The Last Kiss

The Last Kiss ***

I was expecting "The Last Kiss" to be more like "Garden State 2," but in the end, I was surprised at how much of a worthy commentary on relationships and lifestyles it really was. I mean, really-the story of a confused man meeting a quirky young woman, and then deciding to change his entire plans in life. It sounds alot like "Garden State." To also note how strange it is, it was written by Paul Haggis, the writer of such strongly dramatic films as "Crash," and "Million Dollar Baby." It's nice to have him write something a little lighter. While "The Last Kiss" does have it's heavy and intense moments, it's fight scenes are obvious more light than a little girl getting shot, or a boxer getting punched in the face. At least he's trying to range himself as a writer. Maybe Zach Braff should range himself as an actor, but that's a point for later on.

Here, Braff plays Michael, who just turned thirty, and is facing the rest of his life. His beautiful girlfriend, Jenna, who is basically himself in the opposite gender, is having their baby, and wants to buy a house with him. She wants to begin starting their family. He, however, freaks out, and begins to question everything in his life. He looks at his friends. On one side, there is Chris, whose wife just had a baby and he is miserable. She is always yelling at him, and making him ashamed. And then there is Kenny, who isn't tied down at all, and is having the time of life being with a different woman every night. And he sees Jenna's parent,s who are having problem of their own. Her father doesn't seem to be paying attention to her mother, and she leaves him. He fears that he'll become that way, and Jenna will leave him too. At a wedding, he meets Kim, a college girl, whose only twenty, with her whole life ahead of her. Nothing is planned out, and she has the power to do whatever she wants. And thats appealing to him. He begins to hang out with her, on a strictly friendly way, but it's obvious that she wants more from him. And it all lands to one night, and one crucial moment, where Michael is forced to make a decision. Should he do what he wants to with this strange brunette girl, or should he do what is right, and what he truly does want, and stay with the woman thats meant for him?

The time frame in "The Last Kiss" is trademark Paul Haggis. The main events of the film take place over the course of one night, where we jump from character to character. It had that intensity of "Crash," which was strange because this was a lighter romance film, and yet it had me on the edge of my seat at times. It starts slow, but as the story unravels, you get deeper and deeper involved in it. It's far from perfect, but it's an interesting look at relationships, and how people choose to live their lives. Jacinda Barrett as Jenna is a contining revelation, as she proved in "Ladder 49." She is the best performance in the whole film, and her shouting scenes are so realistic, that at times I felt that she was yelling at me. I am getting a little tired of Zach Braff, who I just keep seeing playing the same role. He is a fine actor, always doing the same things. While he didn't have anything to do with the writing or directing of "The Last Kiss," he played the same part-a confused, thirty year old man, haunted by temptation. Maybe he'll try and spice things up a little bit.

The ads for "The Last Kiss" seem to promote a light hearted, romantic comedy, but whoever walks in under this assumption will be shocked by how realistic and more dark it really is. I did say that it was a light film, but that's compared to something like "Crash." Even its ending, which could seem Hollywood and lame, isn't the closure that everyone would infer. It could go either way, and it's obvious that while we won't see anymore of what happens, this is something that will go on for a long time. I enjoyed this one, it's entertaining, and it's a good film about relationships. Maybe not the best film to take a girlfriend to see ,especially if you're starting to decide to get married and settle down, but one to see, for sure. And if only for Jacinda Barrett's yelling. She was THAT good. . .