The Last Run

Rebecca: This is so bad it's almost good.

Enid: This is so bad it's gone past good and back to bad again.

If the Mitchell Brothers were looking for a sure-fire tax loss they might have cranked out a movie like "The Last Run" (2004). They would have taken perverse amusement from plugging a has-been child-star into a grind-house level comedy. Fred Savage was always more narrator than actor and the movie's voice-over commentary probably seemed like a good fit.

Unfortunately the script is moronic even by Mitchell Brothers standards and there are no likely "Ivory Snow" mothers in the cast; the women in this movie look like aging escort service girls lured out of a local AA meeting or bowling alley. You know these marginal actresses are high mileage because the script calls for the male characters to incessantly discuss how young and beautiful they are.

It does have a pre-"Enchanted" (and then unknown) Amy Adams in the cast. You mostly know this because she gets top billing on the 2007 promotional poster and DVD package (a marketing thing); although she is only in about 10% of the footage, and even then as secondary player in the scenes. During her brief appearances she is responsible for the films only funny moments; not because of what she says but because of the way she says it. She has enough natural comedic talent to make something out of nothing even in a crash-and-burn turkey like "The Last Run". Unless you absolutely have to see everything Adams has appeared in, there is no reason to seek out this DVD.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

I love this movie!  It's like Sideways crossed with Wedding Crashers and sprinkled with a dash of AWESOME. And it gets better every time you watch it, which is the sign of a truly great movie!!! My girlfriend and I rented it on vacation in Greece (where it came out earlier on DVD) and couldn't stop talking about it. And now its thankfully available in the states.

Fred Savage is Giamatti, only younger and with twice the issues. Its his best acting job yet because he's more that just a vulnerable little spud. He brings out the many sides of someone going through a (early) mid life crisis, making it not just a fun comedy. The themes reach deep!  It's a cautionary dating tale for the modern age, which is why, as I stated above, it just may be the ultimate break up movie.

One last thought... I hope they come out with a "The Last Run" calendar!!! You'll understand why after you've seen the movie...

this movie is billed in some places as a comedy-drama, well there weren't any funny scenes here at all and this is not a movie to take the girlfriend/wife to.

Wonder Years fans will see this to see what an adult fred savage looks like, well pretty washed up to appear in tripe like this, the movie is at least saved by "rescue me's" steven pasquale whose dominant alpha male role is the base for the film.

You don't know whether to feel sorry for steven/fred here and the director tries to tie things up at the end but makes a ham-fisted job of it.

This was one of the most confused films I have seen in a long time.

The Long Run starts looking and feeling like a romantic comedy - and for the first 15 minutes it is good - girl dumps boy, boy is convinced by friend to go on a "run" - a sexual quest to bed as many women as possible - but then from nowhere turns into a "ooh I'm so miserable" drama about sex addiction - it is horribly unbalanced piece of writing - and it is the script's fault. It is trying to be too much, and cannot pull off a very difficult and complicated arc of a storyline so instead opts for absurdity and the theatrical instead - and I don't mean that in a fun or funny way - there just are no laughs to be found here - or the luaghs are extremely cheap.

Strangely, all the performances are basically sound - but I didn't for one minute buy any of the premises put forward here,

So here's the problem: the script plots and turns seems to have develop as the story was written - it lacks a sense of clear direction - the redemption and resolution are disappointing, unrealistic, and frankly maudlin, and hugely depressing - but not even in a "well we all learnt something here" kind of way.

I could not really get to the heart of this - a moral tale? the broken heart? the 20s male? I felt no sympathy for either of the male leads - they are both moral vacuums - and seem unable to establish any meaning in their lives - and perhaps this is the point - the ennui of the sexual male cannot be met or matched so he has as many casual sexual relationships to fill the void - while I got it I found the style of the film highly bizarre and unsatisfactory - it looks, feels, and is shot like a light romantic comedy - but contains a lot of pretty nasty drama type situations. And in the middle a lot of absolutely gratuitous sex. Arguing that we need a film about sex addiciton needs as much as nudity as possible is justified - it just ain't right - and comes across as an attempt to titillate the viewer - strangely boring - the direction is sloppy.

Hugely disappointing and unsatisfactory - the arc of the main characters fall from from grace is implausible and unsatisfactory - and it is not tragic or fun, or even pathetic, it is bathos - an incongruous mix of high and low - and that is never a good thing.

Definitely not a date movie that's for sure.

A failure.

I guess a lot of people loved this movie too because after days of waiting for it to be returned to the Blockbuster shelves, I finally got my hands on it last night. I invited friends over, made a large tub of popcorn, and opened a few bottles of wine. First off we were so excited to see the all grown up Fred Savage. Not only did the writers script the male characters exactly how they are in NYC, they made a movie that boyfriends will not complain about watching with their girlfriends. Line after line, scene after scene, my friends and I could relate! It was like a chick flick for guys! It reminded me of Knocked Up, but I thought this movie was funnier. Pure genius. What a great movie!!! Definitely watch this one, you'll love it!!