Review of the last word

I have to admit going into this a little unprepared and not sure what to expect. I hadn’t read any write ups and went in with very little knowledge of what the movie was about.

I nearly always like Shirley MacLaine movies, she rarely does a bad one and Amanda Seyfried usually does OK. This was no exception and Shirley MacLaine really shines in this one. The roles is not really new, we have seen her in this type of role before so it is one she is either picked for or picks for herself.

Amanda Seyfried does quite well, but the real performance to look out for is from AnnJewel Lee Dixon, she really does make for a fun movie and steals some of the scenes she is in from Shirley MacLaine.

Word of warning, if you don’t like the use of foul language by young children you may not like this movie, be prepared for that.

Some would say this is a predictable movie, so be it, it probably is, but it is also very entertaining and worth the price of admission.

8/10 for me and I would see it again.

Actress Shirley MacLaine has had quite a career – and an interesting life. She was ahead of her time in being a very independent-minded career woman… and developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. She had a decades-long marriage which ended in divorce, but produced one child, a daughter. In her later years, she has remained active in trying to shape her legacy, which is clearly seen in her 2017 comedy-drama «The Last Word» (R, 1:48). Advertising executive Harriet Lauler has had quite a career – and an interesting life. She was ahead of her time in being a very independent-minded career woman… and developed a reputation for being difficult to work with. She had a decades-long marriage which ended in divorce, but produced one child, a daughter. In her later years, she has become active in trying to shape her legacy, which is what the 2017 comedy-drama «The Last Word» is all about. Now, art-imitating-life parallels aside, playing Harriet serves to remind us how busy MacLaine has remained, on screens big and small, even as her 70s drifted into her 80s – and what a singular talent she remains.

«Control is very important to Harriet,» one character observes. That’s an understatement – and an incomplete one too. Not only has Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine) always exerted control over as many parts of her life as possible, she was always been very disagreeable as she did so. Years ago, she angrily quit the ad agency that she helped to found because she didn’t like how one of her clients conducted a focus group. She once told her gynecologist(!), «When I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.» Her parish priest even admits, «I hated her. So much.» These days, Harriet’s retired. She lives alone in her big house and exerts her brand of rude control by chastising her gardener for trimming her hedges from top to bottom, instead of from bottom to top, as she has instructed him, «many times» he admits with a sigh. Then, when she reads someone’s obituary in her local newspaper, she finds something else to control.

Harriet visits the paper’s offices and asks the editor, Ronald Odom (Tom Everett Scott), to introduce her to the obituary writer, Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried). Sitting behind Ronald’s desk, Harriet gives Anne the assignment to write her obituary now, so she can be sure she’ll be satisfied with what will be published about her in the newspaper after she is gone. Ronald tells Anne that Harriet had been a great friend to the paper when she did ads for Ronald’s father and implies that she might remember the paper in her will. «Make her happy,» is Ronald’s simple instruction to Anne, who reluctantly gets to work. The problem is that there just isn’t much to say about Harriet beyond her past career accomplishments – and Anne can’t find a single person to say anything nice about her – even from the list of names that she received from Harriet herself. Naturally, Harriet is dissatisfied with Anne’s first draft – and tells her so.

Harriet has read a number of obituaries and determined that there are four things that make a good obituary: a loving family, the respect of co-workers, touching the life of someone who needs a helping hand and… a wild card, something unique in the life of the deceased that provides the proverbial icing on the cake. Harriet knows that Anne won’t write anything about Harriet that is not truthful, so she gets Anne to help her «shape a legacy». Without giving away how all of this shakes out, I’ll just say that this journey puts Harriet and Anne in touch with Harriet’s ex-husband (Phillip Baker Hall), Harriet’s estranged daughter (Anne Heche), a former co-worker (Joel Murray), an at-risk youth (AnnJewel Lee Dixon) and a charming disc jockey (Thomas Sadoski). And as the two women work together on Harriet’s unusual project, she does some unwelcome, but well-intentioned meddling in Anne’s personal life as well.

«The Last Word» is a relatively original and very well-done genre film. Sure, it’s formulaic, but movies use formulas for a reason. The real question is whether the film tells its story effectively and this one definitely does. The script from Stuart Ross Fink (writing his first feature) creates a fresh take on the trope of examining a life not-so-well-lived and gives us interesting characters. The excellent actors bring out the nuances in those characters and director Mark Pellington («Arlington Road», «The Mothman Prophecies») gives the film a great balance of comedy, drama, life lessons and just plain fun. The film’s ending may be predictable, but getting there is a very rewarding experience. Movie Fans (especially fans of Ms. MacLaine) will likely be thankful that, with other projects in the works, this film won’t be the last word in Shirley MacLaine’s stellar career. It also makes us look forward to much more to come from the talented Seyfried, the spunky newcomer Dixon and rookie writer Fink, with this impressive debut. This great mix of well-established talent with others just starting out makes for one enjoyable film. «A-«

Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine) is an opinionated controlling rich old lady. She’s retired after running an advertising company. Her family is estranged and nobody likes her. After OD’ing on her meds, she starts being concerned about her obituary. She hires newspaper obit writer Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) to write one for her.

