Nothing Lasts Forever

Easily one of the most charming unspoken of movies I have ever seen, especially capturing the supreme Golden age of Hollywood ("The Wizard of Oz) in the middle of a decade that brought us "Predators", "Gremlins", "Aliens", and "Lethal Weapon", etc. Talk about a genre-changer! A film that even came out a year before Terry Gilliam's masterpiece "Brazil" that is similar in many ways; reminding me of the blissful Sam Lowry in an oppressive bureaucratic world searching for love.

The film makes a lot work with so very little (adding to its charm) and gives us a certainly flawed journey of one Adam Beckett who aspires to be an artist amidst a surrealist, oppressive 1930's era New York. The black and white photography and camera-work is beautiful blending rather superbly with the stock footage used of the union workers in the streets and the shots of a sprawling NY skyline lit up at night. Add to that the perfect utilization of switching from B&W to color for specific scenes, and you have more evidence of great directing.

There are some moments that perhaps lack some charisma from our lead but the absolute zaniness and odd tangents of the film keep us interested and save us from any true dull moments. Ultimately, the film tells us we should pursue the right choices in life even if the things we want seem so far away. The allegory here is Adam's literal trip to the moon where he discovers a cult has turned the natives into a consumerized, shopified destination of pleasure, and where Adam falls in love with one of the natives; an Hawaiian-like dancer and singer. The final 20 minutes gives us TWO wonderful music numbers; one capturing the final message of the film by the brilliant title and the other punctuating the claim that all that hard work and those good decisions ultimately pay off. The end commits to the odd tangents we've seen all along, remaining just as wacky as the film has been throughout, and then suddenly grounds us back to reality with an awesome finale back at Carnegie Hall where the film began.

Look out for Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray in great minor roles (particularly Murray) with a fantastic ensemble of veterans that bring their stuff reminding me of the magic from some films such as "The Shop Around the Corner", "His Girl Friday", and "It's a Wonderful Life". Highly recommended for those who like films like "Brazil" or the 1930's romantic comedies.

Never officially released, neither theatrically nor on home media, Tom Schiller's surreal science fiction fantasy Nothing Lasts Forever stars Zach Galligan as an eager young artist struggling to find his creative outlet in a New York City under the tyrannical rule of the Port Authority. Shot in black and white (for the most part) and with the sound recorded in mono, the film replicates the Classical Hollywood style of the late '30s and early '40s to create a dreamlike work that, had it been made during the indie boom of the '90s, would have easily found a cult following. Featuring strong supporting work from the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Lauren Tom, Apollonia van Ravenstein and Bill Murray – not to mention a midpoint shift in narrative that will leave an unsuspecting viewer reeling – Nothing Last Forever is an oddity of a film, perhaps too unusual for its time, that deserves, at the very least, a proper worldwide release.

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A truly bizarre film, but all the more entertaining because of it. Starts off in the style of a 1930s science fiction, and just seems to get stranger and stranger. I particularly liked the guided tour of the lunar surface for the paying tourists who laughed when their guide made a comment on the crashed Soviet probe she drew their attention to. The idea of native "moon people" (who look like native Hawaiians), also being another nice touch. Obviously, there was a very creative mind at work here.

It is rare that you find a film that is truly unique, but NOTHING LASTS FOREVER is one of those films. It looks at times like a 'thirties romance, at others like a 'fifties B-movie, but plays like neither. Clever, witty dialogue is spiced up with pretty songs, and Zach Galligan is surprisingly likeable as the aspiring artist in a surreal New York. Although in many ways a slight and insubstantial film, its gentle, off-the-wall charm makes it a quite unforgettable viewing experience. After all, how many other films have you seen recently featuring an Hawaiian dance routine set on the moon?

I had wanted to see this movie for years, but until just recently it was next to impossible to see, never getting an official release. But it finally popped on TV, and I made sure to record and watch it. After seeing it, I can only say, "Strange... very strange..." Note that I didn't say it's an *awful* movie. The production design is very good, managing to capture the look and feel of movies made forty or so years earlier. And it's so offbeat that you can't help but be curious enough to stick with it in order to see how things will work out. But the problem is that the movie concentrates more on being strange than working to have strong characters and a solid story. Eventually I got somewhat tired of the movie. But if you are a fan of strange major Hollywood studio movies, it is definitely a must see. And it's unlikely a movie like this would get made today by a major Hollywood studio, so you might want to grab the chance to see this rarity.