Last Call

An RT (0/76) (as I write this) is the largest difference I've ever seen for a movie I've reviewed, probably. There are currently only 7 critic reviews and it's definitely not that bad. That being said, even though Last Call has some hometown charm and a decent plot to it, there's too much unnecessary, low-brow humor that brings it below my (60) recommends threshold. I added this to the watch-list because it sounded interesting enough and I always liked Jeremy Piven — and couldn't remember the last movie I saw with him in it. As the "prodigal son" Mick, Piven returns to his hometown Philly suburb of "Darby Heights". I was disappointed to discover that the vast majority of filming took place in Bayonne, NJ instead of an actual Delaware county town, but whatever. The cast's Philly trash crew (Zach McGowan, Jamie Kennedy, Jason James Richter, et al.) did a good enough job of portraying… well… Philly trash — perhaps I'm acerbic because at the end of the movie, they invade the very area of NJ where I now live. In short, Mick, a successful real-estate developer, returns from the faraway land of Rittenhouse Square (Philly) for his mother's funeral and concocts the idea of bringing a casino to the town. To be honest, the legal issue and the Mafioso (Gary Pastore) part of the movie is unclear and stupid. What you're here for is the comedy, which actually has some bright moments. When Mick is going door-to-door, when his father (Jack McGee) says, "Every day I drink a glass of water from the Delaware!", the "River Beach" in Pleasantville, NJ, and some of the friends jabbing at each other are pretty good. Then again, some scenes are, at best, tropey, and at worst, downright disgusting. Of course, Bruce Dern is fantastic and I was actually shocked to see him sitting at the bar in his first scene. It makes you want to return to your hometown bar for a drink, but then again, it also makes you want to avoid it altogether. I don't think you need to see this one.

Don't even know where to begin with this one. The rotten acting, plot, scenes, camera work? How much was the budget for this twot

Good movie very close to real life.I enjoyed watching, reminded me of good times

Anyone from a neighborhood can relate and recognize people they grew up with. Several very familiar actors who were great in their roles. The rosary scene had me screaming with laughter. A light hearted funny movie.

Per Wikipedia: Jeremy Piven comes from "a Reconstructionist Jewish family of Ukrainian Jewish descent." So why was he cast as a man slightly more Irish than a leprechaun? Whose father is so Irish that he has an Irish brogue--even tho' the father is supposedly the 3rd generation to own an Irish pub in Philadelphia? The miscasting of radically-non-Irish-looking Jeremy Piven is perhaps the best thing about this film--given that Piven looks like a bitter, walled-off, unhealthy alcoholic at this point in time. Almost every thing about this movie is fake, forced, stale and feels like the script landed (and stalled) on someone's desk in 1988. Back 33 years ago, the plot and characters would actually have reflected a world that did exist at that time, but now, in 2021, the world depicted in Last Call is an anachronistic, fabricated, lame neverland. The "ethnic" United Colors of Benneton characters of "The Neighborhood" are caricatures--every single one of them--the dialogue is fake and nauseating, the tropes and plot elements are moronic, the love interest (who is oddly unattractive--deeply frowning and sad looking--with creased and caked-on makeup spread over a face of a week of no sleep, hungover, with dirty hair) who cackles, giggles, and swoons at everything Jeremy Piven's character says. Possibly the sole bright spot in Last Call is a character called "The Coach" who, it turns out, is played wonderfully by Bruce Dern. Otherwise, the flick is littered with cadres of infantile bickering "Irish" (most of the "Irish" actors are, like Jeremy Piven, not in the least Irish--why bother casting people who by no stretch of the imagination are a particular ethnic group when you're trying to make some kind of point about that very ethnic group?) goons playing Piven's brother and childhood friends...I could go on, but I won't. It's just really bad.

This is a huge waste of time. Maybe someone who lives in Philly would like it. Don't make the mistake and watch it.

I will never get my 110 minutes back.

