hannahj-81120
SUCH a wonderful movie, it's pretty inspiring and you're definitely going to cry (some tears will be happy). Couldn't picture 3 more perfect people to represent the leading ladies.
It's hard to explain to other people why they should watch a movie and feel the things that you feel while watching it. But I kind of think that's a lesson from this movie. Feel however you want, do what you want, but "make it matter".
kz917-1
This is just the kind of film that my grandparents would enjoy EXCEPT for the language. I should have counted the number of f-bombs.Shirley MacLaine and Amanda Seyfriend were both great and the story was touching and funny. If not for the language I would recommend this much more. It's a shame.
gradyharp
Stuart Ross Fink appears to be making his screen writing debut with this very successful film THE LAST WORD. Mark Pellington directs a well-selected cast to support this showcase for the many talents of 83-year-old Shirley MacLaine. Not only is the film a fine story well told: it also takes on the topic f ageism and the manner in which the elderly are viewed in our youth oriented society. Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) is a highly successful, retired businesswoman who wants to control everything around her until the bitter end. To make sure her life story is told her way, she pays off her local newspaper (one of her many recipients of her wealth) to have her obituary written in advance under her watchful eye. But Anne (Amanda Seyfried), the young journalist assigned to the task, refuses to follow the script and instead insists on finding out the true facts about Harriett's life, resulting in a life-altering friendship. We meet Harriet's estranged husband Edward (Philip Baker Hall), her equally estranged daughter Elizabeth (Anne Heche), a 'mind-of-her-own' foster child Brenda (AnnJewel Lee Dixon) whom Harriet takes under her wing and learns as much from the child as she attempts to influence her, and her final 'boss' – radio disc jockey Robin Sands (Thomas Sadowski) - who places Harriet in the early morning radio slot as a disc jockey par excellence. From each encounter Anne arranges for Harriet (discovering that no one has anything positive to say about Harriet's self absorbed life history) we watch Harriet come to life as she has never lived it. MacLaine offers a bravura performance deserving of awards. The entire cast is excellent. This is a very fine film in this time of prejudice against ageism.
HotToastyRag
The start of the movie is very touching. Baby, childhood, youth, and adult pictures of Shirley MacLaine are displayed over the opening credits, similar to a tribute to her at the Oscars after she's passed away (which we all hope will be many, many years in the future). Next, we are introduced to Shirley's character, an 81-year-old retired businesswoman who insists on having control over every aspect of her life. She trims her own hedges and improves dinner while her chef is cooking, but at the end of the day, she's enormously unhappy. She attempts suicide, but when she is revived, she has a sudden worry: she hasn't planned out her obituary yet! Amanda Seyfried is the writer hired by Shirley to write her obituary before her death. Normally, a young female journalist character in a movie is written out to be utterly unlikable and ruins whatever scene she's in. I feared the same during The Last Word, however, as the movie progressed, she didn't wind up nearly as unlikable as I'd thought. And, given the choice of other actresses who could have been cast in the role (Emma Stone, Anna Kendrick, etc), I was very happy with Amanda's rendition of the character.If you're a Shirley MacLaine movie, this is a must-see, especially since she's still alive. I can imagine watching this movie after she's passed away would be very sad. Instead, it's inspiring. Shirley is at first motivated to change her life because she wants a better obituary, but along the way, she starts enjoying life in its own right, and it's beautiful. The Last Word has the freedom of a "bucket list" type of movie, but with the motivation of enjoying life, not fearing death.
AD
