| The Last Kiss | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tony Goldwyn |
| Screenplay by | Paul Haggis |
| Based on | L' Ultimo Bacio byGabriele Muccino |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tom Stern |
| Edited by | Lisa Zeno Churgin |
| Music by | Michael Penn |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures[1] (throughParamount Pictures[1]) (North/Latin America/Germany/Austria) Lakeshore International (International) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $15.8 million |
The Last Kiss is a 2006 Americanromanticcomedy-drama film which is based on2001 Italian film of the same name, directed byGabriele Muccino. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment. The film starsZach Braff,Jacinda Barrett,Casey Affleck andRachel Bilson. The screenplay was written byPaul Haggis, and directed byTony Goldwyn.
Much ofThe Last Kiss was filmed in and aroundMadison, Wisconsin.[2] As withGarden State, Braff was involved with the film's soundtrack. The first teaser trailer was released on Braff's official website in mid-June 2006. Despite being praised for the cast performances, the movie received negative reviews, panning its undeveloped plot, writing, and characters.
A woman named Jenna is ten weeks pregnant. Her parents are pressuring Jenna and her live-in boyfriend Michael to get married. However, Michael is having second thoughts, despite considering Jenna an ideal companion. At a wedding, Michael meets a woman named Kim. She guesses that he is about to break up with Jenna and becomes flirtatious.
Michael later seeks Kim out at theMemorial Union but tells her that he was in the area only because of a client meeting. While Michael drives her home, Kim invites him to a party. In the office, Michael constructs an excuse to be away from Jenna on the night of the party. He asks Chris, his friend and co-worker, to cover for him in case Jenna calls. Chris suspects that Michael has met another woman and wishes to avoid becoming involved. Michael, however, denies the existence of another woman.
After the party, Kim and Michael kiss. She then invites him to her dorm for the night. Michael, however, refuses. The father of their mutual friend Izzy dies that night. Friends and acquaintances, including Jenna and Chris, go to Izzy's home with their condolences. There, Jenna realizes that Michael had lied to her.
When Michael arrives home that night, Jenna confronts Michael; who at first denies that he was out with Kim, but eventually admits the truth. Although he points out he did not have sex with her and that the outing meant nothing, Jenna is too enraged to believe him and kicks him out of the house.
Alone and depressed, Michael receives a call from Kim. She apologizes for being demanding earlier and asks him to come over to talk. Michael complies and the two have sex. The next morning, Michael tries sneaking away without waking Kim but notices once he gets out the door that he left his keys behind. Upon his return, Kim demands to know why he had not said goodbye. Michael says that he did not want to wake her, as he had to be at work early. Kim takes the missing keys out of her pocket and returns them after Michael promises to call her.
At work, Michael plans on leaving early to seek out Jenna. On his way out, Kim visits his office, wanting to give him a mix CD. Michael confides that Jenna is pregnant and that he still loves her. He apologizes to Kim for not telling her earlier, and leaves in search of Jenna.
Michael pulls up to the home of Jenna's parents. Jenna's father Stephen gives him a lecture about commitment and adulthood and offers advice on winning her forgiveness. He urges Michael to be honest and never stop trying. Michael then goes into Jenna's room. On the verge of reconciliation, Jenna asks if he was telling the truth about not having had sex with Kim. Michael says that he was telling the truth at the time—but then confesses that he went back later that night. Jenna becomes outraged, storming out of the house and back to their apartment.
Michael follows her back and finds himself locked out. He stakes out on the front porch until Jenna agrees to talk. For three days and two nights, Michael remains at the front door with many neighbors taking notice and some even providing beverages to him. Stephen even proceeds to drive by in his car and notices Michael, who sees him. He smiles while driving off. Slowly, she begins to relent, first tossing out a blanket during a cold evening, then dropping off a sandwich the next day. During the evening of what would have been his third night on the porch, Jenna speaks to Michael through the closed door. She compares the "last romantic kiss" to her grandmother's death. Jenna says that it was a kiss with painful feeling, and she laments about mourning the loss of the romantic relationship like the loss of someone's life. Later that evening, Jenna opens the door and Michael goes inside.
The Last Kiss premiered at theToronto International Film Festival.[3] The film grossed$11.6 million in the United States and Canada and $4.2 million in other markets (including $2,508,416 in the United Kingdom) for a combined worldwide theatrical gross of $15.9 million.[4]
OnRotten Tomatoes, 46% of 130 surveyed critics gave the film a favorable review; the average rating is 5.7/10. The site's consensus reads: "You'll either findThe Last Kiss to be a phony bore or a refreshing take about young 20-somethings at the crossroads between their carefree lifestyle and responsibility. Zach Braff and the rest of the appealing cast make the case for the latter."[5] The film also received an average score of 57/100 atMetacritic based on 27 critic reviews.[6]
It received a "Two Thumbs Up" rating on the television showEbert & Roeper (with guest critic and actressAisha Tyler sitting in forRoger Ebert).[citation needed]
On December 26, 2006, the film was released on DVD inwidescreen.[7] On April 9, 2009, it was released on Blu-ray.[8] In September 2008, the film's distributor DreamWorks Pictures split from Paramount Pictures and became an independent studio again, with Paramount's parent companyViacom having purchased DreamWorks in February 2006. However, after the split happened, Paramount still retained the rights to all of the live-action films DreamWorks had released since 1997, includingThe Last Kiss.[9][10][11]
The soundtrack was released on September 4, 2006, onLakeshore Records.
