About Last Night (1986)

Directed by Edward Zwick. Starring Rob Lowe, James Belushi, Demi Moore, Elizabeth Perkins, George DiCenzo, Robin Thomas, Michael Alldredge, Robert Neches. [R]

Watered-down adaptation of David Mamet play, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, looks at a pair of Chicago yuppies (Lowe, Moore) who turn their back on the singles scene by moving in together and giving the whole “committed relationship” thing a try…it is not smooth sailing. Belushi and Perkins are their envious and obnoxious best pals, but even though they can be as much of caricatures as the main couple, at least they’re more interesting. The acting is better than one is likely to assume (including from two Brat-Packers fresh off the deplorable St. Elmo’s Fire), and there are a few original and perceptive moments, but it’s little more than a string of blackout episodes, and what may have been fresh in the 70s was probably old hat a decade later, and is certainly a lot of been-there-done-that today. The authentically cynical bite is softened by the hopeful conclusion, and before anyone can get so far as that, one must first sit through too many montages set to pop-rock drivel (the music throughout is quite bad, including Miles Goodman’s soft-jazz score), too many variations of the same basic argument, and too many love scene fragments, regardless of how attractive Lowe and Moore are without their clothes on. Scripted by Denise DeClue and Tim Kazurinsky, the latter of which appears briefly as a dorky date; Megan Mullally and Catherine Keener make brief appearances in early roles. Zwick’s feature film directorial debut. Remade in 2014.

51/100