The Beach Bum: 10 Tricky Philosophical Questions It Raises

Human life in The Beach Bum sometimes appears to have no value whatsoever. When Captain Wack is at risk of death by shark attack, Moondog merely laughs at the scenario while an unnamed child character (we'll call him Discount Gibby) fishes Wack's foot from the water. Wack himself doesn't value human life much, either. He feels no remorse over the four people that have previously died on his boat, nor does Moondog judge him for their deaths.

These are mere comedic beats in the film, but the death of Moondog's wife Millie is much more serious. Yet during her funeral, Moondog and his friends treat the graveyard like a party scene. They hang out on top of gravestones. They spend the funeral openly drinking and getting high.

And why shouldn't they? Based on Millie's characterization, this is precisely the funeral she would have wanted. It seems off-putting and wrong, but Isla Fisher plays the character as someone who would want others to have a good time in her absence.

She would also appreciate that Moondog's fond remembrances of her life include colorful descriptions of her aptitude for fellatio. This film talks about the dead in a manner that societal etiquette would deem crass, but it's also incredibly honest. Even on the rare occasion that Moondog speaks ill of her, he's merely calling it as he sees it.

There's something refreshing about this sort of honesty. It spares Millie from the worst part of death, from becoming an ever-dissipating shadow of the past. The willingness to speak harsh truths and engage in behaviors that others might deem disrespectful is actually the highest form of respect for who Millie was, and allows her to maintain her humanity even in passing.