According to the proverb, too many chefs spoil the broth. I propose a new one: too many plots spoil the film - and in the case of The Last Kiss it draws its first usage. In his directorial debut, Tony Goldwyn paints an interesting, if ultimately quite predictable film about love, marriage and everything in between.
Anchored with a potentially fantastic cast including Zach Braff, Rachel Bilson and Jacinda Barrett, the plot is written with as much audience involvement as you can possibly get in 115 minutes. Michael (Braff) and Jenna (Barrett) are very much in love. With a baby on the way and wedding bells on the horizon, they appear to have the perfect relationship, but nothing is ever as it seems. Michael starts to worry that he is growing up too fast, and finds a younger version of himself inside when he starts to socialise with 21-year-old Kim (Bilson). What ensues is a story of love, lust and a large dose of heartbreak.
The film's main story and message is beautifully put together by Goldywn. It's accompanied by a modern soundtrack, which sounds as if it came straight from The O.C when Bilson (above) jumped on board. It's certainly of use, keeping the movie firmly in the mainstream. The support acting is impressive: Fully Monty star Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner of Meet the Parents fame provide a wealthy source of experience for the other younger members of the cast, while Casey Affleck and Eric Christian Olsen provide a fresher take on proceedings.
However, the sheer size of the cast contributes to my main problem with the film. At one end, we have the excellently constructed main story, beautifully acted out by Braff and Barrett. Yet at the other end, we have four smaller and less-explained plot strands that are both unnecessary and disappointingly derivative. The film has it all: life, death, honesty, dishonesty, growing-up, staying young. In short, anything anyone has ever been through in the world seems to have made its way into the other four plots, and it's wholly unwarranted.
Of course, for all my praise of Braff (above), he just can't get away from his comedic roots. Emotionally charged scenes involving Bilson and Barrett are often spoilt by punchy one-liners that, while funny, disrupt any genuine empathy that you might otherwise feel towards his character. Sadly, it's a trait too common within every other plot: Wilkinson is inappropriately dry in sombre scenes, and Olsen looks to have never acted seriously in his life.
Touching at times and generally realistic, Goldwyn creates a compelling lead story that will have you gripped to the screen. However, the film itself is tainted by four sub-plots that are boring, predictable and awkwardly comedic. The movie is good, but it could have been excellent if some of the more wayward scenes had been brought under control and the overall number of storylines cut down. The Last Kiss is more than watchable, but you just can't help thinking what could have been.
3/5
Richard Griffiths was awesome, kind of makes me wish I'd had a teacher who groped me, but all in all I think I would much rather have seen the stage version. SPOILERS And the fact that all the boys get in really sucks too, I wanted at least half of them to fail. And they all got ****ty jobs despite of it! Not a good ending. Actually, apart from the groping, there wasnt very much that was good at all. Alright, some of the witty comments are genuinely funny and the different presentations of teachers was good (you should check that out, Tom, could be interesting for the thing we discussed), and some of the kids, though not many, are interesting enough that you actually care about what happens to them, so there are enough good points to make it worth watching. Be warned, however, there is a LOT of homosexuality.
