
Monty Python’s Life Of Brian (1979)
The troupe involved with Monty Python are responsible for some of the funniest movie and TV moments in the history of comedy, but few are quite as sharp and as funny as the ending of Life of Brian. The movie is a send-up of the biblical epic movies, with its title character’s life frequently intersects with that of Jesus. In the movie’s final scene, he has been crucified by the Romans along with numerous others. Rather than succumb to despair, they all begin to sing.
It is, to be sure, a ridiculous moment, but it is very much in keeping with the absolute absurdity in evidence throughout the rest of the movie.
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
Singin’ in the Rain is rightly regarded as one of the best musicals ever made. With its references to the history of Hollywood, it’s a movie which is very aware of its own cleverness. There’s no denying that there’s a powerful chemistry between Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds.
It is the ending, however, which really manages to bring it together, as the two leads, Don and Kathy, kiss in front of a billboard bearing the name of the movie itself, which is their new venture.
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Few comedies have been quite as ambitious as It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, which includes in its cast some of the comedy greats of mid-century Hollywood. It manages to be both full of slapstick and more sophisticated humor, focusing as it does on a disparate group of people who set out to find a buried treasure.
In the movie’s final scene, one of the very loud and obnoxious female characters slips and falls in a hospital ward, bringing everyone together in a moment of hilarity. It’s a fittingly ridiculous conclusion to a riotously funny movie.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
There have been many gender-bending comedies, but few have been executed with quite as much aplomb as Some Like It Hot. Directed by the famous Billy Wilder, it shows that director’s keen sense of pacing and sparkling dialogue. Starring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, joined by Marilyn Monroe, it follows two musicians who have to dress as women in order to avoid being killed by the mob.
At the end, they each seemingly find romantic fulfillment once they reveal that they are truly men, one with a woman and, surprisingly, the other with a man (who responds to the revelation with “Well, nobody’s perfect.”). It’s one of the most brilliantly subversive endings in Hollywood history.
Bridesmaids (2011)
Bridesmaids is rightly regarded as one of the best comedy movies of the 2010s, in large part because of the strength of its cast. The center of the movie is Kristen Wiig’s Annie Walker, who joins her friend’s wedding party, only to find herself competing with Rose Byrne’s Helen.
In the movie’s ending, Annie finally finds romantic fulfillment with Nathan, and the two ride off together in his squad car. It’s the perfect conclusion for Annie’s story, as she finally finds the happiness she has always sought.
Office Space (1999)
Office Space is, arguably, one of the best comedies of the 1990s, capturing so much of the cynicism of the era. Throughout the movie, one of the best characters is Milton, played by the inimitable Stephen Root. Prone to asking for his stapler, Milton is a figure who is both fun and also a little sinister.
Indeed, the last scene of the movie has him threatening to sue the hotel where he’s staying in an island paradise, a reminder of just how dangerous, and how hilarious, he is.
