The Last Kiss (2006)
Picture: B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
Remaking
foreign films is tricky, especially when it involves romance or sex. Actor-turned-director Tony Goldwyn helms The Last Kiss (2006), a remake of
Gabriele Muccino’s L’Ultimo Bacio
(2001) adapted by no less than red-hot writer Paul Haggis. The film stars Zack Braff as Michael, a young
man with pregnant girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) who is ready to marry her,
but he suddenly meets the attractive and sexy Kim (Rachel Bilson) who he is
suddenly very attracted to and slowly decides to have a fling with. Will he ruin his commitment, what about the
baby, what about the mother and what about his future?
We have
seen this story a hundred times before, but Goldwyn’s version (he admits he
made changes in the Haggis adaptation) starts well, asks all kinds of
questions, introduce us to Jenna’s parents (Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson)
who have their own problems, show us sex and nudity for “realism” (or was that
to tantalize?) and creates situations to that are interesting. However, at the half-way point, the film
begins to show that it does not know what to do with them.
The
acting and casting is good for the most part, though Casey Affleck (who was
good in Lonesome Jim) feels like the
odd man out here in his scenes. Maybe
Haggis should have directed himself, but this never coheres itself, has a
resolution beyond the usual melodrama and Braff does not follow up Garden State with a better film as a
result. Goldwyn has directed before, but
has not become full fledged good at it, though at least he is trying. He just needs to go further next time.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is not bad, shot in Super 35mm by Clint
Eastwood’s current cinematographer, Tom Stern.
He makes this film more watchable than it might have been otherwise and
also showed his talents on the grossly underrated Exorcism Of Emily Rose. He
gets more intimacy out of the narrative, but handles the humor well and the few
nude shots are passably good at best.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix has good dialogue recording and enough use of
the surrounds, with a good score by singer/songwriter Michael Penn (Boogie Nights, the great hit record No Myth). The combination is just fine, while extras
include a gag reel, deleted scenes, making of featurette, Music Video by The
Cary Brothers and full length audio commentary with Goldwyn, Braff, Barrett and
Bilson.
- Nicholas Sheffo
