| Demi Moore
and Rob Lowe are the lovers, but Jim Belushi and Elizabeth Perkins
stole the show as the wisecracking friends, especially Belushi as a
life-embracing party animal. Demi is absolutely lovely. Before the
exercise and the implants, you might say that she wasn't as perfect in
a technical sense. Her breasts were small, and her butt was not that
tight, and I guess she deliberately set out to change that later on.
But I don't think I'm alone in saying that she was just about perfect
before the changes. Her beautiful face, her raspy voice, her smarts,
and her acute femininity made her a great star at one time. And she was great in
this movie. Romantic comedies may not be the equivalent of King Lear
in the level of acting skill required, but not everybody does them
well (Rob Lowe comes to mind), and Demi did this one very well,
indeed. |
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The movie
portrayed the relationship quite realistically except for kind of a
cop-out ending which looked tacked on, but that provided a glimmer of
hope that I really wanted the couple to have. Anyway, you have a
beautiful Demi perfect for the role, David Mamet dialogue,
Belushi and
Perkins for some laughs, and a reasonable amount of Demi nudity.
That's enough to make it a worthwhile rental. You won't even notice or
care that Lowe is so strangely stiff. When he has to deliver a line he
looks like Dan Quayle holding a press conference, deflecting a
question, trying to pretend that he knows where Europe is. Director
Edward Zwick is one of the best directors that nobody ever talks
about. "About Last Night ..." is probably his worst movie,
and it's not bad at all. (Roger Ebert gave it four stars!). Zwick did
Glory, The Siege, Legends
of the Fall, Leaving Normal, and Courage under Fire. They are all
pretty good, and Glory is a movie that many people felt was the best
picture of 1989, although it was not even nominated for the Best
Picture Oscar.
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TUNA's THOUGHTS
|
| About Last
Night... (1986) is a by-the-numbers romantic comedy that rises
above itself due to a very honest plot, good dialogue, and four
good performances. Demi Moore works at an ad agency, and is
screwing her boss, but not very enthusiastically, when she meets
Rob Lowe in the park, where he is playing second base on a
slow-pitch team. The mutual physical attraction is instant, and
they progress from sex on the first date to living together.
Lowe is not ready for commitment, and the two each face pressure
from their respective best friends, who feel somewhat left out
and abandoned. James Belushi as his friend, and Elizabeth
Perkins as hers, are brilliant in pointing out that two people
falling in love is not just entirely about them, but it has
ripple effects through all of their relationships. Belushi and
Perkins also supply much of the humor. |
|
The
Critics Vote
General consensus: no consensus, but a
bit less than three stars on the average. Ebert 4/4,
filmcritic.com 3/5, Maltin 2/4
|
The People
Vote ...
- With their
dollars ... it grossed a solid $38 millon in the USA.
|
| IMDb
guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of
excellence, about like three and a half stars
from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm
watchability, about like two and a half stars
from the critics. The fives are generally not
worthwhile unless they are really your kind of
material, about like two stars from the critics.
Films under five are generally awful even if you
like that kind of film, equivalent to about one
and a half stars from the critics or less,
depending on just how far below five the rating
is. My own
guideline: A means the movie is so good it
will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not
good enough to win you over if you hate the
genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an
open mind about this type of film. C means it will only
appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover
appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you
like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if
you love the genre. F means that the film is not only
unappealing across-the-board, but technically
inept as well.
Based on this
description, Scoop says, "this film is a B-. It has something for everyone.
It's a reasonably perceptive romantic comedy, and Jim Belushi
provides plenty of comic relief". Tuna says, "Ebert,
in his 4-star review, wondered why Hollywood didn't make more
love stories. I think the low IMDb score is part of his answer.
Even a love story this good is clearly not the way to riches.
Still, it is a top notch genre effort, so high C+."
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