Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7762 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-02-12
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Reviews
Hankies at the ready: the young and pretty ensemble cast of The Last Kiss are about to find out, all too realistically, that grown-up relationships are hard work. Based on an Italian film, The Last Kiss follows a young couple, their friends and their family as they each struggle to come to terms with their lives and relationships-–a difficulty compounded by the realisation that they may already have enjoyed their final first kiss. Hence the title.

The excellent soundtrack, hand selected by star Zach Braff, complements the drama perfectly. It also evokes 2004’s Garden State, though fans looking for a recreation of that movie’s naïve charm may be disappointed: The Last Kiss is rather more downbeat. It’s also more adult; the sheen of youthful optimism has been rubbed off, replaced with a painful observation that sometimes, life just isn’t easy.

Zach Braff-completists should make sure their Scrubs collections are up to date before picking this up; his character in The Last Kiss isn’t as cute and cuddly as his previous incarnations. And be warned if you’re looking for a light and fluffy comedy: despite appearances, this is not the movie for you. It’s worth a look, but only once you’ve had a chance to stock up on tissues.--Sarah Dobbs

DVD Description
Michael (Zach Braff) is about to turn 30 and everything’s going well in his life. He has a great job, a close-knit group of friends and is living with the girl of his dreams who’s expecting his child. But when he meets Kim (Rachel Bilson), a young college student, he starts to doubt where his life is going. Watching friends’ relationships crumble around him, Michael is forced to choose between what everyone says he should do and what may be his last chance for excitement.

From Oscar-nominated screenwriter Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) comes a film about love, fidelity and growing up. Zach Braff (Garden State) heads an all-star ensemble cast that includes Jacinda Barrett (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Casey Affleck (Ocean’s 11) and Rachel Bilson (The O.C.).

Synopsis
Nearing his 30th birthday, marriage-phobic Michael (Zach Braff, GARDEN STATE) loves his live-in girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett), but worries that there are no surprises left in his life. Enter Kim (Rachel Bilson), a vibrant college student who Michael meets at a wedding and is instantly attracted to. He soon finds himself treading dangerous ground; torn between the girl he loves and the possibilities that a new relationship might bring. With Kim, Michael not only feels 10 years younger, but also as if anything is possible. Now, he has to decide if pursuing Kim is worth the risk of losing Jenna, and if the life he has planned with Jenna is in fact the life he really wants. Like Michael, his friends are going through their own relationship issues. Izzy (Michael Weston) is battling heartbreak after being dumped by his long-time girlfriend. Chris (Casey Affleck) and his wife already have a rocky relationship, and are feeling the stress of having their first baby. Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen) is the only one not in crisis--but that's only because he is determined to remain a single ladies man. Then there are Jenna's parents, Anna (Blythe Danner) and Stephen (Tom Wilkinson), who are facing their own issues after 30 years of marriage. Based on the Italian film L'ULTIMO BACIO, THE LAST KISS looks at relationships from all angles and shies away from finger pointing and laying blame. Instead, it acknowledges that the world is full of temptation, and that growing up is serious business. Braff turns in a typically understated performance, conveying Michael's angst without asking for sympathy, and provides the perfect counterpart to Tony Goldwyn's (A WALK ON THE MOON) subtle direction.

Customer Reviews

"I'll marry you when you can name five marriages that have lasted more than five years"
In The Last Kiss, a film that is peppered with anguished thirty-somethings - Zach Braff plays Michael, an architect on the other side of twenty-nine. Michael has been with his girlfriend, Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) for about three years, and as the film opens, he is celebrating that she is ten weeks pregnant. Although Michael and Jenna have no plans to marry, both seem excited about becoming parents.

But is Michael as enthusiastic about becoming a parent as he initially lets on? His initial fervor is tempered by a real fear of the predictability of marriage and family life. Jenna is obviously excited, and life for her is currently about sonograms and baby-stuff, but she's also concerned that she'll get fat and that Michael won't love her any more. Jenna's parents Stephen and Anna (Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner) thrill at the news, even though their own marriage isn't going too well.

The fact that Michael doesn't want to get married strains the relationship - he even turns to stone at the mention of it - especially when he looks around and sees that his best mates are either having marital problems or are fanatically trying to wrestle clear of it. Chris (Casey Affleck) constantly argues with his wife and has to contend with a constantly screaming baby, he's had enough of marriage and ponders getting a divorce.

Izzy (Michael Weston) has just been dumped by his girlfriend and wants to travel to South America on a motorcycle. And Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen) bartends for a living and has sex for fun, and positively cringes at the slightest sign of commitment. Everything comes to ahead when the guys attend a wedding of a friend and the poor Michael's downfall is suddenly set in motion.

