I put The Last Movie Star on my Amazon Prime Watchlist about three weeks ago. Prior to seeing it in the “Recently Added Movies” list, I hadn’t heard anything about it at all. I watched the trailer, thought it looked interesting, and decided I’d watch it when I had the chance. Then, last week, Burt Reynolds passed away. While many people revisited Smokey and the Bandit in his honor, I decided to give this film a shot. I had no idea how poignant it would be despite not being a very good movie.
The Last Movie Star wasn’t Reynolds’ last film. That honor will go to a movie called Defining Moments, which is scheduled for release in December, 2018. It does, however, feature one of the best performances of the latter part of his career.
Reynolds plays Vic Edwards, an aging 1970s movie star who receives an invitation to the International Nashville Film Festival to receive a lifetime achievement award. Vic is hesitant about accepting the festival’s offer of an all-expenses paid trip to Nashville but eventually decides to go after seeing Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, and Robert De Niro had previously received the award.
When a beat-up Oldsmobile Cutlass arrives in lieu of a limo to pick him up from the airport , Vic begins to realize that this film festival might not be as prestigious as he thought. Driving the Cutlass is Lil McDougal (Ariel Winter,) a foul-mouthed, tattooed twenty-something in a tattered t-shirt and a barely-there pair of shorts. She’s more interested in arguing with her boyfriend on her cell phone than doing her job as Vic’s assistant for the weekend.
Lil takes Vic to the film festival, which is being held at a bar, to attend a screening of one of his old films. Halfway through the movie, Vic walks out, gets drunk, and has to be convinced to return for a Q & A session. He insults everyone attending by calling them a bunch of losers watching movies in their basement.
The next day, Lil arrives at Vic’s motel to take him back to the festival and he demands to be taken to the airport. On the way there, Edwards asks instead to be driven to Knoxville, which is three hours away. Because he was promised a car and a driver for the weekend, Lil reluctantly agrees.
Vic begins to take her on a tour of Knoxville, where he grew up. They begin to talk and, eventually, bond a bit. Vic confides the real reason he’s asked her to take him to Knoxville and, through Vic, Lil begins to learn a little about herself.
Story wise, The Last Movie Star is very predictable. The “two people of different backgrounds paired up and learn about each other and themselves” plot isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. Ariel Winter, from TV’s Modern Family, plays Lil McDougal about as well as one could expect with the script she’s been given. Unfortunately, Rifkin’s script tries to shoehorn in a surrogate father/daughter relationship that Vic and Lil play out as they travel together. Lil’s character is not likable or sympathetic. They share a few good scenes but the majority of their screen time is frustratingly predictable and purposely written to highlight their age difference.
Reynolds, however, is mesmerizing. It’s obvious that writer/director Adam Rifkin wrote this role specifically for Burt Reynolds. When we’re shown old film footage from Vic’s career, the clips are real material from Burt Reynolds’ career. When Vic talks of making bad career choices, we’re reminded of the fact that Burt Reynolds famously moved away from roles emphasizing his acting and more towards action and car chases. The movie is at its best when it’s focused on Reynolds’ (or, rather, Vic’s) reflections on his life, loves, and career. Seeing him reflect on his life now versus what it had been is quite moving.
As a coda to Reynolds’ career, The Last Movie Star succeeds well enough to warrant a recommendation. Just don’t expect the rest of the movie to live up to his performance.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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