THE LAST KISS

[Moviefan1234]

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Release Date: September 15, 2006

Studio: DreamWorks Pictures

Director: Tony Goldwyn

Starring: Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, Michael Weston, Eric Christian Olsen, Rachel Bilson, Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson, Lauren Lee Smith, Marley Shelton[/b]

MPAA Rating: R (for sexuality, nudity and language)

Premise: "The Last Kiss" is a contemporary comedy-drama about life, love, infidelity, forgiveness, marriage, friendship... and coming to grips with turning 30. It is an adaptation of Gabriele Muccino's acclaimed Italian film "L'Ultimo Baccio."

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I think this film looks excellent. After GARDEN STATE, I'll watch just about anything he attaches himself to.

[MadsenOMC]

I want to see it for the music. Braff has put together another amazing soundtrack. The movie looks extremely tired though. Another guy in his 20s going through a crisis. Seen that before and this doesn't appear to add anything new. I don't think Braff is that good of an actor either.

[Lazy Boy]

Oh, boy, another "whiny angst" picture, set to soulful melodies of the current popular culture. Add Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner to attract the Ordinary People crowd, and we have what looks like nothing special.

Does the Braff character mention "I don't know what I want to be" somewhere along the line, 'cause it looks like one of those pictures.

Zero interest.

Instead, I will insist, since Tony Goldwyn is the director, that everybody check out A Walk on the Moon, if you haven't seen it. A nice little gem that he directed from over seven years ago, a film unfortunately dumped by Miramax because they were too focused on heartwarming little fables that would win the studio some Oscars.

[Moviefan02000]

I'll see it, but I have the lowest expectations possible.

[SpikeDurden]

I love Zach Braff to the grave, and he has indeed again put together another amazing soundtrack. The film does look a little bit too similar to Garden State from its early materials, however I've heard that it's a lot darker and grittier than that film, so we'll see. Either way, I'm excited.

[RandalGraves]

I'll be seeing this sometime in theaters...if not opening weekend.

[BoBoi]

After watching Garden State, I have been anticipated to see Zach's next work and will be very much looking forward to The Last Kiss when it comes out.

[blankpage]

Yeah, the soundtrack looks pretty furgin' tight. I dig Braff's work in Scrubs, and I thought Garden State was a pretty decent picture. The formula looks a little tired, yeah, but I'm a bit of a sucker for these kinds of flicks, so I'll be checking it out.

[Alecc Bracero]

The Last Kiss is a movie that I have been anticipating for quite some time. It's also a remake of an Italian film that goes by the name of L' Ultimo Bacio, just incase you didn't know. In 2004, Garden State was released, and instantly became one of my favorite movies of all time. Zach Braff had proven to me that he is a solid actor, writer, and director. In Kiss, his only job is to act, so this would be proof to be that he can not only create something great, but can also choose a great project to be in. Did he succeed? Damn right!

Braff plays Michael, a twenty-nine year old man who seems to have everything he needs. He has a secure job, a nice place to live, a cute girlfriend with a baby on the way, and friends he can count on. At his age, all of that should be enough. But the thought of having no more surprises in his life eats away at him, until a surprise appears to him in the form of a girl named Kim.

A film like this requires a solid cast to make you care about what's being said and done on screen. Let's start with Braff. He impressed me in State by capturing the essence of a man that has been numb for the majority of his life and is now breaking out of that shell. In Kiss, confusion and stress are evident in his performance. As Michael, Braff has great comic timing and conveys many emotions simply through his facial expressions. Jacinda Barrett plays his pregnant girlfriend Jenna. At times, she's just okay, but during the scenes that require her to be angry and sad, she drives it home with some powerful stuff. Rachel Bilson shows up as Kim, the temptation that is presented to Michael during his time of crisis. Bilson portrays a young free-spirited girl perfectly, and that's probably because she is in fact a young free-spirited girl. As Michael's buddies, Eric Christian Olsen, Michael ("People really listen to you. I mean, they have to!") Weston, and Casey Affleck all fill there roles with finesse. Affleck is given the most to work with out of the three stooges, playing a stressed out parent who's had enough of his wife, played by Lauren Lee Smith, coming down on him. As Jenna's parents, Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner bring depth to their characters. Wilkinson plays a man that has reached a certain age and point in his life where he feels he doesn't have to do anything to keep his marriage exciting, and Danner plays a woman that still yearns for attention every once and a while. Both of them deliver great performances.

Directed by Tony ("I was the guy that betrayed Patrick 'The' Swayze in Ghost!") Goldwyn, from a script written by Paul Haggis, The Last Kiss has a nice look to it. Although I didn't agree with a couple of shots that looked kind of awkward, there were certain shots that have been etched into my head, like pretty much every shot of Braff sitting on the porch. Haggis provided a good script that was complex with a very simple, but effective, conclusion.

