One Last Thing... DVD Review (Michael Angarano) Empire Movies

ONE LAST THING... DVD REVIEW

One Last Thing...
(Magnolia Home Entertainment)

The Movie

The Extras

Reviewed by

4.5/10

5/10

Liam

One Last Thing stars Michael Angarano as Dylan, a young teen dying of cancer who is granted a last wish by one of those "Make a Wish Foundation" type organizations. Of course it isn't called the "Make a Wish Foundation" because we live in a society where stuff like that matters and if you were to reference the "Make a Wish Foundation" in a movie without permission you'd probably get your ass sued pretty damn fast - even though they are supposed to be a "nice" organization. But I'm getting off topic.

So, we've got this kid Dylan who is dying, and one day he's sitting around with his buddies smoking "medicinal" marijuana and one of them suggests that instead of meeting his favorite football player and spending the day together fishing (which was the original plan) that he should say he wants a date with some hot super model named Nikki Sinclair (Sunny Mabrey). Yeah, that'd be funny. That is, until the next day, on live television, he announces that very wish. Naturally, the "Make a Wish Foundation"-type organization is a little pissed.

Switch over to NYC where we catch up with Nikki Sinclair. She's a bitch. She's got a bit of a messed up life (which is explained later in the movie) but she's a super model who's become an alcoholic and is having a hard time getting gigs. Or, if she does manage to get a gig, she somehow messes it up by being bitchy or being drunk. So, her agent sees this dying kid's last wish as the perfect opportunity for Nikki to turn her image around. They arrange a brief photo shoot and soon Dylan and Nikki are all over the media. However, Dylan isn't satisfied with Nikki's in-and-out appearance and decides he wants a little more "in-and-out" if you know what I'm saying. So he arranges a trip to NYC to hook up with Nikki and the rest you'll have to find out for yourself by renting (or buying) this DVD.

I'm a little on the fence with this movie. I want to recommend it but at the same time it's not exactly a cinematic masterpiece either. Where do I start?

Well, on the good side, there's Michael Angarano. I've been a fan of this kid for a few years ever since he played the little kid version of Cameron Crowe in "Almost Famous" and later in "Lords of Dogtown" and "Sky High". Yeah, he's not winning an Oscar any time soon, but give the kid a little time. Then there's the heart of the story. Yeah, the story itself isn't told in the best possible way, but it is well-intentioned and that counts for something. Also, there's Ethan Hawke. I don't know why he was in this movie, but his presence alone is earning this movie an extra grade.

On the not-so-good side, there's the story. This movie is just full of holes. Like why the hell would the jilted football player give Dylan cash to go to NYC? Yeah, it's a nice gesture but it's a gesture that comes right out of left field. (Sorry, I'm mixing football and baseball metaphors but you get the idea.) Then there's the romance between said football player and Dylan's mom. Again, where did this come from? A litte ridiculous much? And his mother, played by Cynthia Nixon. Let me just say that I've watched every single episode of Sex and the City (yeah, my life is pretty pathetic) and she's my least favorite character. This movie only reminded me why. And finally, there's the movie's resident "super model". Sorry Ms. Mabrey, but you're not super model material. You're kinda cute and I wouldn't kick you out of bed for eating crackers, but you were out of your league here even in a cast that boasts the likes of Cynthia Nixon. She was a bitchy, alcoholic super model. What super model isn't? I felt absolutely nothing for this character, even after she revealed why she was bitchy and an alcoholic. Life's tough. Deal with it. A better actress would've made me care.

Special features on this DVD include 3 rather lame deleted/alternate scenes, a feature length commentary with director Alex Steyermark, an episode of "Higher Definition" from HDNet focusing specifically on this film featuring interviews with the cast and director from the set of the film and from the Toronto Film Festival where the film showed in 2005 and finally the film's theatrical trailer along with other previews from Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Like I said, I'm a little on the fence here. The movie is a decent waste of time but nothing you should rush out to see any time soon. Or to put it another way, if I was a young man and I was dying of cancer, and the "Make a Wish Foundation" (or whatever you'd like to call it) wanted to grant me a wish, seeing this movie wouldn't exactly be near the top of my list...

Features
Outtakes/Alternate Takes
Director Commentary
Higher Definition: One Last Thing... Episode

Video
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Audio
English 5.1 Dolby Digital
English 2.0 Dolby Digital

Subtitles
Spanish

Release Date
May 23, 2006

Rating
R

Length
93 mins.

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