garyvanhorn The Last Shot is a charming and inventive comedy starring Alec Baldwin and Matthew Broderick. Baldwin plays an FBI agent that has gone undercover as a Hollywood producer in order to take down the mob. Matthew Broderick is the unknowing writer/director hired by Baldwin to make the movie. Things quickly get out of hand and the movie goes from a cover story to a multi-picture deal backed by the FBI. Baldwin loses himself in his cover and begins to work in earnest with Broderick to make the film actually happen.The humor is clever and the film pokes fun at Hollywood and the movie industry in general. Joan Cusack has a wonderful part as an overstressed Hollywood producer that the FBI calls in for advice on how to make a film that they don't actually intend to make. The movie becomes ever more funny as Baldwin desperately tries to get the film made while still catching the mobsters he was after in the first place. The desire to make the film is so infectious that even the mob ends up wanting a piece of the action. The Last Shot is very light and funny but there is just a hint of sadness to it. In all it is a quality comedy and I recommend it.

mrliteral I believe there's an inherent inequality in a movie about the movies, about making a movie, not getting a theatrical release. I remember seeing ads for The Last Shot on TV, I remember hearing of a limited release for about a week, and I remember its sudden disappearance from any form of media. It eventually came out on DVD, and that's the end of the story. Which is too bad, because if this movie deserves anything, it's a movie audience.Is it a great film? No...but it's funny. Is it filled with insight into the creative process, the miasmic crossroads of art and commerce? No...but it has a sense of truth and experience. Is there any reason a theater full of people would not be glad they had paid to see this movie? None that I can see. A cruel irony of this is the opening credits, which are mainly played against a background of items and events in an actual movie theater. Though I should correct myself and say opening titles; as one character points out, credits are at the end, titles at the beginning. It's a movie-savvy group of people, y'understand.Even if you're not a big fan of Alec Baldwin or Matthew Broderick, it's worth seeing for the supporting cast. Joan Cusack, Toni Collette, and Tony Shalhoub each steal the few short scenes they're in. And for anyone who is a screenwriter (like me!), wants to be a screenwriter, or thinks they know what it means to be a screenwriter...the quick montage of Baldwin's character hearing pitches on the street from everyone he sees is so brilliant and funny and true, it's a lesson in humility we could all use from time to time.I think the story is hampered by the idea that Baldwin's character, FBI man-undercover-as-Hollywood producer, would choose a script set in the desert of Arizona (even titled Arizona) when he needs to shoot in Rhode Island so he can set up the local mob boss there. Seems a little pointless, but, this appears to be one of the based-on-actual-events aspects of the story that really happened. The real FBI man did find a script, written for the desert, and convinced the filmmakers to shoot in New England, even though he knew, and they didn't, they'd never shoot a frame. And I can't help thinking, about Broderick's character or the real guys with the script...way to sell out! And I just don't completely buy it as a story element. Not that I don't believe people sell out; they sure as hell do, but with all the scripts out there, seems like he could have found one that fit the location. Sometimes what's true is too stupid to actually work in a movie.Speaking of a script, Jeff Nathanson, who has done some decent work in the past, most notably for Steven Spielberg, probably could have rewritten this a bit more, but does a very good job as a first time director. It's really a shame the movie was never released properly and couldn't turn a profit. That's got to be heartbreaking, at least for a little while. But in the end, he has a good movie and a quality DVD. If you want to sit down and for an hour and half and enjoy what you see, give it a look. It isn't perfect, but what is? As long as a movie is fun to sit through, instead of a chore, I'd call it a great success.

TxMike Back in the 1980s a real FBI agent convinced his bosses to set up a sting operation around a fake movie production. It had to look real, and seem real, so for that reason all involved thought a movie really was being made. This movie, "Last Shot", is loosely based on those real events in the 1980s. The DVD has an interesting extra, where the real agent from the 1980s meets up with and talks with the guys he set up to do the movie, and it is cool to see them reminiscing about it.Matthew Broderick plays Steven Schats with his patented comic style, very appropriate for this role. He works at a movie theater but, like most in Hollywood, has a movie script that he knows would be a big success. Alec Baldwin plays Joe Devine, the FBI agent who thinks up the idea for the sting, and who roams Hollywood for a suitable script and director. That he picks Schats and his script are total surprises to Schats.There are lots of funny characters, like Toni Collette who plays a wanna be famous actress, Tony Shalhoub who plays the mob guy they are after, Calista Flockhart who is Schats' girlfriend and aspires to be an actress, Tim Blake Nelson who is Schats' brother and co-writer of the script, and Ray Liotta who is the brother of Joe Divine.The actual story is fairly thin, but almost stranger than fiction. Most of the fun is the series of comic moments. Moderately interesting.

Jason Platt Matthew Broderick is especially effective at this movie filled with warmth and a deep love for film-making. Yes, the script and many of the performances (notably Calista Flockhart and an unbilled Joan Cusack) poke fun at Hollywood, but what gets you glued to this film is that you really root for Matthew Broderick's character. He is one of the few male actors that I know of that isn't afraid to be sweet and gentle on screen. Without his ability to make his character so likable and believable, this film would not be nearly as good. I also think he as an exceptional ability to play a scene "straight" meaning serious while there is hilarity all around him. He is really believable in his part. There is some brusque language used that seems to be just thrown in and doesn't fit with the sweet nature of this film. Perhaps it is used so more people would come see it. But this is a minor flaw. I think that people who dream of being filmmakers themselves will especially enjoy this film.