Last Call at Murray's

That Last Call At Murray's (2016) was directed and co-written by women should surprise nobody. The females, who comprise half the diverse cast if one includes a homosexual male with their numbers, lean strongly toward liberal feminist attitudes. The female characters reflect feminist views of the female population. None of the characters who appears onscreen is under thirty and all but one are a tad overweight. Two are mothers. By contrast, two of the male cast members are young and muscular. Two of the females get naked, but the camera avoids showing their bodies.

This is a female-centric universe, where everybody is safe within a sort of home, with all the world's troubles locked away outside. Women can be mean-spirited and vengeful, or controlling and insecure, but their actions are considered normal and acceptable. Women understand men and can psychoanalyze them at a glance. Older women are attractive to younger men, but older men who are attracted to younger women are disdained. Age, excess weight, emotional issues and children from prior relationships are no impediment to new romances. A woman who ends a relationship has no shortage of suitors eager to fill the gap in her life.

Beyond the feminist tilt, the plot is contrived with numerous coincidences and deus ex machina resolutions. Performances are good. Production values are more than adequate. It has its moments, but often seems like the way women want the world to be, not how it really is.

I love this film, so many stories coming together as one. I laughed, I cried, I got goosebumps. The music was perfectly played at all the right times. The cast was great, particularly Skip Lars played him wickedly smart and funny. I loved the relationship between D.R. and Danice. It just clicked and made all of us cheer for them. The interaction between Bennett and Murray was just so real (even it was only four days!) and the explosion of love at the end was so believable. My heart ached for Bennett. I love endings that tie up loose ends and leave us wanting more. Jack and Murray give us all that. In a shot glass!

Saw this film at a festival & adored it. I found myself laughing and crying. It reminded me of Landford Wilson's HotL Baltimore...a bunch of mismatched misfits on their last night- a bittersweet tale. Some movie are perfect little indie films that could never be told with a big budget and this is one of them. If you're looking for a nice film to Netflix and chill this film will leave you wishing you were a part of the last call...enjoy. Totally charming.

After watching LAST CALL AT MURRAY'S with the packed-to-the-walls, exuberant crowd at the Crest Theater, I realized a film like Murray is actually quite difficult to make – on so many levels. As John Savage suggested, close quarters results in harmony or chaos and often a bit of both. But there they all were - crew and cast - in the tiny space every day with all the folks and onlookers and equipment and pretty bras and egos and insecurities and, of course, loads of talent. That's it. No bells and whistles, no CGI, no car crashes, no diversions. Everything shows, every emotion, every detail. It's raw and vulnerable and brave. Bravo to all. By the way, Without a Song sung by Paula Jai Parker is lovely and beautifully performed.

Hard to describe this this film. Different. Raw. Stark. Strange. Complex. The human condition. A lot packed into this film. It made me feel and think without the distraction of flash and slickness. This is why I like Indy films and Indy film people!