Product Description

THE LAST SHOT is the laugh-out-loud comedy caper that takes the movie business, the Mob, and the FBI and turns them into some very funny business indeed. Matthew Broderick (THE STEPFORD WIVES) and Academy Award® nominee Alec Baldwin (Best Supporting Actor, THE COOLER, 2003; ALONG CAME POLLY) head a cast of outstanding stars who steal scenes and grab your funny bone every chance they get. After years of being on the A-List of complete failures, Hollywood screenwriter Steven Schats (Broderick) meets Joe Devine (Baldwin), a producer who green-lights his movie and makes him the director. But Devine isn't who he claims to be, not by a long shot. He's really an FBI agent using the movie in a sting to take down the mob. Inspired by the true story of the greatest movie never made, THE LAST SHOT is truly funny.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53958 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2005-05-10
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
Taking off from an amazing true story, The Last Shot mines some pleasing inside-Hollywood gags about indie-film production. But this is no ordinary indie: An FBI agent (Alec Baldwin) sets up an elaborate ruse to sting some mobsters in Rhode Island, by picking a screenplay from the slush pile and financing pre-production. The movie will never be made, but the bogus production will lure the mobsters into the trap. The hitch is, the starry-eyed writer-director (Matthew Broderick), cast, and crew have no idea they're part of an undercover operation--the poor saps think their ship has come in and they're actually making a movie. Adding to the joke is that Baldwin finds himself enchanted by the moviemaking world and beginning to care about his unsuspecting stooge (Broderick is at his most engaging). Writer-director Jeff Nathanson (who scripted Catch Me if You Can) doesn't quite trust this funny set-up, sweetening the pot with too sentimental nudges, but the two stars develop a handy odd-couple chemistry. Toni Collette, as a has-been actress, and Joan Cusack, as a sharp-tongued agent, have some riotous moments. --Robert Horton

EBERT & ROEPER
"Two thumbs up!"

Joel Siegel, GOOD MORNING AMERICA
"A great movie about movies and absolutely one of the funniest."

Customer Reviews

Off-Beat Comedy on Film-making from the Writer of 'Catch Me If You Can'
Based on an article on unique FBI operation to arrest a mobster, slightly off-beat comedy 'The Last Shot' offers two good things -- one is the comical look on Hollywood movies and the people involved, and the other is the endearingly funny "odd couple" of Matthew Broderick and Alec Baldwin.

FBI thought of a brilliant idea (believe it or not, it's based on truths). FBI agent Joe (excellent Baldwin) is assinged a strange job by his boss Ray Liotta to disguise himself as Hollywood producer, and invite unsuspecting, unemployed film director Steve (Broderick at his best) to join in his 'project' to make a film. Incredibley to Steve, Joe allows him eveything -- final cut, casting approval, everything. Very happy Steve joins in the project, not knowing the truths behind that.

Actually, this is a sting to arrest a mobster boss Tony Shalhaub for racketeering. Believing all these lies, however, Broderick's Steve cast his girlfriend (Calista Flockhart) as the lading lady, in HIS film about a dying woman in the desert of Arizona. But Joe as FBI wants the film shot in Rhode Island, and lots of silly things start to happen -- like changing the settings, dialogues, and even the ending.

Yes, the FBI article is only a starting point for this comedy, and the film is in fact a satrical look on Hollywood-style film-making, and first-time director Jeff Nathanson surely knows the rukes of this industry. (Incidentally, this is the third film Jeff Natahnson is involved, which is based on the real-life event: 'Catch Me If You Can,' 'The Terminal' and 'The Last Shot') However, the film does not teach you much about Hollywood if you are already an avid reader of the gossip columns or the Internet sites on movies.

In fact, the greatest thing about 'The Last Shot' is its actors. In addition to the perfect Broderick and Baldwin, you get Toni Collette as has-been actress who acts like a diva, and several cameos of Joan Cuzack, Buck Henry, and (very brief) Eric Roberts and Pat Morita as himself. Only Tim Blake Nelson's character as Steve's brother is, I think, unnecessary, making the film too serious.