IFC Films' recently released dramedy Last Call is an unsuspecting success. Having premiered March 19 and released to DVD Sept. 21, the movie proves itself deserving of at least "a round" of applause. Yes, that awful pun was intended. The movie's success comes primarily through its story, which will be discussed shortly. While the story proves positive, its pacing is a little problematic, but not enough to make the movie a failure. It will be discussed a little later. The cast's work pays with the story to make the whole a mostly successful new offering that further shows the importance of the independent movie community. Last Call, the latest starring vehicle from star Jeremy Piven (PCU, Entourage, Serendipity), is a surprisingly entertaining new entry in this year's field of new movies. The movie's success comes in large part through its story. The story centers on Mick (Piven), a successful real estate developer who returns to his home in a suburban part of Philadelphia after his mother's passing. By chance, Mick's boss, Delveccio (Garry Pastore – The Irishman, The Deuce, The Week Of) just so happens to want Mick to gather signatures from the area's residents to build a casino in the region. At first things go well, but as the nearly two-hour movie progresses, things take a not so good turn as opposition starts rising against the proposed project. The opposition is being led by Mick's childhood crush, Ali (Taryn Manning – Orange is the New Black, Hustle & Flow, 8 Mile). The pair's butting heads leads to the secondary story in this feature, that all-too-familiar boy meets girl/loses her/gets her back in the end tale. As Mick continues his quest to get signatures, he also starts to realize what's important versus what's really important. Again, this is little fish turned big fish who returns home tale its own familiar plot. The thing is that it is presented in a new way in this case. Not to give away too much, but Mick's final decision is made when it turns out that things are not quite what they seem with the casino project. Accepting how this reality check happens takes a little bit of added suspension of disbelief, but those who can suspend their disbelief will find the final outcome rewarding. Now while the movie's central story offers plenty for audiences to like, its balance with Piven's more sophomoric offerings (E.g. PCU, Entourage, etc.) makes for its own interest. What that balance does is offer something for audiences on both sides of Piven's resume so to speak. It works with the story to make for even more engagement and entertainment. For all that the story and its overall presentation do to make Last Call enjoyable, the movie is not perfect. It does suffer from one problem in the form of its pacing. Last Call's pacing proves problematic because both its more serious, dramatic moments and sophomoric moments alike are given too much attention. Case in point is Mick's late night drinking marathon with his brother and their friends. Sure, the aftermath leads Mick to find the bracelet that Ali had given him when they were kids, but other than that, it really is an unnecessary moment. It's like the story's writing team just wanted some way to get Mick to that point of emotional realization and that was the only thing they could come up with, so they threw it at the wall and hoped it would stick. Another moment is that final realization about the casino and Mick's reaction to said realization. It is almost as if that was thrown in for the sake of it. Not having read the novel on which this story is based, this critic cannot attest to whether this part is in the source material. Regardless, it and what happens after, leads to much more of the pacing problem. Though, it is not the last of the moments that cause the story to drag. There are many others. Between those moments and those noted here, the pacing does detract from the overall enjoyment. However, that detraction is not enough to make the movie a failure. It just cannot be ignored. Keeping in mind that the pacing of Last Call is problematic, but not enough to make the movie a failure, there is one more item to note that does help the movie. That item is the cast's work. As in every one of his works, Piven's performance is spot on throughout the movie. The subtle way in which he has Mick react to his emotional struggles throughout the movie is just as engaging and entertaining as in his existing body of work. In another case, such as the morning after Ali catches him with the other women, his explosive reaction is just as powerful and believable. It and so many other moments throughout the movie continues to show why Piven is such a respected actor. On another note, Jack McGee (The Fighter, Gangster Squad, Drive Angry) deserves his own applause as he takes on the role of Mick's father, Laurence. While Laurence is more a supporting character here, McGee still entertains in his own right. He makes clear that Laurence knows the bar is going under financially, but is still trying to be strong and put on a strong face. It is what so many of us do in difficult times. The way in which McGee puts that emotional weight on display makes Laurence that much more of a sympathetic character. That is because his performance makes Laurence's persona so relatable. Even when Laurence finally admits to Mick that he knows the situation, McGee still keeps his performance subdued. He easily could have hammed it up, but he opted not to do that. To that end, it shows even more, why McGee's performance is of note. As if all of this is not enough, Mick's friends, Whitey and Paddy (Jamie Kennedy and Chris Kerson) and his brother, Dougal, (Zach McGowan) add their own touch through their performances. Their wildness represents everything that Mick left behind when he went off to college and then started his own more successful life. Yes, they are little more than college frat boy types who never really grew up, but they are also that heart that remains in Mick's old neighborhood. Mick sees their happiness and how they relate to the neighborhood's other residents and starts to really change his thinking and ways, again leading to the noted familiar plot element. Between their performances, those of McGee, Piven, and the rest of the cast, the overall performances do their own share to show why the cast's work is so important to this movie. It proves just as engaging and entertaining as the movie's familiar but unique story. When those elements are considered together, they make up for the story's problematic pacing to make the overall presentation one more of the year's top new independent and overall movies. IFC Films' movie, Last Call, is a surprisingly and mostly enjoyable new addition to this year's field of new independent and overall movies. That is proven in part through its story. The story is familiar in both its primary and secondary elements. At the same time the execution of those elements makes the overall presentation unique. While the overall story is unique and expertly balances its comedic and heartfelt elements, the pacing thereof proves problematic. It makes the movie's 82-minute run time feel somewhat longer – around two hours. The pacing is problematic because there are scenes that could have been cut. Even with the problems raised by the pacing, they are not enough to make the movie a failure, though they cannot be ignored at the same time. Making up for the problems raised by the pacing is the cast's work on camera. The cast, both main and supporting, does its own admirable job of keeping viewers engaged and entertained. It works with the movie's story to make the presentation mostly successful, even considering the pacing problems. To that end, the movie proves itself deserving of at least "a round" (again, yes, that awful pun was intended) of applause. Last Call is available now. More information on this and other titles from IFC Films is available at: Website: https://ifcfilms.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IFCFilmsOfficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/ifcfilms To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and "Like" it. Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil's Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.

i am one of those people that once i've put on a film, i can't turn it off until it's finished, feels too rude. so i had to sit through this, for 1hr45mins. i'll never get that time back. it's got good actors… so it must have been the script that was pure shit. even the guy from shameless was good, probably the better written character? overall, cringey. the constant swearing is unnecessary, this is coming from someone that swears, most of the time 😂. reminds me of a cheap soap opera, absolutely awful. "JUST LEAVE!" aye, i wish i could. can't save myself, so hopefully i can help someone else x

Last call was a great movie and true to its roots on not only the suburbs of Philly but more specifically Delaware County. The cast was amazing at portraying the accents, dialogue and general mannerism that only true natives of the area would pick up on. A hilarious must see, especially if you're from the area the movie is based on and if you'd like to understand more about the people that were born and raised in and just outside of Philly. I've watched it numerous times now and it gets more and more interesting every time as you pick up on something you missed the previous time you may have watched the film. I highly recommend you see it, especially if you're a Jeremy Piven fan, which I think he's one of today's funniest actors and was the perfect person for that role. Last Call, great movie, great story line and just an all around success for everyone involved in making this film happen. This coming from someone born and raised from the Philly area and it's surrounding suburbs!