The Last Kiss is a not-so-special movie about crumbling relationships, fear of commitment,
the hostilities and volatilities amongst couples, and generally morbid and other assorted doleful
subjects that make for a downer of a movie with little in the way of redeeming values. The Last
Kiss is hard to watch, not only because of its depressing tone but because of its lack of real
meaning. Throughout the film one waits and waits for a point that never comes. The movie hints
at the importance of forgiveness and repentance in a relationship, but ultimately seems to espouse
that there is no answer, that each individual and each situation bears different burdens and
personalities and therefore each must discover unique resolutions for whatever problem may arise.
It seems that the point of the movie is that there is no point, perhaps in its own way trying to
mirror what it perceives as the reality of human interaction and emotions that go deeper than the
superficial pleasures of the here and now.
Zach Braff or Dax Shepard? you decide.
The Last Kiss is a film about commitment, or lack thereof. Each couple in the film
experiences the ups and downs (and mostly the downs) of relationships at various stages. One
man, Izzy (Michael Weston),
finds himself in a never-ending search for meaning and companionship, despite witnessing the
despair of his committed friends throughout the film. Another, Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen),
enjoys the
company of a young woman but flees once she shows signs of wanting more than a physical
relationship. Yet another, Chris (Casey Affleck, Gone Baby Gone),
struggles with a losing marriage that is further complicated by
the
presence of an infant. The two primary relationships the film deals with regard infidelity at two
distinct stages of life. One couple, Anna and Stephen (Blythe Danner, Meet the Parents,
and Tom Wilksinson, Michael Clayton,
respectively) is rapidly approaching their golden years and find themselves
on
the brink of irrelevancy with one another, while their unmarried and pregnant daughter, Jenna
(Jacinda Barrett), wants to
deepen her relationship with her boyfriend, Michael (Zach Braff, Garden State), who fears
commitment and finds himself tempted by a
younger girl, Kim (Rachel Bilson, Jumper), who
represents the freedom and carefree life he fears losing in a committed
relationship. Rage, jealousy, confusion, remorse, and lust are the themes that identify the
characters and their struggles, with each one experiencing the entire spectrum of emotions.
The problem with The Last Kiss isn't necessarily its depressing tone and candid look at
relationships that plays counter to the plethora of happy-go-lucky Romantic Comedies. Instead,
the film is populated by thinly-developed characters that leave the audience indifferent to their
plights that involve a multitude of crises. To the film's credit, it tackles a niche rarely seen in
cinema, that of the bleaker side of reality where life isn't always bright and cheerful. However,
instead of
showing a storm, The Last Kiss depicts life as a category five hurricane with no end in
sight. It's nothing but a nonstop barrage of downers that may leave even the most stoic of
viewers disoriented by the film's unforgiving tone. The Last Kiss rewards viewers with
little more than
a depressing and perhaps even morbid stance on life and love. Combined with sluggish pacing
and unlikable characters, it's more trouble than it's worth.
The Last Kiss arrives on Blu-ray with a decent 1080p transfer framed at 2.35:1. This is a
fairly standard-looking high definition transfer, offering nothing too special but never appearing
noticeably bad. The image is fairly dark and slightly soft in appearance as the film opens. Colors
aren't bold; rather they seem a tad underwhelming, and fine detail is hard to come by. Bright
outdoor shots fare better, and the movie becomes livelier, visually, as it progresses. The
outdoor wedding scene in chapter two or various scenes of a college campus showcase
above-average detail, sharp imagery in both the foreground and background, and solid amounts of
detail in clothing and greenery. Flesh tones vary throughout, from ghastly to red and everything in
between. Grain is visible during the presentation, particularly over brighter backgrounds, and the
print exhibits a few speckles here and there. Blacks look solid. The Last Kiss makes for a
transfer that is acceptably mundane.
This Blu-ray release of The Last Kiss features a bland Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack.
The
majority of the track is incredibly subdued, often reflecting the somber, confused tone of the movie
and the characters that populate it. Dialogue, the lifeblood of the film and primary sonic activity, is
often just a bit low in volume but never otherwise distorted in presentation. The track recreates
minor ambience across the front soundstage nicely in several scenes, the chirping of birds or the
blowing of wind playing as particularly natural. The rear channels carry virtually nothing in the way
of environmental atmospherics or discrete sound effects. Several scenes feature a good bit of
authoritative thumping in the form of Hip-Hop music at a college party, bringing a bit of life to an
otherwise dull soundtrack. Generally, this one offers little to become excited about.
The Last Kiss comes to Blu-ray with plenty of extras, headlined by a pair
of commentary tracks. The first features Actor Zach Braff and Director Tony Goldwyn. The track
takes on a jovial tone that offers up just as many nonsensical anecdotes as tried-and-true
comments on the process of making the film and its themes. Fans should enjoy this one. The
second track once again contains Braff and Goldwyn, this time accompanied by Actors Jacinda
Barrett, Rachel Bilson, Michael Weston, and Eric Christian Olsen. This track, too, is marked by
plenty of offbeat comments and humor. The participants giggle and speak over one another
throughout. Four featurettes are next. 'The Last Kiss' -- Filmmakers' Perspective (480p,
2:33) briefly features several interview clips with Producer Gary Lucchesi and Director Tony
Goldwyn. 'The Last Kiss' -- Getting Together (480p, 26:44) examines the process of
bringing this remake of the Italian film L'Ultimo Baccio to American screens as told
through interview clips with cast and crew. 'The Last Kiss' -- Behind Our favorite Scenes
(480p, 8:27) looks at the making of several scenes. 'The Last Kiss' -- Last Thoughts
(480p, 3:29) features interview cuts discussing how The Last Kiss offers audiences the
sort of movie they want to see. Concluding the special features is a music video by the Cary
Brothers entitled Ride (480p, 3:25) with an introduction from Zach Braff, five deleted
and extended scenes with two alternate endings (480p, 14:07), a gag reel (480p, 2:44), and the
film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:34).
The Last Kiss meanders through a depressing minefield of marital and relationship problems
with
no real point. No character escapes unscathed; some flee, some trudge on, but with each step
comes another chance of self-destruction that will likely wipe out everyone that is along for the ride.
The problem is that the characters offer no real reason to care whether or not they successfully
maneuver the minefield. In fact, the film only seems to try and pack in as many emotional
explosions as possible, and that becomes too tiresome a proposition. The Last Kiss is a film
likely to speak to viewers on various levels, including acceptance, understanding, nonchalance, or
disgust of the themes, the film's impact seemingly tied to one's outlook on the
problems the film presents ad nauseam. DreamWork's Blu-ray release of The Last Kiss is
terribly average. The picture quality wavers between sharp and bright to dull and soft. The lossless
audio soundtrack is front-heavy and bland, and the supplements are par for the course. Moviegoers
in search of a film that plays as the polar opposite of the plethora of Romantic Comedies may find
some appeal here, and would do well to give this one a rental.
In an early announcement to retailers, Paramount Home Entertainment has revealed that they will bring 'The Last Kiss', 'Mean Girls', and 'Strange Wilderness' to Blu-ray on April 14th. Technical specs and special features have yet to be announced at this time, but ...
