Ronit J

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024) Synopsis:

A father and son embark on an involuntary 48-hour odyssey, navigating clashing perspectives as they confront the intricate nuances of their strained relationship.

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024) Review:

I discovered this film thanks to Instagram. The absurd premise with its balance of light humour and heavy themes seemed like the perfect weekend watch. Besides, I’ve only watched a handful of Thai films and loved every single one of them, so I thought this would be a safe bet.

But, did I like it?

Laugh till you’re out of breath…

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is absurdly hilarious. From lighthearted character comedy, to sometimes dark humour, the film balances the dynamics of Thai society beautifully with its characters. Some characters may feel two-dimensional, others better developed. What you can’t deny is the brilliance of their coming together. M and Amah’s dynamic throughout the film remains a strong reason for why this film works. It’s awkward at first, but slowly they begin to acclimatise to each other. The generation gap is very much evident, as are their individual desires—Amah’s want to be around her loved ones, and M’s want to get rich quick.

The dynamics come all the more alive with the supporting cast, which does feel like a real family. The order to the chaos, the family values and tradition, everything blends seamlessly in the setting we are put in by the film. Despite the serious themes and plot, How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies does not shy away from being silly and funny. In fact, that balance of humour with heavy themes makes this one quite a compelling watch.

The ending especially left me in tears, a perfectly bittersweet wrap-up to this beautiful film.

… then feel the punch in the gut.

The humour was great and real, but what truly makes this a compelling watch are its moments of seriousness. Mui is clear from the start that she was only taking care of her Agong for money. Soei is the stereotypical good-for-nothing son who is shameless enough to even leech off his ageing mother. Kiang, on the other hand, is so invested in his life and work that his solutions mostly put his convenience in the forefront. All of this, while Amah herself is dealing with impending death and a gradually failing congee stand.

Amah’s health deteriorates slowly, as much from cancer as her age and fatigue. Her loved ones cope with the loss that is constantly closing in, sometimes in ways that are hard to look at. As funny and heartwarming as the film is in its depiction of familial love, it is punishing and unapologetic about its treatment of harsher truths. That’s life, no? The good can be great, and the bad can be a nightmare. Life isn’t a dot on either end of the spectrum, it’s a fleeting speck that goes up and down.

A balance of Pragmatic and Emotional

The one character that stood out for me was Tontawan Tantivejakul who plays Mui, M’s cousin. She’s the one who has mastered the art of caring for the old with her Agong, planting the idea in M’s mind. Mui is clear she’s in it for the money. And she’s rewarded for it. M approaches his Amah with the same intention, but over the course of the film breaks away from the pragmatism, letting his emotions get the best of him. M even finds out that Mui also has an OnlyFans account which she uses to make money, further putting her in a hustler role. Maybe life has been hard on her, and that’s what made her so pragmatic. But, we learn eventually that she really loved her Agong, and her inaction in saving him from choking was her way of giving him mercy. All because she really cared for him.

This pragmatism/emotional balance seems to be split between Amah’s three children. Soei and Kiang are pragmatic in the opposite sense, while M’s mother is all emotional. M, on the other hand, journeys from pragmatic, to emotional, and eventually to a balance of the two. For all it’s worth, M grows as an individual, finally preparing him to enter the real world and stop being a slacker.

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024) Ending Explained (SPOILERS)

As you can expect from the title of the film, Amah succumbs to her cancer. But, she doesn’t leave the house to M, instead giving it to Soei, her good-for-nothing son because he needs the support. The family arrange for a funeral for her, and during that time M gets a call from Amah’s bank. The call cues a flashback to M’s childhood, when he had scored good grades on some test, and to celebrate Amah started a bank account in his name. Jokingly, the child M asks her to leave him a million baht. Hearing the undisclosed amount that is left for him, M feels overwhelmed. Yet, he chooses to use a million baht to buy a premium burial plot for his Amah, as was her dying wish.

Over the course of the film, M has changed. Rather, he has grown from a slacker into a caring and mature individual. His decision to spend so much money to respect his Amah’s wishes is reflective of the caring nature that he probably learned from his grandmother, as well as his mother. How much money did M get from his grandmother? We will never know. The film intentionally leaves that bit out, letting the audience decide whether M spent all his inheritance for his Amah, or just a part of it. Either way, the amount is so huge that it leaves you on a positive note. One of M’s growth and change, and a hopeful, wholesome family bonding.

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024) worth watching?

Yes. A resounding yes. If you liked The Farewell (2019) or enjoy the meditative slow films of Thailand, you’re sure to love How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies. Be warned, though. Terminal illness, mortality, and death make up for very heavy themes, and the film does not hold back in the way they are explored. If any of these are triggering to you, I’d skip this one.

In Conclusion:

How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024) is a bittersweet film. It is as heartwarming as a long embrace after a trying day but equally gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. A brilliant watch.

Also check out:

• The Mehta Boys | Film Review
• Island of the Dying Goddess

• Help! My Dog Is The Chosen One! by Ronit J
• Abandoned by the Gods by Ronit J

Have you watched How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies? What did you think about this film? Let me know in the comments below, along with any film recommendations you’d like me to watch/review.

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