Starring:
Matthew Broderick as Steven Schats
Alec Baldwin as Joe Devine
Toni Collette as Emily French
Tony Shalhoub as Tommy Sanz
Calista Flockhart as Valerie Weston
Tim Blake Nelson as Marshal Paris
Buck Henry as Lonnie Bosco
Ray Liotta as Jack Devine
Ian Gomez as Agent Nance
Troy Winbush as Agent Ray Dawson
Thomas McCarthy as Agent Pike
W. Earl Brown as Willie Gratzo
Evan Jones as Troy Haines
Glenn Morshower as Agent McCaffrey
James Rebhorn as Abe White
Special Features:
“Inspired by Actual Events” Featurette
Deleted Scenes
“Robert Evans Presents…”
“Joan Cusack’s Montage”
Audio Commentary with Director Jeff Nathanson and Actor Matthew Broderick
Other Info:
Widescreen (1.85:1)
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
French and Spanish Subtitles
Running Time: 93 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“The Last Shot is the laugh-out-loud comedy caper that takes the movie business, the Mob, and the FBI and turns them into some very funny business indeed. Matthew Broderick (The Stepford Wives) and Academy Award® nominee Alec Baldwin (Best Supporting Actor, The Cooler, 2003; Along Came Polly) head a cast of outstanding stars who steal scenes and grab your funny bone every chance they get. After years of being on the A-List of complete failures, Hollywood screenwriter Steven Schats (Broderick) meets Joe Devine (Baldwin), a producer who green-lights his movie and makes him the director. But Devine isn’t who he claims to be, not by a long shot. He’s really an FBI agent using the movie in a sting to take down the mob. Inspired by the true story of the greatest movie never made, The Last Shot is truly funny.”
The Last Shot is rated R for language and some sexual content.
The Movie:
One of the best things that The Last Shot has going for it is that it is partially based on a true story. If this had been pure fiction, it would be too preposterous to believe. But this is a case where truth is stranger than fiction and it makes for an entertaining movie. It’s quite fun to see a unique FBI sting under the guise of a movie production. It’s even funnier to see the FBI agents falling under the spell of Hollywood and all the movie hype. That ends up being the main gag of the film. This movie also makes a lot of fun of Hollywood. It can frequently backfire when Hollywood makes fun of itself because there are too many in jokes for regular audiences to appreciate, but this seems to maintain the balance well.
The Last Shot benefits from a great cast. Leading them is Alec Baldwin as Joe Devine, a tough FBI agent who’s willing to go to any lengths to bust the mob. With his eye towards promotion, he hatches his elaborate scheme to ensnare local mob bosses in Providence, Rhode Island. Somehow along the way he catches the Hollywood bug and ends up really making a film. Supporting him is Matthew Broderick as Steven Schats. I’ve never thought of Broderick as a great actor, but his style of performance fits the wide eyed, innocent writer / director well. Toni Collette is way over the top as Emily French, the burned out actress willing to do anything to get a part. Believe it or not, she pees in a cup in a restaurant for a drug test sample. Probably a cinematic first outside of fetish films. Tony Shalhoub is good as the creepy mob boss Tommy Sanz and Calista Flockhart makes a great insane girlfriend / dog hostage taker. There are also scene stealing cameos by Tim Blake Nelson, Ray Liotta, and Joan Cusack.
If you’re a fan of any of the main actors or if you like Hollywood parodies, then you’ll probably enjoy The Last Shot. It’s a decent comedy worth checking out.
The Extras:
The following are the highlights of the bonus features on this DVD:
“Inspired by Actual Events” Featurette This is the highlight of the bonus features. In it, the real FBI agent and the real writers meet each other for the first time since the movie production was revealed as an FBI sting. They tell what really happened, their experiences during the events, and the aftermath. It’s quite interesting and it’s a great follow-up to watching the movie.
Deleted Scenes There are four deleted scenes and three of them are simply extended scenes from the film. One shows more of Matthew Broderick as Steven Schats trying to sell his script at the funeral of a producer. Another shows more of Buck Henry as Lonnie Bosco reminiscing about the old days of Hollywood at dinner with Baldwin’s character. The main deleted scene simply shows Schats as a young man directing a play.
“Robert Evans Presents…” Originally famed producer Robert Evans introduced parts of the film as a narrator. Those scenes were cut, but director Jeff Nathanson included them here for posterity.
“Joan Cusack’s Montage” Cusack was allowed to really adlib in one of the scenes and this shows her various outtakes. It’s some pretty funny stuff though it’s a bit risqué.
Audio Commentary with Director Jeff Nathanson and Actor Matthew Broderick Nathanson really dominates the commentary for this film, but it’s forgivable since he’s quite funny. He has a really dry sense of humor and plays off of Broderick well. They discuss the standard things like the other actors, the script, shooting, etc.
The Bottom Line:
Based on a true story, The Last Shot is an entertaining look at a unique FBI sting and it is also a fun parody of Hollywood. The stellar cast led by Alec Baldwin makes this film worth checking out.
