In a film full of debuts, How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is tonally right on the money. For director Pat Boonnitipat’s first-ever feature, he crafts an emotive dramedy that explores familial responsibility, the richness of intergenerational bonds, and the tricky economic considerations that occur at the end of a life cycle. Possessing as much charm as it does universality — the proof being that it’s currently the second highest-grossing Thai film of 2024 —HTMMBGD is a certified weepy.
79-year-old Mengju (Usha “Taew” Seamkhum) has only one year left to live. Her three adult children decide not to tell her but, unlike Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, the secret isn’t kept as her “good for nothing” grandson M (Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul) reveals her cancer diagnosis. He initially sees his grandmother’s illness as an opportunity to make easy money.
But the more M imbeds himself into Mengju’s life — meeting her friends, helping sell congee, and attending hospital appointments — the more she’s humanised in his eyes, transitioning from a gleaming pile of inheritance to a person who still cries out to her late parents for comfort at night.
In his first lead role, Putthipong deftly carries his share of the emotional weight. When his scheming looks turn more contemplative, we know that M sees Mengju perhaps more clearly than her children, who see her through the lens of ‘mother’ which is clouded by a long history of intense affection and regret. His performance of M’s gradual redemption is understated and endearing. Cinematic debutante Usha imbues the matriarch with a resolve that works hard to conceal her resigned loneliness. Together, they have a natural chemistry that transcends cerebral comprehension and seeps straight into the heart.
Originally based on screenwriter Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn’s experience of caring for his grandmother during the COVID-19 pandemic, the narrative went through drastic changes of genre and tone — one iteration was a slapstick comedy. With Pat’s contributions, the script’s final form is sensitive, delicate, and committed to realism. It resists overindulging in tragedy and instead discreetly builds emotion so, like the boiling frog apologue, by the finale we’re bubbling away in a pot of pathos.
The exploration into intergenerational divides, the clashing of contentedly static tradition and relentless bullet train modernity, is executed well. Mengju worships Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, while M is devoted to a new religion: technology. A successful family drama evokes empathy through relatability, and Pat clearly hit a nerve and pressed down hard for the 125-minute runtime as social media was flooded with clips of blubbing movie-goers post film.
However, HTMMBGD slips slightly into the red with the characterisation of the two younger characters — M and his savvy cousin Mui (Tontawan “Tu” Tantivejakul). The revelation of their aspiring professions (video game streamer and OnlyFans actress) produced a stress-induced face twitch in this viewer, as leaning too heavily on reductive stereotypes of Gen-Z laziness and apathy makes the authenticity fall flat.
How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is satisfying yet gently devastating. The moral of this tender story? Call your grandma (and not just because you want her house). Yes the housing crisis is rough but, like M, the experience will leave you far richer than any inheritance will.
Watch the trailer for How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies below.
