The Last Movie Star is a 2018 drama about an aging, former movie star who is forced to face the reality that his glory days are behind him.
It’s sort of impossible to consider legendary actor Burt Reynolds and not think back on some of the most entertaining films in cinema history, even if few were ever critically-acclaimed. The man knew how to have fun and made a slew of comedy action films that made going to the movies a genuinely good time. He sort of disappeared for while, with a few key roles in the 90s, but of late has mostly dotted the television landscape. Now comes Adam Rifkin‘s new drama The Last Movie Star and it’s certainly a love letter to the iconic actor, but is more focused on aging and the more troubling problem for one time world famous celebrities – insignificance.
It’s early 1970s and we meet Vic Edwards (Reynolds) as he strolls confidently onto the stage for a televised interview (this is archival footage of the real Reynolds). He’s big, bold, and brash, the epitome of the manly movie star. A moment later, it cuts directly to the present, to Edwards now, the strikingly aged face of the man staring directly into the camera in extreme close-up, skin weathered and raw, hair grey, body hunched. He’s at the veterinarian with his equally old dog, forced to put it down. It’s a heartbreaking moment, one that deeply effects the former screen legend. However, he soon gets urged by best friend Sonny (Chevy Chase) to accept an invitation to a film festival in Nashville where he’s to be honored, something he finally agrees to do, traveling into the unknown.
There is much about The Last Movie Star that does what it intends, especially in the early scenes where Rifkin works hard to tug hard on our emotions. Reynolds delivers well here, seemingly embracing this decidedly vulnerable part, something we’ve seen so few actors take to. Jerry Lewis‘ recent Max Rose is example. However, the movie quickly shifts into comedy as he banters with Sonny and ends up meeting Lil (Ariel Winter), a young millennial who comes to fulfill everything her generation represents, glued to her phone, oblivious of the past, a bit gothy in skimpy clothes and has a sour attitude. It’s pretty obvious even as the two actors, separated by many decades, develop a keen rapport and things begin to change, something that is practically a trope in movies now.
What I liked best were the smaller moments when Vic is allowed to be himself, going about his day, doing his routines before heading off on his adventure. There’s nothing wrong with humor in a drama, and in fact can lend a certain humanity to the whole affair, it’s just that the tonal ups and down here are hard to get hold off and often deflate the gut punch the film seems to be going after. Still, the movie never ridicules Vic or his past, and his on-screen fans are an earnest bunch who are grateful for everything their idol is.
There are also a few surprisingly effective moments when Rifkin cleverly inserts old Vic into footage of his famous films, so we literally see young and old Reynolds in a few iconic scenes. That’s clever and is so good it feels like this is what the movie should have been more about. Reynolds actually manages to make Vic quite memorable and because Rifkin works hard to constantly use landmarks from Reynold’s history as parallels of Vic, it all sort of ends up feeling like a march down memory lane with Reynolds himself. It’s just unfortunate that as a whole, The Last Movie Star simply can’t find the warmth to make this as memorable as it should be. For fans of Reynolds, it’s naturally a must, even as it feels just out of reach, though no doubt you’ll probably be spending the next few nights sitting in the glow of hits from his past.