After talking to the at-risk girls, the story end point is more than obvious. There is also an obvious route for this movie. It’s two great actresses on a road trip to self-discovery. Shirley MacLaine has made a career out of this character. This movie just needs some good writing. The writing is sometimes good standard stuff but sometimes gets clunky. The two leads usually are able to work out some good chemistry but some scene falls completely flat. For example, Anne is on a date when Harriet confronts her about her writing. It’s an important moment but the date keep budding into it. He’s a third wheel who keeps causing them to drive off course. Then there is the main third wheel, the little girl. She’s the quintessential sassy black girl. She gets overshadowed despite the movie wanting her to be the breakout star. Harriet’s reconnection with her daughter ends with a weird fake laugh. The audience is just like the other characters, looking at Harriet side-eyed. At the end of the day, I just want this to be better. The writing needs to be better.

«The Last Word» (2017 release; 108 min.) brings the story of an elderly woman, Harriett. As the movie opens, we get a montage of pictures from Harriet’s baby days all the way to today as the opening credits roll by. We then get to know Harriett, as she is at home, bored and unsure what to do with herself. Her interactions with staff and the hairdresser are anything but nice. Then one day she see an obituary in the newspaper, and panic-stricken, she wonders how she’ll be remembered. She takes matters in her own hands and engages Anne, the newspaper writer responsible for these obituaries, sending her off to meet a list of «friends and family» that Harriett gives her. Turns out that nobody on that list has anything nice to day about Harriett… At this point we’re 15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you’ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is directed by Mark Pellington, best known for his work in the music industry (he directed the «U2 3D» movie, among others). Here he seemingly goes in a completely different direction, how a controlling, not-so-nice older, rich woman deals with how people may remember her after her death. If it sounds a bit macabre, well it is. But worse, unfortunately for the viewer, the movie’s plot is so utterly predictable, that there are very few surprises, if at all. «She puts the bitch in obituary!», complains Anne to her boss at the Bristol Gazette. But very thankfully, at least from my perspective, the movie does find some redemption because, as it turns out, Pellington hasn’t abandoned his music roots entirely, and in fact a significant part of the movie relates to a (fictitious) radio station called KOXA, «independent music for independent minds». Hence we get treated to a TON of fabulous music (The Regrettes, Witch, the Kinks, Salty Dog, and many, many more). The movie’s other winning formula is of course the two lead performers, Shirley MacLaine (as Harriett, MacLaine is now a crisp 82 yrs. young), and Amanda Seyfried (as Anne), and both also executive-produced the film. Anne Heche has a small role as Harriett’s daughter. Bottom line: this is an okay and entertaining movie, in the laziest kind of way, but the utter predictability undermines its strength.

«The Last Word» premiered to positive press (mostly for MacLaine’s spunky performance) at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and it opened at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati this past weekend. The Tuesday evening screening where I saw this at was attended nicely for a weeknight. The (mostly older) audience absolutely LOVED it, laughing and hollering on many occasions. If you are in the mood for an okay funny if mostly predictable movie starring the iconic Shirley MacLaine in a role she clearly relishes, you might want to give to a try, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.

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.

Lovely film about a cantankerous, controlling widow Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) who reads obituaries talking about the good deeds of hateful people and decides she should have a good one herself. She approaches the writer responsible, Anne (Amanda Seyfried) and asks her to write her obituary.

Along the way, both women learn some important lessons.

Wonderful performances, especially from scene-stealer AnnJewel Lee Dixon, who is a scream.

Enjoyable, on the predictable side, but very well done.

This review of The Last Word is spoiler free

** (2/5)

AS WITH EVERY other film were an octogenarian is the lead, The Last Word opens with a set of photos and a kick-back retro song to show the life that they once had. Here the octogenarian is Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine who at 83 years old has had one stunning career, from Billy Wilder’s The Apartment to James L. Brooks’ Tears of Endearment she’s been in it all. And every time she’s given stunning performances, she’s no stranger to the spotlight. In her latest starrer The Last Word she plays Harriet Lauler, a retired businesswoman who likes to control everything and everyone, in turn leading her to be one of the most hated people.

