Last Man on Earth



Full disclosure:  I’m a (recent) fan of Will Forte.  The first time I saw him was an interview on Sam Jones.  They talked about “Nebraska” which had just finished filming.  I’d heard some buzz on that and I’ve always like Bruce Dern – so that stuck in my brain.  There was a reference to another project but it didn’t click.  Will Forte was so likeable, although seemingly unremarkable.  I was way wrong in that impression. 

“Nebraska” (which I’ve seen twice to-date and somehow have not blogged about-soon to be remedied,) is a late-life family drama, skillfully acted by a talented cast who achieved the ultimate portrayal in this genre:  believability.  Wonderful movie.  See it if you can.

I happened across the secondly mentioned project, a post apocalyptic tale set in Tucson, Az.  Our hero, Phil Miller, somehow survived a pandemic that eradicated the human race, leaving him the “Last Man on Earth.” 

Phil drives across the US on a quest to find other humans, pillaging treasure from great museums along the way, (exactly what I’d do.)  He also spray paints messages on billboards throughout his travels:  “Alive in Tucson,” before admitting defeat and heading home. 

Where in resignation of his fate being the last man on earth, he creates some imaginary friends with balls, (and I can’t think of a way to get that across without sexual innuendo.  Sports balls.  Tennis balls.  Pingpong balls.  Come on,) like Wilson in “Castaway.”

Until one day, Carol drives up.  Another human!  He is so happy to see her at first, but she is such an amazingly annoying person, the foibles and duplicity of human nature soon emerge. 

Well as the Stones say: Ya can’t always get what you want.

And that’s before the next wave of humans arrive.  It’s very playful and fun.  And funny.


Comments

young contrarian said…
Do yourself a favor and pick up the soundtrack to Nebraska. It's a rare one in which the musical cues don't grate outside the context of the scenes.

And what the hey, to speak about the film - it's the third in Alexander Payne's Nebraska Trilogy (he's from Omaha) - the other two, Election and About Schmidt, are both darker and more profane, which for me at least lessens the enjoyment.

I'd be interested to see you delve further into Nebraska as a film dealing with age, but what gets me every time about Payne is his ability to reproduce the almost courageous mundanity of midwesterners - Dern's near-silent, cantankerous insistence on pursuit of the false prize and perfunctory maintenance of his agonizingly cold relationship with his son are as quintessentially Midlands as the wardrobe Nicholson wears in Schmidt. Even though you can't really boil these films down to place as such, it's also hard to imagine the plausibility of the prize as plot point in a movie about, say, someone from L.A or Philly or Miami.

Long comment short: do a full write-up on Nebraska.
Tue May 26, 11:17:00 AM
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