Hola all. Massawyrm here.

So you thought the 90’s were over, huh? You thought the era of the culture specific indie comedy had come and gone, right? Hardly. Apparently, it’s just not ‘indie’ anymore. Now the studios are making them. For those that somehow imagined to escape the 90’s without having endured an onslaught of these little gems, then let me explain. This was one of those sub-genres in which oh, lets say, four friends, from similar backgrounds, all try to discover love and themselves as each suffers their own crisis at exactly the same time. The focus was on showing ‘life as the filmmaker and his friends knew it.’ And it was cute for a while. But then it became ‘Four Greek guys try to find love’ and ‘four kids just out of college try to find love’ until it became a TV series about ‘four professional women in New York who try to find love’ and then, thankfully, the genre died. It got old and it went away.

But now it’s back, rearing its ugly head once more as ‘four white guys from Wisconsin try to find love’ in the new Zach Braff vehicle, The Last Kiss. And all the old clichés are back. You’ve got sensitive hero guy troubled by too many women finding him irresistible; meek nerdy guy in love with the wrong girl; unhinged guy pining for the girl who left him; and of course bartender sex god. The whole gang has resurfaced to tell the story of turning 30. Throw in a mom and dad having marital troubles despite looking like a happy couple and you’ve got yourself a movie we’ve all seen before. Several times.

But remarkably, it works quite well, mostly due to the sharp script by Paul Haggis. Adapted from the 2001 Italian film of the (almost) same name, L’ Ultimo Bacio (The Last Kiss), this movie wins over the audience with its extremely true to life situations, its mature sense of comedy and ultimately, the charisma of its cast. Thematically, it has a hell of a lot in common with High Fidelity, which isn’t a bad thing – unless you’ve seen High Fidelity. Because this is pretty much the same movie, set in the ‘four friends all having crises at the same time’ oeuvre.

And really, its only flaw is that it is something you’ve seen several times before – keeping this in the good but not great category. It’s genuinely funny and spot on, kind of like this summer’s The Break Up without being as painful of an ‘Oh god, I’ve said that too’ kind of relation. Instead, you see what the characters are going through, relate, and laugh – but not as nervously.

Zach Braff does a great job, cementing himself firmly in the “John Cusack you get when John Cusack is too old to play John Cusack” category, complete with a scene of him standing in the rain for the woman he loves. And frankly it’s a good gig. He’s got that endearing lovable dork quality that’s a bit hard to come by and gives it all the weight it deserves. He’s just one of those actors who forges roles it’s easy to identify with – and The Last Kiss is no exception.

Focusing upon the oft overlooked pre-thirties emotional crisis, the heart and soul of the film comes from the fears of monotony and having to finally grow up that turning 30 often brings on. Having just gone through that myself, just over a year ago, the movie hit pretty close to home, parroting several of the conversations I had around that time. And the bulk of the humor comes from the conversations rather than the usual all-too-set-up comedy that accompanies most films of this ilk. And for the most part it’s very clever, with only a few clichéd pieces of dialog showing through (can we please, for the love of all that’s holy put a moratorium on any speech that begins “The world is just moving so fast these days”? Please. I mean, that’s how they start mother fucking Wendy’s commercials – and once it’s been used to sell burgers it is not worthy of film. End of story.)

But despite being very been there done that, The Last Kiss is easily one of the best executed of its kind. Its only real flaw, as I said, is that it’s not really anything new. Had it been released 10 years ago, it would most likely be The Big Chill of its genre. Instead, it seems like far too good a film and cast for the ideas they’re rehashing, keeping the film from achieving any real lasting power. It’s an entertaining film, and for anyone who can’t get enough of 20-somethings looking for love, then this will certainly fit the bill for you.

But it’s not Garden State - let me just put that in your mind now. Despite not being written, nor directed, by Zach Braff, far too many people are talking about this film like it’s Braff’s next effort as a creator. And it’s not. Going into this because you like Braff is one thing, but going in because you like Garden State is going to leave you sorely disappointed. This is very vanilla, straightforward filmmaking, and if you’ve somehow gotten it into your head that this is Braff’s long awaited second effort, you’ve got another thing coming.

Over all it’s a good film, one I enjoyed and wouldn’t exactly mind watching again. But its nothing you’ll really remember seeing a few weeks from now. Solid date movie fare, leaving you with plenty to talk about afterwards without anything deep enough to dominate the conversation for very long. Recommended for Zach Braff fans, anyone between the ages of 27-29, anyone who just can’t get enough of this kind of movie or anyone looking for something “Light, but not too light” this weekend.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.

Massawyrm