One Last Thing...

I did not think this would be worth watching, so I avoided it. It was only last year and this was the only thing on that I attempted to watch this film. The film it self is about a terminally ill boy who's last wish is to go on a date with a model. The story is truly touching and deserves recommendation for that. Anyone who loves a movie will love this movie with its humour and dramatic experiences found all through the movie. I think this should go down as one of the better attempts from people to make Comedy/Dramas this year. The only drama I can remember that is WAY better then it in this century is Garden State. Overall this film is a good watch and I think fans of cinema will really get a kick out of seeing. You SHOULD see this film.

I went to see this movie on the recommendation of a friend and didn't know what quite to expect - was it another 'teen flick' or something better. It certainly was better. It had humor but also some poignant sadness. The casting, performances, photography, all were balanced and worked well. More important, it dealt with the very real heartache of facing the loss of someone dear - something I had faced recently. The story characters displayed very 'real' reactions to the situation - not some phony approach. It touched on many of the questions one faces in this situation - ones that often strain your fundamental values. With all that, there were many good laughs. All-in-all, certainly well worth seeing and deserving of a wide audience.

One of the most wonderful and touching movies i have ever seen. I am not a crier at movies, but this one got me. The cast does a phenomenal job, and despite what some say, have an excellent feel for how to handle the film's dual genre. Michael Angarano does a superb job as the terminally ill boy, and his two buddies Slap and Ricky( Gideon Glick and Matt Bush) are in a way the best part of the movie, playing likable and hormone driven best pals. Cynthia Nixon as the young boy's grieving mother gives a deeply moving performance. The on screen relationship between Nixon and Angarano is authentic and a treasure to watch. I have seen some rather harsh critique of this film, and frankly cannot fathom it.The film splices comedy and drama well, and creates a beautiful portrayal of a young boy's last days around those who are closest to him, and his last wish(ill leave you to watch the movie to find out about this). The song at the end, Wyclef Jean's "Heavens in New York" is beautiful, and devastatingly poignant.

I wanted to rate it higher, but I found it rather average as cancer kid movies go. The movie is actually an exploration of the meaning of life and death and how it affects both the dying and ones left behind.

I felt that, as the two wacky friends of the dying kid used him a little as a macabre joy ride, so the writer of the film took the tragedy of death and twisted it to fit his message on life. The result was a benign slightly dream like experience that kind of conflicts with reality. As in superhero movies, too many coincidences led to the desired result; any one missing and it would have all been a sad and depressing experience.

And what is with the funeral home people trying to erase the smile of dead people? Isn't it better to go out happy?

Bottom line: a mild drama, played well, directed OK, a bit over melodramatic and a bit to fantastic in some places, but hey... it's a drama.

ONE LAST THING is the next film from Magnolia Pictures. MagPics is of course the distribution arm of 2929 Entertainment, which is owned by Dallas Maverick Mark Cuban.

Last year, 2929 announced that it was eliminating its movie windows and that it was essentially making its DVDs available in stores at the same time as the film's release in theaters.

Basically, if you prefer to see this movie on the big screen, you can go to your nearest Landmark theater on Friday, May 5th.

But, if you don't, you can go instead to the video store and pick it up on Tuesday, May 23rd and not have to wait so long for the DVD.

It won't be the usual 3-month or 5-month distance between the film and DVD releases. However, regardless of how one chooses to see it, I recommend that no one does.

So far, MagPics and 2929 have been putting out some great material including two great documentaries, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM and HERBIE HANCOCK: POSSIBILITIES, as well as some interesting dramas like BUBBLE and THE WAR WITHIN, so when I heard about this movie I got excited, especially since I saw it playing at the Philadelphia Film Festival.

Philly is my hometown and most of the movie was filmed there, specifically in the Marcus Hook neighborhood. The story centers on Dylan, a 16-year-old kid who is dying of cancer. Cynthia Nixon from "Sex and the City" plays his widowed mother. United Wish Givers, a Make-A-Wish foundation-type of organization, decides to grant Dylan one wish before he keels over from cancer.

At first, they think his wish is to go fishing with super star football player Jason O'Malley, but during the press conference, Dylan recants and says his wish is really to have sex with super-beautiful, super model Nikki Sinclair in her mid to upper 20s. What proceeds are Dylan's attempts to make that wish come true.

But, instead of ONE LAST THING, the movie should have been titled "The Film That Tries to Justify Statutory Rape." This film is more about taking us to a contrived destination that defies reason or believability than really giving us something honest and real. It tries to be heartfelt but really just comes off superficial and annoying.

For example, Dylan's two friends, Ricky and Slap, played by Philly natives Matt Bush and Gideon Glick, tag along when Dylan sets out to New York to score with the super model, but while Dylan is throwing up in the bathroom and is clearly becoming sicker, all his friends want to do is concentrate on sneaking into a strip club.

Wow, two teenage, horny boys with a one track mind! Haven't we seen this before? Haven't the American Pie movies been enough? Couldn't the screenwriter, Barry Stringfellow, have come up with something else a bit more original, or supporting characters with maybe a bit more depth? Also, Wyclef Jean plays a foreign cab driver. How cliché! Jean's cab driver magically drops in here and there for no real reason and his appearance seems only to add a little color to this otherwise lame white-washed world.

Ethan Hawke makes an uncredited cameo, but I'm forced to ask why. His efforts are wasted.

Michael Angarano who plays Dylan is a cute kid and potentially a great actor, but I was "so" not impressed with his performance here, and quite frankly I haven't really been impressed with any of the movies I've seen him in. He was funny though as Jack's son Elliott on the NBC TV show "Will & Grace."

But, I think there are a ton of better actors in his age group like British actors Jamie Bell and Max Minghella, Canadian import Kevin Zegers, Dane Christensen, Jesse Eisenberg, and Robert Ri'chard. Watch out for these guys in the future, all of them are amazing.

More amazing than I've seen Angarano, but I don't really blame him though. He did the best he could with what he had to work with, which wasn't much. The script here was simply senseless. Just a bad indie film! Just bad!