One Last Thing

Porky's with a terminal illness might have been the pitch for Alex Steyermark's One Last Thing. Michael Angarano gives an affecting if sometimes overstated performance as a likable Philadelphia teen with an inoperable brain tumor who is about to have his “last wish”—a fishing trip with a football star—granted by a charitable foundation, when he suddenly opts instead for a weekend date with his favorite supermodel. Although she pays him a brief visit for some positive press coverage, that's not enough for the kid and his horny buddies, so they all travel to New York City to spend some real time with the model and visit the local strip clubs. In the Big Apple, the boy's pursuit of his female ideal (and the redemptive effect his quest has on her) remains the film's ostensible center, but strange episodes (occasional visitations from the ghost of the boy's dead dad, a confrontation with an officious gay secretary, a meeting with a devotee of Eastern mysticism) are oddly juxtaposed with reminders of the boy's medical deterioration—making the jokes more queasy than amusing. And the film really goes haywire in its subplots, which include American Pie-style adventures for the lad's pals that seem wildly out of place in this context, as well as a halting romance between his mother and the football player. In the end, One Last Thing has too many quirky tangents and weird changes of tone. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)