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September 12, 2006
My interview with Zach Braff...
I can’t believe I’m seeing Christmas decorations in stores already, it’s freaking me out! I am trying to savor every last bit of summer before they start blasting Christmas carols in the malls. I do love fall though—any excuse to buy jackets and boots, entertain friends indoors, and watch movies. Speaking of movies,The Last Kiss is a movie that reminds me of fall, from the warm colors, to the lush set design to the music. Because Braff’s previous film, Garden State, was so successful, director Tony Goldwyn asked for Braff’s musical input in The Last Kiss. So, if you’re not into seeing the movie, I can assure you that the music in this film is outstanding, featuring independent artists and earthy sounds. To his credit Braff chose pretty much every song for the soundtrack, and I have included the song list below if you want to update your iTunes list. You can see my interview with the Braffman here.. Braff was very sweet and funny in person, rather tall and thin, dressed up casually in a polo shirt and jeans. He seemed almost incredulous that they shacked him up in a $5,000 a night room. WTH? Unbelievable the perks you get as a celebrity, maybe I am in the wrong job! I do like that Braff values character development and promotes independent music artists—let’s hope he doesn’t lose that edge if he continues to do Hollywood studio work. You can check out my full review of the film below. If you want to read more about my interviews with celebrities, journals about pop culture, and thoughts on world peace, check out my archive in the upper left hand corner of this page. Hopefully I can update this site all around when I get more free time…like next year. Ugh. I am currently thinking about having video podcasts on this page as well, so if you’re interested in advertising here or on the podcasts, drop me a line and let’s do business! Again, thanks for all of your sweet e-mails and story ideas.
The Last Kiss Soundtrack
1. Chocolate - Snow Patrol
2. Star Mile - Joshua Radin
3. Pain Killer - Turin Brakes
4. Warning Sign – Coldplay
5. Ride - Cary Brothers
6. El Salvador – Athlete
7. Hide And Seek - Imogen Heap
8. Reason Why - Rachael Yamagata
9. Hold You In My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
10. Prophecy - Remy Zero
11. Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
12. Todays The Day - Aimee Mann
13. Arms of a Woman - Amos Lee
14. Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (Reprise) - Rufus Wainwright
15. Paperweight - Joshua Radin and Schuyler Fisk
My Review of The Last Kiss August 28, 2006…
You might know Zach Braff as the goofy yet lovable doctor on Scrubs, but you can certainly see his acting range with his latest film The Last Kiss.
Braff plays Michael, a 29 year old man who falls for the girl of his dreams, Jenna, and impregnates her, only to wonder if the predictability of the future is right for him. Talented actress Jacinda Barrett plays the role of Jenna, and ironically looks just like Mandy Moore, Braff’s real ex-girlfriend. Temptation greets him in the form of a ridiculously flirtatious college girl and…you get the picture. You can spend hours pondering the take home message of this film. Are men inherently pigs? Are women that blinded by philandering men? How much work does it take to keep a relationship successful? While this film isn’t at all cutesy, there are some trite and predicatable moments, most of them involving Rachel Bilson’s character, or the other woman, Kim. Michael’s attraction to her is particularly disturbing because she looks like a twelve year old girl. Her come-ons are hardly believable, and her lines are even worse, like when she puts his hand on her chest and tells him, “Do you feel me breathing? When you stop breathing, you die.” Puleeze! Or when she tries to dance seductively on the dance floor—though there’s really nothing to see because of her bony waifish body. Braff’s character has this amazing ability to evoke disgust and sympathy at the same time as he starts to reciprocate Kim’s come-ons. He looks innocent enough, but his actions make you want to throw something right at the screen. The real message? Temptation is all around us, it’s how we deal with it and what we’ve learned from the past that’s more important. But does Michael really have to give into his lustful temptations to understand how lucky he is to be in a relationship with the girl of his "dreams"? By running to the innocence of his twenties embodied in the other younger woman, the consequences are far graver than they would be ten years prior. Why does one have to destroy something good in order to appreciate it?
This is not a chick flick by any means, but a coming of age story involving the friendship of four guys—so of course there is a lot of gratuitous sex to keep male viewers engaged, but a lot of poignant moments too. Tom Wilkinson, who plays Jenna’s father says my favorite line in the film: “Any a$$hole can love somebody, but love isn’t about what you say, it’s what you DO to the people you love that counts.” Relationships are fleeting, fragile and damn hard work, and an unfaithful fling with someone far younger than you may not be that glamorous when you take a closer look. Almost everybody will be able to identify with at least one of the story lines woven throughout this film. The ensemble cast is talented and incredibly real in their performances, though it's hard to empathize with some of them, because they are either too gullible (like Jenna) or too immature (like most of Michael's friends). And, just as in life, the film doesn’t leave a final solution—relationships are dynamic after all, more about process than finality. This film arrives in theaters September 15, and I’ll update this journal to let you know when my interview with Zach Braff will air.
K.D. Lang still doin her own thang …
Oh, and in case you missed it, I got to interview K.D. Lang about her music and upcoming concerts. You can check it out here.
Lang was so down to earth—she arrived with no entourage and certainly no pretension. She’s got a couple of cool projects up her sleeve too, one of them composing music for a children’s animated film called Happy Feet,
coming out on November 17th. The film is about cute little penguins, and stars Robin Williams, Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Jackman among other notable actors. Lang will also be on a duet album with Tony Bennett. I’m looking forward to this one—I have always been a huge Tony Bennett fan. As a San Francisco native I still get teary eyed when I hear “I Lost my Heart in San Francisco.” To celebrate his 80th birthday, Bennet will release a record called Duets--with him singing not only with Lang, but Bono(sigh), Elton John, and Sting(second sigh) to name a few. This album will be released September 26th, then look out for a TV special to follow. Remember peeps, you heard it all here first!
Until next time...
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