2006, Dreamworks SKG, Dir. Tony Goldwyn - Starring Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, Rachel Bilson, Michael Weston, Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson, Eric Christian Olson, Harold Ramis, Marley Shelton, Cindy Sampson, Lauren Lee Smith, Larry Day, David Jones

For all those Zach Braff fans waiting in line for The Last Kiss - this is not a follow-up, much less a similar movie, to Garden State. Gone is the heady, visually appealling camerawork, which is replaced with down-to-earth acting and an intelligent script. But there’s literally nothing beyond its verbose conversations about love and growing up. Director Goldwyn (of A Walk on the Moon fame) builds up the audience’s interest for the first half, intertwining the troubles of the protagonist and his buddies, only to drop all sub-plots for the least interesting one. Although the acting is relatively strong, the film boasts little in substance. It starts out with a profound subject, asks questions and delivers vague answers, and stretches out the story for a long, anticlimactic ending. But once you’ve pass all the talk, it’s another formulaic and boring romance film. The comedy and drama contradict one another, and the laughs begin to fall short towards the end. The film’s hopes start a steady decline to the finish line.

Michael (Braff) and Jenna (Barrett) have been together since college. They have not yet been married, but arrive with the news of pregnancy. The young Michael introduces himself as being very happy with the relationship, but as he grows older, he wonders whether the element of surprise will continue to coexist with his life. Jenna is having a baby, and now wants to buy a house and eventually get married. But Michael isn’t ready for it. Neither are his friends ready for life: his friend Chris (Affleck) is dealing with a botched marriage, friend Izzy (Weston) is still lovestruck with an old flame and living out of his parents’ house, and Kenny (Olson) is…well, he doesn’t have problems. He’s just a natural womanizer, and likes it that way. Jenna’s parents (Danner and Wilkinson) are suffering through a mid-life crisis, questioning their marriage after years together. But when Michael finds surprise hidden in the young college girl Kim (Bilson), he begins to wonder where his life going to bring him.

Braff is a natural at the ‘growing-up crisis’ role, delivering both emotionally and physically. There’s something about his quirky behavior that makes him so likable on stage, no matter what circumstances. He can serve as a stasis for the friends or the funnyman, which proves to be useless in Last Kiss where laughs are desperately needed. The only laughs received in the screening I attended were unintentional, a sad sign for future theatergoers. Jacinda Barrett is brilliant as Jenna, exerting range and depth into her role. Her anger and love are convincing, and tends to upstage Braff during the finale. Her unforgiving portrayal of a bewildered and betrayed girlfriend are some of the few better parts of the film’s last half. Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner counteract viciously, providing some gems of wisdom for the story, but sadly these moments lack greatly. Casey Affleck and Michael Weston shine as Michael’s friends, making their screen presence much worthwhile. Their stories are the most interesting plotlines in the film, only to be dwarfed and forgotten later on.

The Last Kiss looks beautiful, without a doubt. It is not a surreal production, preferring the suburbs of Wisconsin and Quebec over the quiet towns of New Jersey. Goldwyn’s film is the idealist setting for the love story - well-off kids with great jobs and beautiful girlfriends, and they’re worried about their lives. There’s something a little bothersome about this, almost that it’s too iconic to really sympathize with. It feels as if The OC got serious and had Paul Haggis direct an episode. Haggis’ script for Kiss is typical work, but feels lost in translation from the original Italian screenplay. No one can figure out love, and the characters are left dwindling at the end trying to figure out the answers. But there aren’t answers to the game of life, so audiences may feel some disconnect between themselves and the subject matter. For such serious material, you’re bound to forget about the movie quite easily.

Last Kiss feels like a lost cause, arguing love and never really making everybody feel better at the end. No, I didn’t expect a happy ending, I just wish the director and writer cared more about its characters rather than leaving some stories with ends open.