Last Rites (1988)
After witnessing her lover being murdered by his jealous wife, Angela seeks refuge in a church where she encounters a young priest named Michael, who gives her sanctuary. But the killing was not a simple act of passion, as the victim had ties to organized crime, and, surprisingly, so does Michael, whose father is a powerful don. When the priest finds himself falling in love with Angela, his religious vows and family ties are both severely tested.
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The Age of Commercialism
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
Donald Bellisario has been busy cranking out dull TV product for decades (the sleep-inducing "NCIS" series, etc.) Here, he tosses out, thankfully!, his only movie project ever. Let's all kiss the ground for that at least, okay!This is hilariously awful! It is packed with tons of bad New York stereotypes. It inexplicably features an Irish dude (Berenger) badly trying to pass for Italian. And, worst of all? The impossibly stick-thin Daphne Zuniga is playing Mexican? Really?!Man, this is bad, BAD, B-A-D! And, the "twists" at the end will leave you shaking your head and desperately trying not to laugh. But, you will laugh, and you will laugh hysterically!(did I mention this movie wasn't good?)(1/2* Out of 10 Stars) - of course, IMDb will not let me do 1/2*!
A Catholic priest shields a woman from the mob. Trouble is; the mobsters in question are his family. And then the priest has more than a passing interest in the damsel in distress.A quick ramble on Berenger: The guy is one of my favorite actors. Having gotten a good break in the late 70's and early 80's his career was going downhill already by 1986. Enter a fantastic performance in Oliver Stone's "Platoon" (and an Oscar nomination), Berenger was suddenly on the A-list again. To play it safe; Berenger decided to work with established directors to further his career even more. He worked with Ridley Scott in "Someone to Watch Over Me" in 1987, did a solid film in Roger Spottiswoode's "Shoot To Kill" starring alongside Sidney Poitier and made quite a splash in Costa-Gavra's extreme political thriller "Betrayed" in 1988.To close off 1988 Berenger played the lead in "Last Rites". Directed by Donald P. Bellisario, a veteran in television (creator of "Magnum P.I.", "Airwolf" and "Quantum Leap" to name a few) but hardly an established film director. I have no idea of Berenger's personal faith and whether he wanted to really stick it to Catholic priests; but I simply don't get what was interesting to begin with in "Last Rites".The film opens well enough. A super sexy mobster gal, Zena (Anne Twomey), kills her husband (in quite a nasty way) when she catches him bedding another woman, Angela (Daphne Zuniga). Angela narrowly escapes and shortly thereafter goes to confession in Father Michael Pace's (Berenger) booth. As fate would have it; Pace is Zena's brother and therefore has direct ties to the mob. Pace decides to help Angela and keep his family from getting to her. He also starts to develop a sexual interest in Angela and eventually gives into his carnal desires. All the while the mobsters are closing in on them."Last Rites" offers up at least one miserable twist, a hopelessly boring middle section, some pathetic attempts at taking a stab at religion and an ending that takes far too long to reach it's predictable conclusion. Which is a shame 'cause it starts fairly well.Berenger isn't all that believable as the tortured (and fairly weak minded) priest and Zuniga's legendary bad performance here probably ruined any further chances at a solid acting career. Plus her accent is horrible. Anne Twomey easily walks off with the film."Last Rites" probably hurt Berenger's film career. I don't think it's quite as bad as Roger Ebert labeled it (the worst film of 1988) but it certainly isn't good. Apart from "Major League" in 1989 and "Sniper" in 1993 (and a personal favorite is "The Substitute" from 1996), Berenger made more bad choices commercially speaking and his film career has never recovered.
I recently saw this movie for a second time, and noticed that the ring was on his finger at the very beginning. I'm not Catholic, but doesn't this mean that he's married to the church, as are nuns? Could someone clarify? I think the reason he took off the ring was that he realized he had betrayed the vows he took to the Church.I loved Tom in this movie, but I pretty much love him in everything. It was interesting to see what a cathedral looks like "behind the scenes". I also enjoyed the scenes in Mexico, especially the celebrations. The plot was implausible, but not as offensive as some would have you believe.Hard to believe that Tom did this movie one year before Major League. It obviously shows what range he has as an actor.
You would think that with the mob, the Catholic church, machine guns, hookers, hit men (and women), full-frontal nudity, screaming inside a church, the lead actress crying that "I'm a whore!", a stuttering priest and a uniformly attractive cast that there'd be a reason to get excited about this thing. Alas, you'll only be disappointed unless, like me, you want to see it because you've heard only bad.Although it's shot in a made-for-TV style, there a couple of interesting camera shots (set in Mexico) and even a moment or two where there's promise of the story kicking in. Unfortunately, after the first ten minutes or so it's too late to recover.Poorly written, poorly acted, poorly conceived. If it had been just a little worse, it could actually be good. Otherwise, you can find a better way to spend a couple hours of your life.