2008 Woodie Awards
"The Last Shot" Falls Short of Expectations
Kristen Bussanich
Issue date: 10/6/04 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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The Last Shot's tagline says that it was "inspired by the true story of the greatest movie never made." Now if only it had followed that film's nonexistent example. This comedy, which revolves around the absurdity of the movie-making industry, had great potential, but just did not generate enough laughs to be at all worth seeing.
Joe Devine (Alec Baldwin) is an FBI agent bent on taking down the Gotti crime family through one of the many businesses they are illegally involved in - the film industry. He decides to take up the role of a film producer, with the Bureau actually acting as his production studio. The catch is that this film will never actually be made. Writers, actors, and a crew will all be assembled and "hired". Ultimately they will all just be used to create the illusion of an actual production of a movie, up until the point that the criminals are apprehended.
The next requirements of this FBI sting operation are the pawns. Steven Schats (Matthew Broderick) is a starving Hollywood writer who seeks out Hollywood producers, hoping for a break. He is desperate to turn his screenplay, Arizona, into a blockbuster film. He is so eager to see his dreams fulfilled that he does not care about certain unusual requirements laid out by Devine. The film must be shot in rural Rhode Island. The only problem with this is that the script is explicitly set in the distinctive natural landscape of Arizona, including the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Unbeknownst to Schats, Rhode Island is where mob member Tommy "The Black" Sanz (Tony Shalhoub) is basing his operations.
With this premise, a decent comedy should practically be guaranteed. The very nature of the film - a lampooning of the movie making industry - could have very well been the makings of a comedic classic. Many opportunities for big laughs were wasted. With this all-star and talented leading cast, The Last Shot should definitely have been much funnier.
Alec Baldwin and Matthew Broderick have showed great comedic talent in the past. This time around, the lacking script prevented them from working up to their previous successes. More should definitely be expected from Ferris Bueller himself. In this movie, he had almost no funny moments, even in his reactions to the absurdity going on around him. Alec Baldwin, while an amazing dramatic actor, does have the ability to do excellent comedic work as well. This is obvious from his appearances on SNL in classic skits like "Canteen Boy" and "Schwetty Balls."