Bottom line, life is tough. You move through it daily and hope that you can achieve a certain level of happiness. You make decisions and hope that they are for the best, but sometimes they're for the worst. The Last Kiss examines people and the tough decisions that need to be made in order to find out who they are, and accomplishes that task swimmingly.

Overall Review: *** 1/2 stars out of 4

Best Line:

Wilkinson: You can't fail if you don't give up.

[MadsenOMC]

Originally posted by dingostyle
Bottom line, life is tough. You move through it daily and hope that you can achieve a certain level of happiness. You make decisions and hope that they are for the best, but sometimes they're for the worst.

Best Line:

Wilkinson: You can't fail if you don't give up.

This is exactly what worries me. Of course life is tough. Tell me something I don't know. Sounds like it covers very familiar territory. I don't want to spend time with another mopey guy in his 20s who feels sorry for himself because he doesn't know what to do with his life and is scared of the future. I hope the movie offers more than that. I do still want to see it, but mainly for the music.

If that is the best line, this movie is in trouble. Ugh. That sounds like it was lifted from a Hallmark card.

[chinton]

Ill still see the movie but I'm sorry that line is pretty cheesy.

[silverman82]

I'm a big fan of the movie Garden State, so I was hoping that Braff would pic another interesting dramatic role instead of running to a romantic comedy like most actors once they've made it. I was quite happy to see that he picked "The last Kiss", and I'm looking forward to seeing it this weekend. I found some footage from a Toronto Film Festival press conference held this past weekend that focuses on the movie. ENJOY:) (http://tinyurl.com/jwo7l)

[Goberg]

Im a big fan of Garden State, but Zach Braff havent directed this, so i dont realy know what to think about it.

Im not usually a big fan of romantic comedies

[Addi88]

I found this pretty funny.

Zach Braff’s 10 Easy Tips for Writing Films About Twenty-Somethings (http://www.brianmpalmer.com/blog/2006/09/07/the-gardening/)

:D

[Alecc Bracero]

Originally posted by Goberg
Im not usually a big fan of romantic comedies

It's actually more about the downfall of relationships.

[MadsenOMC]

SPOILERS!!


This movie is almost a total failure. I can see why the reviews have been mixed and why it isn't getting a wide release. There are simply too many characters here, and none of them are fully developed. Kim is the worst of them. What attracts her to Michael in the first place? What is so great about a bland dude 10 years older than her? What is her motivation? She is ridiculously underdeveloped. We learn nothing about her. There's just too much going on. The two other friends drop out halfway through, so their early scenes feel like useless filler. Casey Affleck's wife is hardly in the movie. There are some good lines and some good songs, but not nearly enough of either. This territory has been covered too much already and nothing new or interesting is brought to the table. I didn't care about the outcome of the central relationship because I had nothing invested in it. I didn't spend enough time with them. Same goes for everyone else. I didn't care. It's not terrible and some of the performances are great, but overall the excessive number of characters, along with the familiarity of the subject matter, sink it. This is textbook mediocrity. At best. And the best line, by far, is, "I have $700 and lots of fucking cheese." Any time the movie tries to be profound, it fails miserably. It has been said before, and said better, in better movies.

5/10

[Moviefan02000]

Originally posted by MadsenOMC
I can see why it isn't getting a wide release.

It did get a wide release.

[zombievictim]

Great film. Loved every second of it.

9/10

[notchreturns]

Is it just me or does the poster scream Match Point?

[Danger^Cart]

Originally posted by Addi88
I found this pretty funny.

Zach Braff’s 10 Easy Tips for Writing Films About Twenty-Somethings (http://www.brianmpalmer.com/blog/2006/09/07/the-gardening/)

:D

BAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHA

Thats good satire ;)

[MadsenOMC]

Originally posted by Moviefan02000
It did get a wide release.

Um, no it didn't. It got a semi-wide release. Less than 1,400 theaters is not a wide release. That's a fact.

[ilovemovies]

SPOILERS!


Not great, but pretty good. I totally didn't get the Blythe Danner character. It's not Danner's fault. She gave a fine performance, but I found the character to be unevenly written where there are times when she REALLY got on my nerves and other scenes where I liked her. Mostly, near the end of the movie.

That one guy who was obsessed with ex-girlfriend also kind of annoying. That girl should get a restraining order on him. He's nuts!

Zach Braff gives a fine performance. Casey Affleck and Eric Christian Olsen are pretty good too. And Rachel Bilson takes what could have been a thankless role and really brings a lot to it. I loved her here almost as much as I love her on The OC.

But the two best performances from the movie are Jucinda Barrett and Tom Wilkinson, both of whom are simply wonderful. Infact, they are two of my favorite performances this year. They are just great. It's probably too early to say if they worthy of oscar nominations, since there are a lot of movies coming out that look great, but they are certainly early worthy contenders.