I think Jeff Nathanson downplays everything too much, making the whole film a bit too sentimental at times. But the film is certainly charming when it shows rhe unlikely friendship between an FBI agent and a down-and-out film director, and Alec Baldwin and Matthew Broderick are both wonderful as Joe and Steve. My four stars may be too kind, but I like the two actors, who well deserve this rating.

Satirical Take on Filmmaking. Inspired by True Story.
"The Last Shot" is a satirical but good-natured look at the film industry and the passion to make movies. It was inspired by a real 1989 FBI sting operation, in which an FBI agent posing a producer enlisted two unwitting filmmakers to make a movie in Providence, Rhode Island in order to net some mobsters. In "The Last Shot", ambitious FBI agent Joe Devine (Alec Baldwin) dreams up "Operation Dramex" to nail mobster Tommy Sanz (Tony Shalhoub) by bribing him to intercede with the Teamsters on a movie that Divine will pretend to produce. But first Divine will need a script. Stephen Schats (Matthew Broderick) has been trying to stir up interest in his script, called "Arizona", for years while managing a movie theater and running a kennel for celebrities' dogs in Hollywood. He thinks his dreams have finally come true when Joe offers to finance the film, with Stephen allowed to direct, no less. Devine doesn't actually want to make the movie, but only to use pre-production to trap Sands. But Devine and his FBI colleagues get caught up in cinematic and professional ambition and end up taking the film and the sting operation farther than they had intended.

"The Last Shot" sends up the entire film industry, from Hollywood players to aspiring producers to writer wannabes. It even pokes fun at the vaunted passion to create art. Writer/director Jeff Nathanson's decision to spare no one is one of the film's strengths. Another is the fantastic cast. Alec Baldwin is perfect, and the depth of the supporting cast kept surprising me. Toni Collette is very funny as a screwed-up actress and former "it girl" desperate to resuscitate her career. Calista Flockhart is Steven's actress girlfriend even more desperate to start a career. Joan Cusack parodies a television producer recruited to teach the FBI about the movie business. Ray Liotta is Joe Devine's brother and FBI superior. Maybe only big fans of film and of filmmaking will find "The Last Shot" hilarious, but, if that's you, you won't want to miss this all-out send-up.

The DVD (Buena Vista 2005 release): Bonus features include a featurette about the true story that inspired the film, a variety of material that didn't make the final cut, and a audio commentary. In "Inspired by Actual Events" (12 minutes), FBI agent Garland Schweickhardt and former filmmakers Gary Levy and Dan Lewk talk about their experiences with the real 1989 FBI operation on which the film was based. "Robert Evans Presents" (2 minutes) is a few scenes in which legendary producer Robert Evans provided narration for the film that was eventually cut. You can choose to view the film with the narration or just watch the narration by itself. "Joan Cusack's Montage" (1 1/2 minutes) is a few clips of Cusack's performance that didn't make the final cut. There are 3 extended scenes and one deleted scene available. The audio commentary by writer/director Jeff Nathanson and actor Matthew Broderick is casual, with a lot of comedic banter, but also contains information on directorial decisions and filming. Captions for the film are available in English. Subtitles are available in Spanish and French.

ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD
THE LAST SHOT is based on an amazing true story wherein the FBI sets up a phony movie production to snare some top criminal figures, such as John Giotti and his gang. Alec Baldwin plays FBI agent Joe Devine, who wants to move on to bigger and better things, especially after the suicide death of his beloved dog, Sasha. He convinces the agency to front a fake movie in order to catch a big crime ring in Providence, Rhode Island, of all places. He manages to convince aspiring screenwriter Matthew Broderick that his script for "Arizona" is a movie he is willing to produce, and from thereon, things get sticky. Baldwin is very good in his role as is the sheepish Broderick. A strong supporting cast including Toni Collette as a fading actress; Tony Shalhoub as the target of the scam; Joan Cusack as a sharp-tongued agent; Tim Blake Nelson as Broderick's frustrated brother; Calista Flockhart as Brodericks neurotic girlfriend, help make THE LAST SHOT an entertaining, bittersweet dramedy. You'll find lots of places to laugh in the send up of the independent movie industry.