"That's a nice-a donut."
Monday, May 16, 2005
The Last Shot
The Last Shot is yet another in an endless line of movies with a fun, interesting idea or premise that is ultimately flawed and disappointing. At the beginning of the movie, five short words appear on the screen: "Based on a true story." Upon viewing the film, it seems like a joke - like the Coen Brothers rouse that Fargo was based on a real events - but is amazingly quite real (though certainly some names and details have been changed). Anyway, Steven Schats (played by Matthew Broderick) is a hopeless movie theater usher in 1980s Los Angeles with starry-eyed dreams of selling his movie screenplay to someone. Enter Alec Baldwin, as an FBI agent who is working on the team to take down mob boss John Gotti. He comes up with a plan to use an undercover sting operation to get an associate of Gotti's, Tommy Sanz, in Providence, Rhode Island on racketeering charges. Sanz is head honcho of the local Teamsters. He controls the trucks in town, and of course the trucks are needed to carry materials for sets and other things on a movie shoot. So, the FBI comes up with this far-fetched plan to use Schats by producing his movie "Arizona" ...in Providence. Schats is so desperate for a big break in the film business, that he doesn't even spend much time questioning the absurdity of this. The sting is so successful at keeping things secret that a number of other stars are eager to get involved with the hot project.
There are a number of things missing in this relatively short film (just over an hour and a half). Too much is going on; for instance, not much time is given to the mobster Sanz (Tony Shalhoub). Meanwhile, too much time is given to a couple lame subplots including Schats' girlfriend and his brother (he helped co-write the script to "Arizona" but doesn't really want it on the screen anymore). And I'm not sure how true the filmmakers were to the original story, but they neglected to include any plausibility in The Last Shot. Broderick's reactions to his need to film in Providence are somewhat humorous, but the situations are quite unbelievable. And other than that, there isn't much to laugh about in a movie calling itself a comedy. I was reminded of another Alec Baldwin film, State and Main, but that works much better as a making-a-movie farce.
All this being said, it is an interesting story. You certainly will find yourself rooting for Schats to be able to get his dream realized. As a sendup of Hollywood and the FBI it is somewhat successful. It just could have been better. Of special note is the opening title sequence. If nothing else, you'll want to check out The Last Shot just for that.
The Verdict: C+.
Michael Bentley 8:01 AM
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