Last Shot, The

MPAA Rating: R

Entertainment: +2

Content: -3 1/2

In this comedy, FBI agent Joe Devine (Alec Baldwin) pretends to produce a movie in order to improve his chances for a successful sting operation. In his attempt to reel in suspected mobster Tommy Sanz (Tony Shalhoub) for racketeering, Joe recruits the hopeful and gullible Steven Schats (Matthew Broderick), a desperate and aging screen writer/director. Schats is a little dismayed that Joe wants to make a movie in Rhode Island and rewrite Schats script to fit the new locale, but he remains oblivious and agreeable and jumps at Joes offer to produce his movie. Believing that his hour of fame has finally arrived, Schats is simply overjoyed to be filming his pet project and getting paid. Meanwhile, Joe carries the charade to the point of hiring a cast and crew. But eventually the facade falls down around Schats as he realizes that the films first shot may be the last shot.

Here is a comedy that doesnt quite hit the mark. The film is not a comedic failure and is, in fact, punctuated with a few good laughs. But they are too far apart and not held together by a well-told story. In addition, the films message is harsh: in Hollywood (and the FBI), the big dogs always win. In this light, Schats naive hope that his film will succeed is pure foolishness because the only sure ways to succeed are by throwing around sex, money and brute force. While one hopes that those sentiments are untrue, the film nonetheless carries those themes too far. There are several references to pornographic films and sexual favors as gateways to success in the film industry. To that, The Last Shot adds gross humor, a crude reference to abortion, brutality, sex scenes and a barrage of tasteless language that make it completely unacceptable.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor:
Touchstone Pictures

Summary
The following categories contain objective listings of film content which contribute to the subjective numeric Content ratings posted to the left and on the Home page.

Crude Language: Many (12) times mild (hell 4); moderate (t-ts 2); strong (-ss 4, b-tch 2)

Obscene Language: Many (56) times mild (pee 2); moderate (p-ss 1, scr-w 1, other 3); strong (f-word 36, s-word 8, other 5)

Profanity: Several (8) times moderate (OMG 2, G 3); strong (J 1, JC 2)

Violence: Several times mild (woman threatens to kill dog, man pushed to ground, man threatened with gun); moderate (man tied up and hit repeatedly, man hits man on the hand with handle of gun, man tortured with implication that his finger was cut off and later reattached)

Sex: Few times mild (unorthodox sex implied when woman removes mans pants and drops below shot); moderate (unmarried man and woman in bed with motions); strong (scene on television shows a mans buttocks and womans breasts with motions)

Nudity: Few times mild (woman shown in underwear); moderate (woman shown with uncovered breasts, man shown naked with uncovered buttocks but genitals obscured by angle)

Sexual Dialogue/Gesture: Several times moderate (few references to pornographic films and directing or acting in them); strong (woman uses foul language to refer to sexual intercourse with any of several men, woman uses foul language to refer to sexual intercourse with multiple partners)

Drugs: Few times mild (implied use of alcohol at party, reference to past use of illegal drugs)

Other: Reference to late-term abortion, portrayal of organized crime, some crude humor, a crude scene of urination

Running Time: 93 minutes
Intended Audience: Adults


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