We open with her alone in her lavish manor, she’s sad, almost tear-filled and for a while the sympathetic feeling this leaves is effective. She decides that she wants her obituary written, she employs young journalist Anne (Seyfried) to write it for her. Who learns the truth about Harriet’s life, asking people what she’s like as a person, it’s much the same answer; she’s mean, controlling, angry and hated, thus ending the sympathy we feel for in the opening. Anne decides to tell Harriet the truth, and she makes an attempt to change her life.

MacLaine is the polishing appearance, giving an honest and brave performance she makes you feel for her, she’s a loving grandmother type figure to her young high-spirited intern Brenda (Lee Dixon) and she’s a good friend to Anne, as the lead it takes a while to warm up to her. By the time she warms up to her sympathetic measures – it goes away. To be fair, you can’t blame director Mark Pellington who has had many big screen hits since his 1997 debut Going All The Way, it’s the material that’s to blame, it’s predictable, clichéd and misguided – it doesn’t work as a comedy. There are elements of comedy that spark there are a couple of gags more notably expressed from Brenda, this little girl brings heart to the film, she’s energetic and has a lovable attitude, using her extensive f-bombs to change Harriet’s ways of life.

The third act brings the most life to MacLaine’s shining star power, when she’s on her last words she shows strength of being a good person, something that the previous hour muddled up. The Last Word is an un-funny, predictable, clichéd, misguided and a sort of trashy excuse for a redemption story that doesn’t deserve the polished star power of a long-lived Hollywood legend.

VERDICT: Although MacLaine fiercely gives her all, this is a misguidedly dim comedy-drama with fiery good intentions that push it through its ideas, but not enough heart to complete them.

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.

This film tells the story of an elderly woman who is difficult and controlling. One day, she comes up with the idea of controlling what her obituary should look like. Therefore, she hires an obituary writer to work on the last words that would summarise her existence on Earth.

The first five minutes should have been a warning sign for me. There is little dialog, as the screen shows Shirley MacLaine’s character, Harriet being grumpy by herself. Then, she is as difficult as can be, evoking no sympathy for her from me.

I can’t quite bear her creating artificial relationships with Amanda Seyfried and the little girl either, as their bond with Harriet is contrived and unconvincing. Am I really to believe that you can chat up a little girl in the school yard, and subsequently take the girl on a one day trip without parental consent? The whole subplot of the little girl is seriously flawed.

The story is slow, and there is not enough content to fill the screen time. I felt seriously bored. I almost dosed off when Harriet does something similar on the sofa. Then something unbelievable happens. I cannot possibly imagine anyone does what Amanda Seyfried does in that situation. Her lack of action is entirely absurd and senseless.

Normally I like a brain off film with a predictable plot, but «The Last Word» manages to bore and irritate me.

This movie was such a treasure. Who among us doesn’t wonder what people will say when we die? A real poignant telling of a person taking stock of their life with humor and grace, even though she wasn’t quite seen in that light for most of her life. Such great moments on how to be brave and lead when it’s scary to do so. And how to figure out what you want when it’s easier to just do what you’re told.

Watching Harriet journey through to find «the 4» main things that would allow her to let go of her control-filled life and finalize her legacy makes you pause and think about the mirror we all will have to raise at the end of our days to see if this is in fact where we want to leave off — if you have the luxury to do so.

What I have not seen mentioned anywhere is how great the soundtrack is. Wow. I would like to buy it right now, please. If there was time to expand on this part of the movie, it could have evolved into a senior version of High Fidelity.

Worth it. Thumbs up.

An elderly business woman hires a young newspaper woman to write her obituary on her terms. Her forthright personality has left her with few friends in life and poor family relations, she is forced to change her ways belatedly to try and leave a better legacy.

Firstly, it does have to be admitted that this film is extremely predictable and it’s not very difficult more or less working out the plot-line from the word go. As far as the story goes, there aren’t any surprises to be found here it has to be said. But, despite this over-familiarity, the film still works and that is a testament to the acting, primarily from Shirley MacLaine who puts in a strong, spiky performance which I would not be at all surprised if it garnered an Oscar nomination next year. She is loads of fun to watch and is supported well by Amanda Seyfried as the young journalist and AnneJewel Lee Dixon as the little kid she takes a shine to. It’s essentially a comedy-drama and mixes the dramatics with the humour pretty well. It also has to be said that it isn’t so common to have a movie focus on the latter years of the elderly, which it has to be commended for doing. So, there is that more unusual angle interwoven into the otherwise highly standard plot structure. Essentially, over familiarity aside, this is a very entertaining movie which has a great Shirley MacLaine performance topping it off.