Loved the ending and I loved how this ending, in a way kind of reminded me of Sideways or The Break Up, where they end somewhat ambigiously. They end it so that it could go either way. Either they do get back together or maybe not so much. It was a perfect way to end an a good movie. Nothing amazing. Admittedly, there is nothing terribly orginal about this movie. But it's a nice, honest, sincere and warm effort with a great ensemble of actors. I quite liked it.

7/10

[austingirl]

Almost went to watch it this weekend, but I couldn't convince my husband!! The reviews online weren't that great, so it's good to see that it did decently among all of you! I am going to have to drag someone to watch this with me...the music is what most attracts me to it also!

[DareDevil]

God I wish i had seen this instead of the POS Black Dahlia.

[Shockwave]

Nothing like Garden State, but thats not a bad thing.

8/10. The relationships felt more "real' since alot of the stupid shit people did in this movie to wreck thier own lives ive seen friends do.

..on a side note, i saw this with a group of buds, it seems like half of us loved it, the other half hated it. :p

[daddiefatsacks]

wow, nice little surprise here.

I was expecting something a little more light, and upbeat, instead i got a well-written 'real' drama. All of these things happen to people, and who cares why Kim was attracted to Michael, she just was. My only complaint is that they didn't close out the story on two of Michael's friends, the ones who went to south america....

7/10

[MadsenOMC]

Originally posted by daddiefatsacks
All of these things happen to people, and who cares why Kim was attracted to Michael, she just was.

No shit these things happen to people. Tell me something I don't know. It's not exactly the first movie to attempt to examine a man's fear of settling down. Been there and done that. Who cares? I do. I think it is pretty fucking important to the story. She wanted him to leave his pregnant fiance for fuck sake. For that matter, why was his pregnant fiance so damn wonderful? Casey Affleck says she is perfect, but we never actually see anything to support that. We're supposed to take it on faith. I might agree that this was well-written if it was even slightly original, but it's not.

[ilovemovies]

Kim didn't know she was pregnant. All she knew is that Michael was going through some kind of crisis and thought he was unhappy with his relationship so she tries to get him to leave her.

And as for Barrett's being wonderful, I think it really comes through in Barrett's performance. I really, really liked her and I thought that Michael was being pretty stupid by even talking to Kim.

And as for Kim's motivation for wanting to be with Michael? Maybe she was just really attractive to him? I don't know. I didn't really need an explanation. It didn't bother me.

[MadsenOMC]

So what if she didn't know that Michael's girlfriend was pregnant. She wanted him to leave her. That is a pretty big deal, isn't it? But we learn nothing about her except that she is a college student. Why is she so taken with Michael? Why does she want him to leave his girlfriend to be with her? I think they are important and relevant questions in a movie like this and they are never addressed. Barrett is fine if unexceptional, but we are supposed to believe that she is the perfect woman. I didn't see that.

[Shockwave]

I didnt mind it that much due to all the poeple ive seen get together without any one thing or reason they can think of for hooking up to begin with.

..and the fucks ups along the way. More then once ive wanted to go "WHY DID U DO THAT???" to a bud.

I thought it was a pretty brave little movie.

[MadsenOMC]

We have all seen friends make stupid decisions. That is hardly relevatory. And brave? Seriously? How? I strongly disagree.

[ilovemovies]

1) She wanted him to leave his girlfriend because he seemed unhappy.

and

2) You are right that she is not a developed character. It doesn't matter that much though because her character is more of a plot device. A way of getting Michael to realize how much he loves his girlfriend and wants to be with her. That was the point of her character in the story. Yes, she could have been developed but she served her purpose and I thought Rachel Bilson did atleast make her very likeable and appealing.

[MadsenOMC]

Maybe actually really liking him would be a better reason to want him to leave his girlfriend, rather than feeling sorry for him? I get the point of her character, but I do not think that excuses weak writing and one-dimensional characters. And I don't think Bilson was good.

[bob]

I thought Braff gave an excellent performance, but in my mind the film has one large flaw. Call me crazy, but with the information provided within the context of the plot, I'd stick with Rachel Bilson's character. She's more lively, better-looking, and all the true scenes of romance involve her and Braff rather than Barrett and Braff.

It's like Jude Law going after Julia Roberts in Closer...it makes no fucking sense.

[Alecc Bracero]

Originally posted by bob
It's like Jude Law going after Julia Roberts in Closer...it makes no fucking sense.

Well, I think Law went after Roberts because she was a "woman", where as Portman still had some growing up to do. Every guy wants something different. In Last Kiss, Braff just wanted to take advantage of the fact that a younger, hotter girl actually took interest in him, which only added on to his already growing fear of just settling down with a very planned out future. Some guys want the young, free spirit while others want the girl that knows what she wants. If that makes any sense.