Temptation arrives in the form of Kim (Rachel Bilson), a bright but sexually manipulative college sophomore who starts up a flirtation with the anguished Michael. Kim's a bit childish as she tentatively tests the limits of her sex appeal and its effect on men, she doesn't much care that Michael's got a girlfriend and he's a liar enough not to tell her that he's about to become a dad.

Kim is trouble with a capital T, she's young enough to find it endearing, and kind of exciting, to possibly be able to tempt Michael out of a serious relationship, and deluded enough to think she can play with fire and not get burned.

So begins the game playing, where commitment and loyalty and even love are tested to their very limits, as both Michael and Jenna must learn some difficult truths about themselves and each other. Michael learns about the importance of truth and honesty, whilst Jenna learns that people are essentially flawed and perhaps that relationships should not always be viewed in black and white terms.

Although for some viewers The Last Kiss will recognizably cover familiar territory - it is actually based on an Italian movie - the film does a great job of presenting some timely issues about male commitment and these boy-men who fear the future. Michael's guilt-ridden ambivalence and the way he works though it is obviously the centerpiece of the movie and he's constantly caught between the lovely girl at home and the "little brunet" who keeps tempting him with sex and fun.

The acting is superlative, with all the players giving gritty and meaty performances, especially from the talented veterans Danner and Wilkinson. Even as director Tony Goldwyn piles on all the histrionics and melodrama a bit strong, the film is always compelling and totally convincing in its look at modern, urban upper-middle class relationships.

The reason that The Last Kiss really works though, is that of Zack Braff, who shades his character with such nuance, that he makes Michael sympathetic even when he does some seriously stupid things. As we meet the characters and see their different approaches to romance and commitment, their expectations and fears, we get a story that really does show the hard work that often has to go into making relationships work. Mike Leonard December 06.

A minor masterpiece of character study
While Paul Haggis (screenwriter) is best known now for Crash, Million Dollar Baby and other high profile movies, amongst all that came this adaptation of an Italian film - and what a gem it has turned out to be. This will most definitely not be to everyone's taste.. it is not the rom-com the advertising would have you believe. It is a study of relationships.
Zach Braff plays the 30 year old in a relationship with a woman he adores (Jacinda Barrett). She has just become pregnant. This faces him with the realisation that life has no surprises left and he is thrown into angst. At this point, a young beautiful and sexual woman (Rachel Bilson - a revelation) comes into his life, tempting him to take the easy route away from growing up. Alongside this we have his friends, in different stages of relationships all facing tough choices - one, Casey Affleck, has a hen-pecking wife with young child, and he is trying to decide whether to stay or not. Another is a serial womaniser facing reality that it might be time to change his ways, and another is recovering from a painful break up.
Crucially, the performances are all absolutely perfect - Zach Braff proves he can do something a little deeper, and Jacinda Barrett is absolutely brilliant. Every scene has a feeling of truth - you never feel like you are catching them playing at acting. Also giving the perspective from the other end of a marriage are Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner, who after 30 years together are having their own issues.
All the stories reflect the mistakes and false starts life brings into relationships, and how they can force us into a more mature place on the other side of those mistakes.
It's a talking heads movie, which does not look for any neat solution and traditional boy gets girl scenarios.. but it is a heartfelt look at real life relationships, and anyone over 30 should be able to find at least one of the characters they can relate to.
Highly recommended for those that like a talking head intelligent relationship movie that stays as far away from schmalz as possible.

The Last Kiss: if only it had been advertised differently!!!!
Having seen the adverts for The Last Kiss, I realised that this definitely wasn't a Rom-Com. And seeing it, I realised it really isn't funny at all.

I find the story really touching, and the choice's that Zach Braff has to make are nothing but agonizing. I liked how the film shows that affairs are not always so simple. That it's not always intentional, the partner you're duping is not a bad person and that the person doing the cheating can be going through hell while trying to grab a piece of what they see is heaven.

I found it a bit hard going, as I literally wanted to shout "Don't do it!" at the screen. This film can be a little glum at times, but that's what affairs are. I think maybe this film has had poor reviews because it may be too true to life. It does not gloss over the hardships of failed / failing relationships. The presence of Zach Braff leads you into thinking that he will lead the cast with his usual sense of humour. This is not the case. Rachel Bilson played a good part, and I thought Casey Affleck was awesome.

This film touched me in a way that means I remembered the emotions long after I had finished watching.

A real heartfelt performance from all the cast, and a really touching and genuine piece of film, just don't hope to leave your own worries at the door!