The Last Kiss (Full Screen Edition)

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"The Last Kiss" is a hip romantic comedy about life, love, infidelity, forgiveness, marriage, friendship… and coming to grips with turning 30. .com ---- A remake of the Italian film L'Ultimo Bacio, The Last Kiss was largely ignored in theaters despite its Gen-X themes and appeal of star Zach Braff (Scrubs), who last made a splash in theaters with his similar twentysomething angst film Garden State. A drama about midlife crises (mostly for people approaching 30, that is), director Tony Goldwyn (A Walk on the Moon) has assembled a top-notch cast, but there's not enough likeability in the characters to care. Architect Michael (Zach Braff) is a commitmentphobe who wanders into a flirtation with coed Kim (Rachel Bilson) because he's -shy about settling down with his perfect girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett), who's expecting his child. His fellow pals face their own romantic crossroads; one (Michael Weston) desires to settle down with a woman who doesn't love him back; another (Eric Christian Olsen) can't find someone who just wants a meaningless fling like him; and the third (Casey Affleck), ponders leaving his weary wife who's constantly berating his shortcomings as a her. Most depressing is Jenna's mother (Blythe Danner), who's tired of feeling neglected by her stoic husband (Tom Wilkinson). Danner and Wilkinson are compelling as longtime marrieds who've lost their spark, but Braff's character is wholly unlikeable, even aside from his indiscretions. The bright spot is Bilson, in her first movie role, utterly adorable as the sexy college student who's got more parts vulnerability and sass than any stuck in the Other Woman role. There's some fine acting in The Last Kiss, but not enough character development to care about anything they're going through. The DVD includes a commentary featuring cast members Braff, Barrett, Olsen, Bilson, and director Goldwyn, who all mainly hoot during Olsen's sex scenes and ogle Bilson's seductive dancing. Braff and Goldwyn also imitate Bilson's high-pitched speedchatter throughout, while Barrett educates the cast on the similarities between "the dingo ate my baby" and the O.J. Simpson case (don't ask). It's all the more entertaining compared to a separate commentary track with just Goldwyn and Braff, who mostly drones about the music he picked for the film (Remy Zero, Snow Patrol, ee Mann) and raves about the minimalist score, done by singer Michael Penn. And oh, they ogle Bilson's dancing in this one too. -- Ellen A. Kim