2K Replay: THE LAST KISS

 by Adam Riske

Nominated for “Choice Movie: Chick Flick” at the Teen Choice Awards. It lost to The Holiday.

• Best Scene/Moment: The movie is mostly just sex scenes and arguing scenes, so I’ll say the sex scenes.

• Best Song: Way too many to choose from including “Chocolate” by Snow Patrol, “Today’s the Day” by Aimee Mann, and “Prophecy” by Remy Zero, but I’ll go with “Warning Sign” by Coldplay as my favorite.

• Best Merch: A “The Last Kiss Movie CD Press Kit…” for $17.99. I like this because it looks like evidence you gathered in your work as a private detective. Plus, you get a manilla folder and those always come in handy. I worked at Office Depot as a teen and there’s something about a new box of manilla file folders that makes you feel like you’re on the right track. O.D. Boy for life! Wait, that doesn’t sound right. That would be the wrong track.

• Director Grade: The Last Kiss was directed by Tony Goldwyn.
Great Movies: N/A
Good Movies: N/A
OK Movies: The Last Kiss
Bad Movies: N/A
Unseen By Me: A Walk on the Moon, Someone Like You, Conviction, Ezra
Overall Grade: B-

• Double It with This 2006 Movie: The Break-Up

• Year 2006 Movies to Trailer Before Them: A Good Year, The Holiday, The Lake House

• Ella McCay or The Last Kiss? Ella McCay

• Mall Movie? No. The success of Garden State and The Last Kiss being a romantic drama for adults would ensure it a spot at the fancy theater in town.

• Only in 2006 (tie): The “other woman” being played by the seemingly harmless Rachel Bilson and scenes where the parents of the woman who was cheated on are shockingly empathetic of the man who cheated on their daughter.

• Scene Stealer (tie): Jacinda Barrett and Michael Weston.

• I Miss: Tom Wilkinson.

• I Don’t Miss: Zach Braff romantic dramedies where he’s the worst but we’re put in the position where we’re supposed to side with him because he’s the protagonist.

• 2006 Crush (tie): Cindy Sampson and Marley Shelton.

• 2026 Crush (tie): Jacinda Barrett and Lauren Lee Smith.

• What I Thought in 2006: I remember liking The Last Kiss at least as much as I used to like Garden State (which I don’t anymore). I was a more susceptible young male viewer back in 2006, so I was like “we’re men and these are our stories about love.” I also remember loving the soundtrack and feeling like Zach Braff secretly made this instead of Tony Goldwyn (kind of a Kevin Costner/Kevin Reynolds situation) although I have no proof that happened and it’s solely a gut feeling.

• What I Think in 2026: I’m of two minds on The Last Kiss. On one hand, it’s cringy and hasn’t aged well in the past 20 years. You could say it’s being “honest” about male behavior of a certain age, but the movie also finds certain things permissible that it probably shouldn’t. On the other hand, it’s certainly watchable and the soundtrack kicks ass.