Review of The Last Kiss

Introduction

This is so typical of Hollywood. Take what started as a left of field hit in Italy, buy the rights, and then remake it - losing all the magic that made the original such a winner in the process.

"L`ultimo bacio" (2001) was a comedic melodrama, all from a distinctly male point of view, about losing all the freedoms that go with being single, but ending up as a syrupy and moralistic tale about `doing the right thing`. And one thing that Hollywood loves are movies about `doing the right thing`.

Having bought the rights to the movie, Gary Lucchessi (Producer) recruited the talents of none other than screen-writer Paul Haggis (`Crash`; `Million Dollar Baby`) to adapt the screenplay. Haggis is quoted as saying that at the time of asking he needed the money and actually did nothing more than `translate` the original, despite all the publicity about him `penning` this film, probably in the hope that some of the box-office success of his other recent hits might rub off.
So what`s the movie like? Well, the cast looks pretty promising if you like this sort of thing. Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) features here and for many that`s not a bad start. Add Jacinda Barrett to the line-up and its all sounding very promising indeed.

But the movie falters from the word go with the principal casting of Zach Braff in the key role. He`s a nasally, geeky sort of guy who, in this film, is an unattractive self-centred whinger. Frankly, the basic premise of two gorgeous females battling over him just doesn`t compute. In my house (full of females of varying ages) there was a collective disappointed sigh when Zach first appeared. They were looking forward to a decent chick-flick or rom-com with a nice looking, charismatic and charming leading man and, without beating around the bush, Zach fell far short of expectations.

The movie is put together from a decidedly male perspective where women are cast merely as the support players in the central and most important plot here - the central male character`s life. Michael (Zach Braff) is touching thirty and life is beginning to get serious. His beautiful girlfriend has become pregnant, and friends are starting to get married and settled. Which equates to his young and care-free life being over.

At a friend`s wedding, Kim (Rachel Bilson) takes an unaccountable shine to him, eyeing him up from afar and foisting herself upon him when he is alone. Of course, he`s vulnerable and although he doesn`t say `yes` , he doesn`t say `no` either, and it`s not long before he`s ringing her up, and heading out on dates, which involve lying to her, to his friends, to his partner, to his partner`s parents and to himself. In fact, there`s very little to like about the guy.
In the background, his wife`s parents are splitting up after years of `loveless` marriage, and his friend`s relationships also seem to be falling apart. Far from being a comedy romance, the film actually starts to feel relentlessly miserable as he makes bad decisions and people (including himself) start to get hurt. When he`s confronted about the affair by his pregnant wife, he `handles` things by going back to Kim and sleeping with her. In the morning he tries to sneak out from there without waking her. There`s very little to like about the guy at all.
Most of the support roles are made up of equally vacuous individuals - selfish, stupid, or plain nuts. Or in the case of the mother-in-law - all three.

Video

This is roughly 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and is a reasonable transfer (no signs of dust, scratch or sparkle) though just all looks a bit limp. I suspect the movie always did. There are plenty of night time scenes, and several in the rain, I guess reflecting the relentlessly miserable tone of the film.

Audio

One of the least developed 5.1 soundtracks I`ve ever heard, though arguably appropriately so. 99% of the action seems tp come from the front with a little of the music seeping occasionally from the rears. Perfectly acceptable, if unremarkable.

Features

As a general rule of thumb, the poorer the movie the more prevalent the extras. This disc is no exception with a whole bunch of stuff that you just won`t want to see or hear.

AUDIO COMMENTARIES
There are two here, both featuring Director Tony Goldwyn and actor Zach Braff, though the second of the two also has other cast and crew (Goldwyn, Braff, and actors Jacinda Barrett, Rachel Bilson, Michael Weston and Eric Christian Olsen). Surely life is too short to endure stuff like this? It`s the usual mix of sycophantic comment, bad jokes and occasional fact and comment. The first commentary often winds up with neither party having anything to say, and the second with too many people talking at once. Both commentaries should be reserved for the most masochistic fans only.

FEATURETTES

Filmmaker`s Perspective (2.5 MINS) . Director Tony Goldwyn and producer Gary Lucchesi ruminate on how great the original was and how great it wa to work on the movie.

Getting Together. (27 MINS of your life that you`ll never get back): Here you get the whole tamale; cast and crew discussing how great they think everyone else was, with the exception of Braff who pretty much focuses on how great he thought he was. We hear about the casting process and how the whole team was pulled together.

Behind Our Favorite Scenes. (9 minutes) Now we get to hear about which scenes cast and crew liked best and why.heaping more praise upon each other`s work. There`s a little bit of production footage here too.

Last Thoughts (3.5 minutes): Now we get to hear how incredibly meaningful and artistic the film is from the humourless Hollywood clods who made it. Give us a break!


MUSIC VIDEO

For "RIDE" by Cary Brothers. This was directed by Braff who introduces it. Just a mime video in a trailer park and not the piece of art that Braff clearly thinks it is. Dullsville.


DELETED SCENES

"Bachelor Party Extended" (2:52), "Treehouse Scene Extended" (3:48), "Izzy and Arianna On the Phone" (0:36), "Chris and Lisa Fight in the Kitchen" (1:26), "Kim Chases Michael" (0:40), "Alternate Ending 1" (2:43) and "Alternate Ending 2" (2:03). The two endings just offer up a little more detail, though don`t change the basic premise. Personally I`d like to have seen to have seen Braff get his balls kicked instead.

GAG REEL

Three minutes of toe-curlingly unfunny gags. Worst perhaps is Braff imitating a black women whilst all the sycophantic crew can be heard laughing for their lives - and their next job. Rubbish.

Conclusion

I have a feeling that this film will be picked up by twenty-somethings thinking they`ll get something between `The O.C` and a chick-flick rom-com. What they`ll get not only fails on these two counts, but fails on nearly every other too.

It`s a miserable remake of a hit film from Italy where something serious has got lost in translation. Much of the blame can rest on casting of the irritating Braff in the lead role playing a charmless, geeky unrepentant liar. To add insult to injury the film is principally focussed on how he copes with the trials and tribulations in his life as he approaches thirty and has to face some serious responsibilities. All other characters are portrayed as peripheral to this central theme. So when his life turns bad, I just didn`t care enough to get emotionally involved.

Just to add to the misery, others relationships are in decay all around him, making the film`s conclusion seem hollow and unconvincing.
On the plus-side, Rachel Bilson positively sparkles through the film, showing that she`s capable of playing more complex characters than merely pretty Summer in The O.C.

Overall though, with so many great movies to spend your hard earned cash on, I`d give this a wide berth.