This movie is sold to you as a gangster flick. Don't believe it!
You are also told to expect Richard Dreyfuss and Chazz Palminteri. Well, they give you one scene each!
There is the merest glimmer of a good film hidden deep in the recesses of "The Last Word" (mis-sold in the UK under the title "Cosa Nostra" - believe me, there is no Mafia action).
A writer is torn. His friend/agent and his movie studio want him to use the most powerful true stories from his newspaper column. If he does not then the film might not get made. His friend may lose his kneecaps (or more) due to financial problems, and the writer may never make it.
The dilemma is that the stories were told to him by his girlfriend. It was not in confidence at the time, but now she does not want him to write about her. And if she cannot trust him not to do so, then she cannot tell him the rest of her secrets.
In a good movie, the set up I have described could have been accomplished in 30 or 40 minutes, leaving an hour or so for the writer to make his agonising choice.
In this very poor movie, the set up takes 80 minutes, and the agonising choice about 45 seconds.
