Credit: www.impawards.com
Director:
Tony Goldwyn
Cast:
Zach Braff”¦”¦”¦.Michael
Jacinda Barrett”¦”¦”¦.Jenna
Rachel Bilson”¦”¦”¦.Kim
Eric Christian Olsen”¦”¦”¦.Kenny
Casey Affleck”¦”¦”¦.Chris
Michael Weston”¦”¦”¦.Izzy
Tom Wilkinson”¦”¦”¦.Stephen
Blythe Danner”¦”¦”¦.Anna
Paramount Pictures presents The Last Kiss. Written by Paul Haggis. Inspired by L ‘Ultimo Bacio by Gabriele Muccino. Running time: 104 minutes. Rated R (for sexuality, nudity and language).
The Last Kiss is an opportunity for Paul Haggis to explore a different kind of relations; last yea’s Crash dealt with race relations in the City of Angeles. You’d be hard-pressed to find any minorities in this film. All the major characters are Caucasian, ranging in age from early twenties to sixties. Zach Braff (TV’s Scrubs) plays Michael, a kink-curly haired guy who seemingly has everything you could want: A beautiful girlfriend and a successful job. But when Jenna, his girlfriend, becomes pregnant, Michael gets scared. Up to and including this moment his life was pretty much planned out. No surprises. Each step is a natural progression in relationships. Love, marriage, offspring. In the film the order is out of sequence. Had Michael and Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) been married before she became pregnant, then maybe he would not have acted in such an irresponsible manner.
Michael immerses himself in a fling with college-aged hottie named Kim (Rachel Bilson). The two met at a friend’s wedding. As they break away from the festivities and chat in an old tree house, Michael admits he has a girlfriend, though he forgets to make mention that she’s pregnant. So I guess that make his omission a half-truth. Michael is sensible to know that what he is doing is wrong, as do we. Yet, he can’t grasp the concept of responsibility, and what it means to be trustworthy.
Inspired by Gabriele Muccino’s Italian film L ‘Ultimo Bacio, director Tony Goldwyn, but more importantly screenwriter Paul Haggis, creates an inter-connecting narrative with characters dealing with relationships. Each couple is different, allowing an examination of other emotions to come into play. Love, infidelity, friendship, and deceit are some of the biggies.
Just as Michael and Jenna’s relationship is cascading down a slippery slope, so is everyone else around them. Reaching those golden years can be trying. As the spark dwindles, Jenna’s parents, who were once madly in love, are now mad all the time. Anna (Blythe Danner) is struggling to come to grips with decades of frustration. Her marriage to Stephen (Tom Wilkinson), a therapist who is insensitive to her needs, is almost an oxymoron. He spends more time working out the problems of his patients than talking to his wife. And he fails to realize each wrinkle is a constant reminder of how long they have aged together.
Other relationship faux pas involve Michael’s friends. One friend is still hung up over a recent split — his girlfriend from high school, no less. Another must contend with being a father who is married to a woman who berates him all hours of the day. Completing this foursome is a buddy who is afraid of commitment, instead preferring one-night stands.
This movie lives or dies on the overall strength of the writing, directing and acting. It succeeds in some respects, but fails in others. The supporting cast is superb. Casey Affleck as Chris, the father trapped in a rotten marriage, is subtle as his character offers a glimpse at what Michael’s life could look like once the baby is born and he ties the knot with girlfriend Jenna. But he also acts as a voice of reason. Sensing Michael is fooling around on Jenna, he figuratively knocks some sense into him as he adamantly admits that she is “perfect for you.” Michael Weston as Izzy, the friend unable to accept that his ex dumped him, is a sad sack of a man. Though he is comical, in scenes where she confronts his former flame. Then there’s Eric Christian Olsen as Kenny the pretty face bartender; he is the free spirit, relationship-phobic friend of the bunch.
The biggest disappointments have to do with Jacinda Barrett and Rachel Bilson. Barrett’s character lacks depth, as most of the action is told from Zach Braff’s perspective. The problem with Rachel Bilson is that she was cast as Kim. Sure, she has the hottie persona nailed down having starred in Beverly Hills, 90210: The Next Generation, uh, I mean The O.C. Yet, her acting is to be desired, and her character is underdeveloped. She meets Michael at a wedding, but is she a friend of the bride or the groom? The question is never answered, allowing us to speculate if ulterior motives are at work. Boy, if the relationship between Michael and Kim were allowed to persist, it could have easily ventured into Match Point/Fatal Attraction territory. Thankfully, it does not.
Miscalculated casting choices aside, Zach Braff’s performance is the reason to watch The Last Kiss. Over the course of an hour and 44 minutes, he goes through a gamut of emotions. His character Michael is cynical, cracking jokes about life. Where it’s at, and where it is going. But being tempted by the fruit of another — his affair with Kim — is no laughing matter. He sinks into deep depression and regrets jeopardizing the relationship with Jenna. Braff is aptly able to jump from gloomy gus to jokester so effortlessly that it’s easy to classify this film as a serious comedy.
