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September 22, 2006 > Arts & Entertainment > Braff’s star flickers, falters in Last Kiss

Braff’s star flickers, falters in Last Kiss

By Tasha Chemplavil | Thresher staff

Question: How did Zach Braff attempt to top the critical and commercial success of his directorial and big-screen debut, Garden State? Answer: He didn’t. Instead, the Scrubs star opted to take the role of Michael, a confused father-to-be given over to temptation, in director Tony Goldwyn’s romantic comedy, The Last Kiss.

A remake of Italy’s L’Ultimo Bacio, which won multiple Davids (Italy’s Oscar), The Last Kiss follows Michael and the people around him as they attempt to deal with the crises of being in relationships.

Michael’s dilemma begins when he is going on 30 and in a committed relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Jenna (Poseidon’s Jacinda Barrett). Michael thinks that he has finally found the perfect girlfriend, the perfect life, but his routine suddenly seems too confining and pre-arranged.

So when a pretty brunette coed named Kim (The O.C.’s Rachel Bilson) flirts with him at a friend’s wedding, Michael contemplates cheating.

That Michael is going to cheat on Jenna is obvious from the start, and the focus of the film becomes how Michael will keep his transgression from her and how he will win her back when she finds out.

The requisite winning-her-back montage is reminiscent of Lloyd Dobler’s persistence in Say Anything. However, I would much rather watch a love-struck Lloyd standing in the rain holding a boom box blaring Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” than the pathetic attempts of an undeserving Michael in an equally soggy setting.

The situation between Michael and Jenna is mildly interesting but mostly contrived. Michael’s problems stem from his unwillingness to grow up and reluctance to appreciate his significant other. Braff has an affinity for taking roles that depict affable losers, but it is hard to care about a guy who cheats on his pregnant girlfriend — even if he is as charismatic as Braff.

The storylines taking place around the central pair are much more captivating. They focus on Michael’s friends and their relationships, including new parents trying to preserve their marriage and a three-decade-long marriage struggling to endure.

Bilson’s O.C. pedigree serves her well in her role as a seductive siren, and Ocean Twelve’s Casey Affleck gives an admirably genuine performance as a loving father tired of his married life. He is easily the film’s most interesting character because of his skillful balance of hopefulness and resignation to life’s imperfections. But the real stars of the movie are veterans Blythe Danner (Meet the Fockers) and Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins) as Jenna’s marriage-troubled parents. Their heart-rending performances as a wife and husband trying to reignite the spark in their marriage provide the film with much-needed realism, and their wise advice propels the film to a higher level of meaning.

Just like in Garden State, which earned him a well-deserved Grammy, Braff compiled the soundtrack for The Last Kiss. However, The Last Kiss soundtrack fails to infuse the film with the same energy. The songs are distributed sparsely, and while they capture the mood of a few scenes, the rest of the film is left in dismal silence. The soundtrack to The Last Kiss plays like a vaguely familiar attempt to recreate the magic of Garden State’s innovative selection of obscure bands. The problem is that now, thanks to Braff, the bands are already well-known.

The Last Kiss is not another Garden State. But it does provide a capable and entertaining supporting cast and displays enough of Braff’s acting prowess to make viewers hope The Last Kiss will not be his last bow.

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