Plot: What’s it about?
Carlo (Stefano Accorsi) has been with the same woman for some time now, while his work has taken some nice turns as well. In other words, his life is getting some routine to it, as his job is quite solid and his relationship seems stable. He is now thirty years old however, which has weighed on his mind of late, as if his youth is on the brink of extinction. This premise is pushed over the edge by his girlfriend Guilia (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), who shatters his peace of mind with a bombshell announcement. At a packed family dinner, she announces to everyone’s surprise that she is pregnant, a fact even Carlo was unaware of. This event could go two ways, with Carlo being thrilled at the prospect of fatherhood or with Carlo panicked at such responsibility, but he finds himself in the latter mindset. Now he is scared that his future is a place of routine actions, with a woman he’s lost the spark with and that his life will hold no freedoms. His friends only encourage such thoughts, as they also battle the tribulations of settling down. Carlo also runs into a beautiful eighteen year old, which complicates things even more. Can Carlo discover the true lessons of life and love, or will he find himself alone when all is said & done?
This film was sold as a brisk romantic comedy, a tale of a man who finds himself faced with adulthood who finds himself. That doesn’t prove to be an accurate promotion however, at least not for the most part. Yes, The Last Kiss often has a comedic tone and a lot of romantic elements, but this is not the light, fun picture the case suggests. Instead, this can sometimes be quite serious and dramatic, with some rather intense scenes. All the usual relationship cinema cliches pop up, such as cold feet about commitment, fear of growing up, the search for a younger lover, the group of best friends on the verge of a life event, and countless others. In fact, I found The Last Kiss to be a series of cliches and while sometimes decent, I’ve seen numerous films handle the same subject matter in much better fashion. The lack of fresh perspective holds the film back, as there is no new material mixed in with the old genre standbys. The acting is passable, but unmemorable and the visuals are above average for this kind of picture. The main problem here is lack of focus, as the movie wants to be brisk at times and then switch gears into dramatic lands. This can work, but director Gabrielle Muccino fails to make it all come together. In the end, I was underwhelmed by The Last Kiss and even as a rental, this isn’t a worthwhile release.
Video: How does it look?
The Last Kiss is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The movie itself might be bad, but this visual presentation is terrific. The print is clean, with no signs of serious debris or the like, even grain is minimal here. This allows for a crisp and refined visual presence, so the movie’s visuals are never hindered. The colors have a bright, natural appearance and flesh tones look good also, with no flaws to mention. I found contrast to be even handed too, as black levels look sharp and detail is strong at all times. I was hard pressed to find much to complain about here, as Miramax has given us a top notch transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original Italian soundtrack is preserved here, via a basic, but passable Dolby Digital 5.1 option. This is your basic dialogue driven soundtrack, one which focuses on the vocals and lets the other elements take the backseat. That is good news in this case, since the film relies so much on dialogue and needs it to be well handled. The vocals come across in crisp and clean order, with no volume errors or other flaws to mention. There isn’t much in terms of sound effects, outside of some basic background noises. A little life is brought to the audio thanks to the musical score, which makes good use of the surround channels. All in all, a more than decent soundtrack for the material, which is about all we can ask.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
