'The Last Kiss' leaves audiences wanting more
By Susannah Elliott, Entertainment Editor
September 21, 2006 | 7:03 p.m.
“The Last Kiss” thrives on realism, yet some may think it shows romantic relationships in an unrealistic light.
The latest film from screenwriter Paul Haggis (“Crash,” “Million Dollar Baby”) focuses on the quarter-life crisis people in their late 20s are supposedly experiencing more often these days. From the beginning, the film thrusts the audience into the lives of four male friends dangerously close to hitting their 30s. Michael (Zach Braff), Chris (Casey Affleck), Izzy (Michael Weston) and Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen) are at different stages in their journeys to full adulthood.
We are first introduced to Michael and his girlfriend of three years, Jenna (Jacinda Barrett). They are happily expecting their first child but are not married – they want to get married because they want to be together, not because they have a baby together.
Chris, on the other hand, already has a baby and a wife, Lisa (Lauren Lee Smith). Izzy is six weeks into the despair of a break-up with his girlfriend and takes some extreme measures to get her back before deciding to take a road trip to Tierra del Fuego. Kenny is in denial that he is 29 years old and continues to search for the perfect, attractive girl who desires no commitment.
The film is mostly from a male perspective -- a fact that contradicts the “chick-flick” reputation “The Last Kiss” is steadily gaining. This movie is not “The Notebook,” though Rachel McAdams was originally slated for the lead female role.
Based on the Italian “L’ultimo Bacio” of 2001, “The Last Kiss” holds true to its tagline, “We all make choices. What’s yours?”
The audience will be angry with at least one character for the choices he makes. Regardless of a moviegoer’s personal choices in real life, each seems to want film characters to do what they think is “the right thing.”
However, people simply do not always do the right thing, and that is the ultimate point of realism that “The Last Kiss” reaches. Michael has the perfect girl, the perfect relationship and the perfect job as an architect in a large firm in Wisconsin. He and his girlfriend are going to have a baby, and they both claim not to feel pressured to get married. Unfortunately, Michael starts to feel as if everything in his life is already planned, and there are no more surprises left. These feelings always seem to come out in conversation with Kim (Rachel Bilson), a college student nearly 10 years his junior whom he met at a wedding. Kim rationalizes his feelings, saying, “The world is moving so fast now that we start freaking long before our parents did because we don’t ever stop to breathe anymore.”
Michael seems to agree, and it’s easy to guess who gets stuck in the gears of Michael’s and Jenna’s relationship.
Meanwhile, Jenna’s parents are experiencing a similar problem. Chris and Lisa drive each other crazy. Kenny’s “ideal” non-committal girl wants him to meet her parents, and Izzy is beside himself after the loss of a loved one.
The thing audiences have to remember is that “The Last Kiss” is not a romantic comedy, or even a love story. It’s an examination of a phase for American twentysomethings that didn’t seem to affect earlier generations. It’s an imitation of life, happy ending or not, and it will force viewers to examine the relationships in their own lives.
Although the plot is not particularly engaging (maybe because it’s too familiar), the cast is what really makes the movie. Braff opens up a more passionate side of himself he was not able to reveal in “Garden State,” and Jacinda Barrett beautifully portrays a hormonal pregnant woman without using the pickles-and-ice-cream cliché. Eric Christian Olsen takes the opportunity to break away from the types of roles he played in “Dumb and Dumberer” and “Beerfest.” Casey Affleck and Michael Weston keep their characters believable instead of becoming too ideally caring or too neurotic, respectively. With Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson demonstrating painfully beautiful acting as Jenna’s parents, there really are no bad performances. Even Harold Amis shines in his bit part as an adulterous married college professor.
The soundtrack almost counts as a character itself. After winning a Grammy for assembling the “Garden State” soundtrack in 2004, Zach Braff may be in line for another. “The Last Kiss” soundtrack features artists like Snow Patrol, Rufus Wainwright, Ray LaMontagne, Joshua Radin and Imogen Heap. Braff filled the spaces without dialogue with songs that speak perfectly for the characters.
When the credits roll, the audience is left with an unresolved ending, which seems to be the trend lately. As far as viewers know, every relationship in the film is either doomed or headed for new beginnings.
“The Last Kiss” was well-executed by both cast and crew. It was lacking a fully-developed plot, however, and might leave viewers lacking hope for romance at all. It’s a bit of a downer, so it might be best to have “Love Actually” in the DVD player for after the show.
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For more information visit the movie’s official Web site at www.LastKissMovie.com