The Last Big Thing

"The Last Big Thing" is a wonderful satirical film that sardonically whips pop culture to the point of humorous self-desctruction. The characters are so interesting and fun to laugh at/sympathize with. Which brings me to an introduction to the characters I liked best...

Simon Geist is a man in his late 30s/early 40s who creates a pop-culture driven editorial magazine called "The Next Big Thing". Thing is, this magazine doesnt really exist, and it is only an excuse for Simon to get close to actors by interviewing them, only to bitch-slap them silly, insulting their way of buying into pop culture. His live-in female friend, Darla, is also writing a magazine (which is real), which mainly has to do with her and Simon, as well as her and her father. Darla is a genuinely loveable (or loathable) character, depending on how you view her muted neurotic behavior. Magda is a prostitute, the character i liked the best. Brent is a flat character with not much to him, as is Tedra, the music-video queen for a bunch of B-rated rock bands. Still, these characters weave a very interesting web together. And this movie questions all the motivations that people have for what they do and why they do it. Its a wonderful film and I suggest you see it if you're in the indie/art house crowd. Mark my words!

This movie is an amusing and utterly sarcastic view of pop culture and the producers thereof. I was impressed with the photography that consisted of vivid colors and spin doctored settings, especially when you think that this is Zukovic's first large scale attempt.

One warning, do not take the movie's message that seriously. It is not for mass consumption ( and that is not a compliment). The message is a somewhat stylized post-college, neophyte view of society.

I did enjoy the basic plot line of a fictitious 'zine editor verbally whipping the mobocracy of the 90's.

I caught this film in the mid 90's at a screening in New York and later on Showtime. Angry and hilarious, it's an unrelenting--and prescient--blast at where this culture was headed...straight into the celeb/fame/money vortex. A fringe anarcho-intellectual named Simon Geist creates an underground magazine called "The Next Big Thing" (which may or may not exist), which lures a bunch of LA fame wannabes into his weird, punishing "Agenda". This film had an intelligent confrontational energy that reminded me of 70's punk--translated into film. As the New York Press described it in a review/interview at the time: The Punk Rock Apocalypse!

The film revolves around a man who believes that all forms of media are obsolete. The idea behind his art project is to unmask the ridiculous culture that we are bathed in. Naturally, the film takes place in Los Angeles/Orange County. He attacks stand up comics (caw, caw, caw), rock bands, models, blockbuster Hollywood films, and touches on many other mediums. Eventually, he finds himself in the sights of the weapon he has set into motion. The film is five years old and rings more true every day. It's the best description of post-punk anger I've ever seen. It's also one of my top 10 favorite films.

I came across this movie on cable on night. It's interesting but not completely.

Working with little money, the director takes what would be nothing more than home movie sets and creates a Faulkner like stream of consciousness that swirls around a shallow, uncreative world.

The dryness of Simon Geist is comical. He is the 'know it all' jerk that criticizes modern art but offers no alternative. And at the end you find that he is what he hates.

The response to this movie has been pretty brutal. If Ingmar Bergman had made this, I would have expected better. But I say kudos to Dan Zukovic. It's far from being a great movie, but I have considered watching it again.