The Last Kiss

I've been talking about seeing The Last Kiss since the day I saw the first poster at the bus stop. And if you live in LA you know those suckers have been everywhere. They're very simple. Zach Braff and Paul Haggis. Do you need to know more? That will either interest you or it won't, so there's no need to go nuts with the dramatic poster art. I love Garden State. I love Crash. And the previews made me feel like this was a movie I needed to see.

So when my brother and sister team of Neighbors invited me to go with them to see it we were all very excited. They're both actors so we all had our own stake in the film from a creative standpoint, but we're also in our mid- to late- twenties and none of us are currently in relationships. This film was written for us.

I was mesmerized by this film. Paul Haggis has an amazing ability to see into the uncomfortable truth about people, and Zach Braff has the uncanny ability to combine a moment of heartbreak with a genuine laugh. I looked over at Boy Neighbor at one point and he had his sweater covering up his whole face except his eyes. We were watching a character make a horrible mistake at that moment.

The film is about relationships, but it didn't have the usual safe message such films cling to most of the time. The film never established that marriage and kids are the way. You don't have to do what society tells you. Marriage works for some people but it's not for everybody. I needed to see that. Thanks, Paul Haggis. I feel better about my life thanks to you.

Neighbors and I spent the whole drive home discussing love and marriage and kids and everything. And that's what films are supposed to do.

I only hope to be a fraction of that good at writing when I grow up. How come Walker, Texas Ranger wasn't a better show?

I got home, thinking I had to tell the world how great this movie was. Then I got an email from a married friend of mine saying, "Don't see Last Kiss. It sucked."

Go figure.