When I saw "Garden State" a couple of years ago, I saw it mainly because of Natalie Portman. I had seen the teaser for the film (the one with the song "Let Go" by Frou Frou), and it did get me more interested in the film, but Natalie Portman was my main reason for seeing it. As it turned out, Natalie Portman was excellent in the movie, just as I knew she'd be, but the big surprise was Zach Braff. He starred in the film, but he also wrote and directed it. I didn't know much about Zach Braff, I only knew that he was the star of a TV show I didn't watch called "Scrubs" (I've since watched every episode available on DVD, and I love the show), but much to my surprise, Zach Braff proved to be an extremely talented guy, and he made what ended up being my favorite movie of 2004, beating out "Spider-Man 2."
Now Zach Braff stars in his first feature film since "Garden State" (not including "Chicken Little," where he provided the voice of the main character), "The Last Kiss." He didn't write or direct this one (though he supposedly rewrote some of the dialogue), but it's still a really good movie. It's poignant and true-to-life, almost painfully so. I imagine that most people know couples like the ones depicted in the film. In fact, most people may have been (or may currently be) in relationships similar to the ones depicted in the film. Maintaining a good relationship takes hard work, and nobody's perfect. This movie shows that, and pulls no punches in doing so. "The Last Kiss" isn't nearly as good as "Garden State," but I still liked it a lot. It isn't a very happy movie, and some might walk into the movie expecting a light romantic comedy, but it's no romantic comedy, and it certainly isn't light. It does have a few funny moments, though.
I think that "The Last Kiss" is a good movie for couples to see together. Most guys might balk, thinking this is a straight-up chick flick, and though that feeling isn't entirely unjustified, there's a lot in the movie that guys can relate to. I know I did. The thing is that I think couples will walk out of the movie having a lot to talk about, and for some couples, that's a good thing, while for other couples, that's not such a good thing. At least there will be some communication, right?
Zach Braff is excellent in the movie, and even though he has a face for comedy, and it's easier to see him in comedic roles, he does a fantastic job with the dramatic scenes in the film. I don't know how much longer "Scrubs" will be on the air, but if it gets cancelled, I don't think he'll have a problem finding movie roles. Jacinda Barrett plays his girlfriend in the movie, and I remember her from years ago, when she was in one of the early seasons of MTV's phenomenally successful reality TV show, "The Real World" (she was in it just before it became unwatchable). Over the last couple of years, she's been in quite a few movies, including "Urban Legends: Final Cut," "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," "Ladder 49," "Poseidon," and others, but this is my first time ever seeing her in an acting role. She's actually a really good actress, and I didn't expect that. Playing the girl who catches Zach Braff's wandering eye is Rachel Bilson, who has some comic book cred. She's in the TV show, "The O.C.," which repeatedly has comic book references. Not only that, her father is writer/director Danny Bilson, who was one of the creators of the TV series, "The Flash," which was based on the DC Comics superhero. In fact, he's currently co-writing the "Flash" comic books now with the co-creator of the show, Paul DeMeo. I don't watch "The O.C.," so I'm not familiar with Rachel Bilson's work. "The Last Kiss" is her feature film debut, and she's great in the role.
Along with Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, and Rachel Bilson, the talented cast also includes Eric Christian Olsen (he played the Jim Carrey role in "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd"... he was also in "Not Another Teen Movie," "Cellular," and he was in a couple of episodes of "24"), Casey Affleck (Ben Affleck's brother... he was in "Good Will Hunting," "Ocean's Eleven," and "Ocean's Twelve"), and two respected older actors, Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner. All of them do really good work in the film, and they help to make their characters very believable.
"The Last Kiss" is an American remake of the 2001 Italian film, "L'Ultimo Bacio," which was written and directed by Gabriele Muccino. I didn't see that movie, but I might rent the DVD. I'm curious to see what the original one is like. For the American version, the screenplay was written by Paul Haggis, who has made a name for himself recently, since he wrote "Million Dollar Baby" (which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2005) and he directed and co-wrote "Crash" (which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2006). I don't think that "The Last Kiss" will give him his hat trick, but it's definitely a worthy addition to his filmography. The director of the film was Tony Goldwyn, who I'm familiar with as an actor. I remember him primarily from his role in the 1990 film, "Ghost." Since then, he directed "Someone Like You" and "A Walk on the Moon," two films I've never seen, but he's mostly done TV directing, like with "Grey's Anatomy," "Law & Order," "Without a Trace," and "The L Word" (where he also had an acting role). I think that Tony Goldwyn did a pretty good job with the film, but there's one sex scene that I don't think should have been shown, not because I'm some sorta prude (there are other sex scenes in the film that are much more graphic, and I was fine with them), but because the scene I'm referring to was truly unnecessary. Then again, there's a reason it may have been included that I can't get into, because it could be considered a spoiler.
I really liked "The Last Kiss," but it does drag a bit, and I think that some might find the movie to be really depressing. Others, however, will find the movie enlightening, and I honestly think that it could get a couple to communicate more. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the couple. The couples in the film seemed very real to me, and there was no Hollywood bullshit until the last act of the film (which isn't to say that it didn't work for me). "The Last Kiss" may not be the feel-good movie of the year, but it's a quality film, and I really liked it.
Scale of 1-10: 8