Why do we become the person we are? What circumstances make us be … a certain way, which make us weird and make us the bad guy at certain encounters … maybe more than a few of them. Like our main character here … she seems not to be loved to put it mildly.

But she is determined .. and she has been on a journey. A journey that has made her the person she is … a person that is tough to be around with … tough to spend time with. Amanda Seyfrieds character is the one to find out the hard way.

While the overall thing is predictable to say the least, it is the central performances that make this more than worthwhile. Even if Amanda seems to have a moment way too early with her (Shirley), the overall chemistry between the two is awesome and worth watching the movie alone … even if change may not always be possible … at least some self reflection is.

Everyone wants to leave behind a legacy and sometimes we need people like Harriet in the movie to challenge us and help us believe in ourselves that we can still live a better life and achieve our true potential.

At the end of our lives, the best legacy we can leave is when we have touched someone in a way that makes them want to live their best life in honor of your memory.

I should honestly be impressed that The Last Word gets away with as much as it does. It starts as one of those stereotypical light-weight puff pieces. The kind that gears itself toward the fussy, all-knowing, film festival crowd, then hits them over the head with the same mindlessness they claim to avoid by not watching mainstream films. The irony of course is they’re never made aware that they’re watching strategically released pabulum because they’re «too smart and refined» (and white) to subject themselves to the latest common blockbuster. The Last Word is basically the cinematic equivalent of «The Emperor’s New Clothes,» for old people.

The Last Word stars aged Hollywood icon Shirley MacLaine who basically takes the hindsight throne that was previously sat on by Meryl Streep in Ricki and the Flash (2015) and Al Pacino in Danny Collins (2015). She plays, of course a mortality aware loner who decides she wants to change her life with the help of a permanently brought-aback obituary writer (Seyfried) and later on, a sassy little black girl (Lee Dixon) whose tokenism would be offensive if it wasn’t so carelessly stilted. Within the course of a month, Harriet Lalor (MacLaine) decides to reconstruct her legacy in the following order of importance: touch someone’s life unexpectedly, find that certain something extra, be respected by her community and be beloved by friends and family.

What immediately elevates Last Word from other pedestrian feel-good movies like this, is the inclusion of Shirley MacLaine. With over fifty years of experience playing acid-dipped battle-axes, MacLaine easily transcends the film’s paltry story and annoyingly analog aesthetics. She does so well playing the quintessential shrew that every other one-note character fades into the background like a white wall against a bright tapestry.

Of course, if sassy repartee alone was enough to elevate a bomb I’d be working for a publication by now. Literally everything else in this film suffers from clumsily sets up reveals and embarrassingly artificial sentiment. We see it all coming yet no effort is made to keep the script itself engaging or the least bit deserving of such an off-the-wall character. Why is Lalor hated by her family, why was she ejected by the advertising agency she started, why does literally everyone she meets want to kill her? The answers to all these questions will likely give OCD sufferers reason to get off their meds while giving babyboomers license to continue being s***ty people.

What saves The Last Word from ultimately being beyond redemption is the very clear inference that the movie is a fantasy. It’s a very treacly fantasy and one that would needle audiences outside its demographic into a permanent eye-twitch. Yet for those who just can’t fathom why young whippersnappers like me can’t just point to a place on a map and go, The Last Word is just what the doctor ordered. Consider it the last movie you’ll see before euthanasia.

The Last Word (2017): Dramas may not have strong content but it always triumphs with extraordinary performances and emotional scenes.But surprisingly The Last Word has good content and star-cast is very good.But at the end it just managed to get just an OK reaction from me.

Plot: Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) is a 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 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

My Review: Here’s another one of those by-the-numbers heart-warmers whose every narrative move you can predict 10 minutes before it unfolds.So why does this story about an unlovable woman who wants to edit her own obituary still work like a charm?It stars Shirley MacLaine, who’s gloriously grumpy – and appealing – as Harriet Lawlor, a former ad executive who has alienated everyone in her life, including her daughter. Even her priest can’t stand her.

The idea of writing your own obituary when things aren’t going well itself has scope of good comedy and drama.The Last Word has both the factors but only in limited quantity.The character seems to be in search of purpose much like the script itself. It’s engaging enough to see through to the end, despite the material being so light it’s a wonder it doesn’t float away.

This entirely predictable film has became watchable mainly because of Shirley MacLaine who rocked with her stellar performance.There is an energy and commitment in her performance that gives the film a jolt of life.Seyfried, who can be a vivid actress, has been handed an underwritten part.

So,The Last Word may be highly predictable even with different concept,it worked because of Shirley’s worthy performance.

My rating 6.5/10