[bigred760]

To me, this was just another movie about how several people, young and old, deal with relationships. The flick wasn't necessarily bad or anything, but the story and plot was nothing new or original as far as I was concerned.

You've got the main character with a pregnant girlfriend - he's tempted by a younger, quite attractive, female who flirts and adores him. He come real close to acting on those temptations and the movie goes from there. Then you've got the pregnant girlfriend's parents who have their issues about their marriage, the main guy's three friends - a married guy who's thinking about leaving his wife, a guy who's hooked on an ex-girlfriend, and another guy who wants no commitment whatsoever. That's a lot to think about and a lot of people with a lot of commitment issues going on in their life - all at once.

A lot of things come to blows towards the ends while others come to decent conclusions. Since some of these people screw up during the movie, I really didn't care if the couples got back together or not - and all was forgiven. The offender(s) deserved what they got as far as I was concerned.

All the performers were admirable and gave the right amound of grief, crying, joy, confusion, and all that stuff you'd expect out of a movie about the hardships of relationships. I've heard Garden State mentioned several times, but other than Zach Braff and his ". . . 10 Easy Tips for Writing Films About Twenty-Somethings" (very funny by the way :D), there's little in common. He didn't write or direct the movie, just appear as the lead. His clever wit and style is lacking in this movie. I'll be more excited about his next directorial effort.

Though it's Braff's relationship with the lovely Jacinda Barrett that is the main focus of the movie, there's a lot of relationship stuff going on. The T&A is very nice, and while the ending does drag out . . . a lot - it's a decent movie that should keep you thinking about your own relationships and what not.

6/10

[daddiefatsacks]

in response to Casey Affleck calling Jacinda Barret 'perfect', doesn't necessarily mean she's PERFECT, its a figure of speech, but obviously, she's very attractive, and from many scenes you could tell that she loved him very much, and they seemed like a couple that never argued...I donno I bought it.

in regards to bob's comment on how the romance was more with Bilson's character, i don't think i can agree, i think their sex was more out of lust, which is DEFINATELY different from love, which i'm sure the romance between Braff and Barrett was.

[MadsenOMC]

Originally posted by daddiefatsacks
in response to Casey Affleck calling Jacinda Barret 'perfect', doesn't necessarily mean she's PERFECT, its a figure of speech, but obviously, she's very attractive, and from many scenes you could tell that she loved him very much, and they seemed like a couple that never argued...I donno I bought it.


I just expect more character development and better writing in a movie like this. I don't want to be told that someone is perfect, even if it is a figure of speech and doesn't mean she is literally perfect. I never thought Affleck meant that this woman is literally a perfect person. Sure she is cute, and apparently she loves him a lot. So what? That is nothing. That tells me nothing about her.

[echo_bravo]

Hmm I was totally under the impression that Braff directed this.

I am wanting to check this out. Bilson is smoooookin!

[bigred760]

Originally posted by echo_bravo
Hmm I was totally under the impression that Braff directed this.


A Mr. Tony Goldwyn directed the flick, and did a pretty decent job, though nothing special.

He's mostly know for his acting though - in Ghost and The Last Samurai to name a few.

[SpikeDurden]

What a dull, cliched, overly melodramatic movie. I can't remember the last time a film was filled with such flat, boring characters, save for Rachel Bilson, who's a tiny little ball of sexiness and spunk and energy. Every other character in the film is poorly written and cliched, and the actors don't do anything to help, though Blythe Danner tries her best. Worst of all, though, is Paul Haggis' atrocious screenplay, which kind of plays like a romantic drama version of Crash in that everything bad that happens in romance movies happens, and it's woven around a wide tapestry of characters all experiencing their own problems and quibbles in the same area. It's a shame, because I love Zach Braff, and I love his previous feature, Garden State. He should stick to writing and directing himself, instead of letting people like Tony Goldwyn (who apparently just sat around on his ass for two months and did nothing) direct him.

* 1/2 (*, but an extra 1/2 for the lovely Rachel Bilson and the awesome soundtrack.)

[austingirl]

Wow, I heard the same thing from a friend of mine who went to see this during the weekend. I was really looking forward to watching it and now I am not. This really makes me sad, bc I thought that it was going to be a sleeper hit like Garden State was when it was released.

[veddhead83]

"The Last Kiss" Quickie Review ( + )

Another winner from Zach Braff. This time he plays a father-to-be searching for that missing piece of his life. He finds it in a college student who reminds him of his adolescence. Blythe Danner and Jacinda Barrett are great as the mother/daughter combo struggling with their own companions. Though not as superb as "Garden State," this film stands because of the great ensemble cast and the screenwriting of Paul Haggis.