The Last Word

The Last Word - 2017 Streaming on Apple 🍎 TV My Rating. 7/10

This movie was a delightful little discovery that I hadn't known existed till recently when researching the great catalogue of movies and television projects of Shirley MacLaine who is still working into her 90's.

It's not a great film but I think it's a good one and I found it very entertaining How often have we attended a funeral or read an obituary that glorifies the departed even if those very close to the deceased know that a few inconvenient truths have been left out mercifully so not to tarnish the reputation of the person or the family we are there for.

Stuart Ross Fink who I don't think has written anything else has written a humorous script with a touch of pathos .

I think he points out that it's never to late to change and let people see there is good in everyone and that the antidote to isolation is connection.

The impressive cast id headed by Shirley MacLaine playing the role of affluent and cantankerous Harriet Lauler. Harriet is a retired advertising entrepreneur who has made a fortune bossing everyone around and eventually alienating everyone in her life.

Harriet is planning to exit life gracefully but becomes interested in the work of a young woman journalist Anne played by the delightful Amanda Seyfried.

Anne writes the most flattering obituaries for some of Harriet's acquaintances who as Harriet informs her were as disliked and prickly as she is.

To make certain that her eulogy will be worthy of her position Harriet commissions the reluctant local newspaper journalist, Anne Sherman, to do the job while she is alive.

However keeping Harriet happy, is easier said than done and Anne soon discovers that Harriet appears to have burnt all her bridges with family and colleagues .

Her reputation for power and control have alienated Harriet to the extent that she'd be lucky if anyone attended her funeral.

But ! Just like Charles Dickens's Scrooge while there's life there's hope and Harriet finds she can change with good deeds and a newly discovered sense of humour.

Harriet also finds a part time job as a disc jockey which charms more than her audience when Anne the journalist meets Robin Sands the station manager played by Thomas Sadoski who just happens to be Amanda Seyfried's husband in real life.

Compared to a few movies around at the moment The Last Word has fun entertainment and good performances .

I haven't seen Shirley MacLaine look more relaxed in a movie for years it's well worth a look.

She obviously enjoyed appearing in this movie there is room for good entertainment it doesn't have to be great , good is ok.

This movie caught me off guard. I was expecting a boring, standard movie with a few funny sketches when I was rewarded with a brilliant, profound movie that came to me as a tiny mirror of my own life. You won't regret it but in the end, these are just my thoughts.

Actress Shirley MacLaine has had quite a career – and an interesting life. She was ahead of her time in being a very independent-minded career woman… and developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. She had a decades-long marriage which ended in divorce, but produced one child, a daughter. In her later years, she has remained active in trying to shape her legacy, which is clearly seen in her 2017 comedy-drama "The Last Word" (R, 1:48). Advertising executive Harriet Lauler has had quite a career – and an interesting life. She was ahead of her time in being a very independent-minded career woman… and developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. She had a decades-long marriage which ended in divorce, but produced one child, a daughter. In her later years, she has become active in trying to shape her legacy, which is what the 2017 comedy-drama "The Last Word" is all about. Now, art-imitating-life parallels aside, playing Harriet serves to remind us how busy MacLaine has remained, on screens big and small, even as her 70s drifted into her 80s – and what a singular talent she remains.

"Control is very important to Harriet," one character observes. That's an understatement – and an incomplete one too. Not only has Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine) always exerted control over as many parts of her life as possible, she was always been very disagreeable as she did so. Years ago, she angrily quit the ad agency that she helped to found because she didn't like how one of her clients conducted a focus group. She once told her gynecologist(!), "When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you." Her parish priest even admits, "I hated her. So much." These days, Harriet's retired. She lives alone in her big house and exerts her brand of rude control by chastising her gardener for trimming her hedges from top to bottom, instead of from bottom to top, as she has instructed him, "many times" he admits with a sigh. Then, when she reads someone's obituary in her local newspaper, she finds something else to control.

Harriet visits the paper's offices and asks the editor, Ronald Odom (Tom Everett Scott), to introduce her to the obituary writer, Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried). Sitting behind Ronald's desk, Harriet gives Anne the assignment to write her obituary now, so she can be sure she'll be satisfied with what will be published about her in the newspaper after she is gone. Ronald tells Anne that Harriet had been a great friend to the paper when she did ads for Ronald's father and implies that she might remember the paper in her will. "Make her happy," is Ronald's simple instruction to Anne, who reluctantly gets to work. The problem is that there just isn't much to say about Harriet beyond her past career accomplishments – and Anne can't find a single person to say anything nice about her – even from the list of names that she received from Harriet herself. Naturally, Harriet is dissatisfied with Anne's first draft – and tells her so.

Harriet has read a number of obituaries and determined that there are four things that make a good obituary: a loving family, the respect of co-workers, touching the life of someone who needs a helping hand and… a wild card, something unique in the life of the deceased that provides the proverbial icing on the cake. Harriet knows that Anne won't write anything about Harriet that is not truthful, so she gets Anne to help her "shape a legacy". Without giving away how all of this shakes out, I'll just say that this journey puts Harriet and Anne in touch with Harriet's ex-husband (Phillip Baker Hall), Harriet's estranged daughter (Anne Heche), a former co-worker (Joel Murray), an at-risk youth (AnnJewel Lee Dixon) and a charming disc jockey (Thomas Sadoski). And as the two women work together on Harriet's unusual project, she does some unwelcome, but well-intentioned meddling in Anne's personal life as well.

"The Last Word" is a relatively original and very well-done genre film. Sure, it's formulaic, but movies use formulas for a reason. The real question is whether the film tells its story effectively and this one definitely does. The script from Stuart Ross Fink (writing his first feature) creates a fresh take on the trope of examining a life not-so-well-lived and gives us interesting characters. The excellent actors bring out the nuances in those characters and director Mark Pellington ("Arlington Road", "The Mothman Prophecies") gives the film a great balance of comedy, drama, life lessons and just plain fun. The film's ending may be predictable, but getting there is a very rewarding experience. Movie Fans (especially fans of Ms. MacLaine) will likely be thankful that, with other projects in the works, this film won't be the last word in Shirley MacLaine's stellar career. It also makes us look forward to much more to come from the talented Seyfried, the spunky newcomer Dixon and rookie writer Fink, with this impressive debut. This great mix of well-established talent with others just starting out makes for one enjoyable film. "A-"

Shirley MacLaine did a wonderful job. That is it. The movie in itself was predictable and they of course had to throw in a little kid that was quite annoying. But Shirley MacLaine was great!

This is a gem of a movie with a slow start that builds in appreciation as the story unfolds. It has a surprising array of talented actors, and they all do well. Shirley Maclaine is a masterful actress and does not disappoint in this film. She plays a woman who has always controlled everything in her life and now is focused on having her final say, hence the title. Amanda Seyfried plays a young obit writer and as always, fully commits to the role and she shines. The two make this an enjoyable and thoughtful experience. It isn't an action or popcorn movie, and didn't make much of a splash when it debuted but has a new life in streaming. It's about living life, facing challenges and being willing to take risks in life without fear of failure.