Simply A Masterpiece

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This movie, starring Michelle Burke of "Little Men" TV series, is about a journalist with connections to the mob who falls for a stripper with a dark past. His best friend then drags him to L.A. with the intent of becoming actors. The movie sounds like an interesting story, but the plot drags with no suspense and action. There is a lack of emotion and intrigue, with no surprises. What is strange about this movie is that we have big stars like Cybill Shepherd, Richard Dreyfuss and Jimmy Smits appear as extras, next to lesser known actors who are the leads. Plus, the movie poster depicts Dreyfuss's picture as the largest, yet, he only has about 4 min of screen time. I was bored one night and decided to watch this film, as I enjoy watching some TV works by Michelle Burke and Roma Downey of "Touched by an Angel" TV series. But, this movie was, unfortunately, pretty mediocre and dull. I would overlook this one. Grade F

This movie is sold to you as a gangster flick. Don't believe it!You are also told to expect Richard Dreyfuss and Chazz Palminteri. Well, they give you one scene each!There is the merest glimmer of a good film hidden deep in the recesses of "The Last Word" (mis-sold in the UK under the title "Cosa Nostra" - believe me, there is no Mafia action).A writer is torn. His friend/agent and his movie studio want him to use the most powerful true stories from his newspaper column. If he does not then the film might not get made. His friend may lose his kneecaps (or more) due to financial problems, and the writer may never make it.The dilemma is that the stories were told to him by his girlfriend. It was not in confidence at the time, but now she does not want him to write about her. And if she cannot trust him not to do so, then she cannot tell him the rest of her secrets.In a good movie, the set up I have described could have been accomplished in 30 or 40 minutes, leaving an hour or so for the writer to make his agonising choice. In this very poor movie, the set up takes 80 minutes, and the agonising choice about 45 seconds.

First of all, I love kinda movies like this one and I consider myself lucky of having watched it last weekend in my former girlfriend's flat because she has always been a b-movies freak and so."The last word" is for me a deep story about cranks, a worn femme-fatale and the dummies of Hollywood.The resentful and witty character of Doc, a close friend of the main character that Timothy Hutton hides more than shows, stands out in a so powerful way that at the end, you realize that you was taken in about him.The girl is beautiful and confused -Michelle Burke acts sensitive and finally splendid compounding her Sara/Caprice character.Althought Hutton triumphs in his mission revealing the ambiguous talented guy, corrupted gleefully by Hollywood, Joe Pantoliano -incredible actor- offers a new dimension sticking behind Hutton every time he appears in scene, stealing the whole film. He is the ultimate anti-hero and villain, slave of his own contradictions, master in dupe business, putting up with his proper suffering, rejected by the woman of his partner(probably Sara is also the woman of his dreams)in this game of personality mirrors which deserves a warm and cautious approaching as well as passionate comprehension.

Don't miss this one. It has a behind the scenes of Hollywood storyline, celebrity cameos, mob action, beautiful music, threatened friendships, but what makes it a must see is the love story between Timothy Hutton and Michelle Burke (Dazed and Confused). They fall helplessly in love despite the fact that he is recently separated from his wife, and she is a stripper with a dark past. It's no masterpiece by any means, but interesting entertainment and a good love story with a realistic ending.