The Last Dance (2024): Tradition vs modernity in likeable funeral home comedy
Hong Kong's patchy box office smash is carried by the chemistry between Dayo Wong and Michael Hui.
There are not a lot of comedies set in the ostensibly humourless industry of funeral planning. And yet The Last Dance, the uneven but mostly likeable new film from Anselm Chan, has been an unexpected crowd-pleaser. It is not only a rare example of a Cantonese language film breaking the UK box office’s top ten; the movie even surpassed Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In to score the highest opening day gross of any Hong Kong movie internationally this year.
After his wedding business went bust during the pandemic, debt-ridden Dominic, played by actor and comedian Dayo Wong, trades romance for tragedy by taking ownership of his uncle’s funeral parlour. There are few things more recession proof than death, after all, and Dominic sees dollar signs in his new venture. “Funerals and weddings are much the same; it is all about putting on a show,” he muses. As such, Dominic tries to upsell his clients on everything from fancy coffins to merchandise. His business partner doesn’t exactly share Dominic’s entrepreneurial spirit though. Ultra conservative Taoist priest Master Man Kwok, played by screen icon Michael Hui, believes there is a sanctity to death which must be upheld, even if some of his traditions are out of touch with modern society.
The conflict between Dominic and Man, who clash over the morality and ethics of the death business, drives most of The Last Dance’s first half. Dayo Wong and Michael Hui make excellent sparring partners in this battle of capitalist modernity vs outdated tradition. It is not exactly high on laughs—except for one zany set-piece in which Dominic organises a Maserati-themed funeral for a petrolhead he later discovers was killed in a Maserati crash, enraging not only Master Man but the deceased’s entire family. However, there is an undeniable charm to Anselm Chan’s story once this odd couple begins to find a middle ground, and even a kinship.
The Last Dance does lose some of this appeal, however, when the conflict between tradition and modernity expands to Man’s family in its second half. Pak Hon Chu plays Man’s son Ben, who is expected to follow in his father’s Taoist priest footsteps, but creates a rift in the family when he is baptised as a Catholic. His daughter Yuet, played by Michelle Wai, would gladly take Ben’s place, except women are considered “filthy” according to Taoist teachings. Anselm Chan increasingly shifts its focus to these subplots as the movie develops, but none of them are as dramatically engaging as the relationship between Man and Dominic.
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Directed by Anselm Chan. Written by Anselm Chan and Cheng Wai-kei. Produced by Anselm Chan, Jason Siu and Chan Sing-yan. Starring Dayo Wong, Michael Hui, Michelle Wai and Chu Pak Hong. A Emperor Motion Pictures, Alibaba Pictures and AMTD Pictures production. Distributed by CineAsia. 127 minutes. Hong Kong.