Plot
A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.
Release Year: 1986
Rating: 5.9/10 (7,143 voted)
Director:
Edward Zwick
Stars: Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi
Storyline Danny and Bernie are two single men living their lives on the wild side. But when Danny meets Debbie at a bar and the two start a relationship with a one night stand, Danny's life takes a different turn. How does this passionate night become a full affair and what effect will this relationship have on both people and their friendship with their best mates ?
Writers: David Mamet, Tim Kazurinsky
Cast: Rob Lowe
-
Danny Martin
Demi Moore
-
Debbie
James Belushi
-
Bernie Litgo
Elizabeth Perkins
-
Joan
George DiCenzo
-
Mr. Favio
Michael Alldredge
-
Mother Malone
Robin Thomas
-
Steve Carlson
Donna Gibbons
-
Alex
Megan Mullally
-
Pat
Patricia Duff
-
Leslie
Rosanna DeSoto
-
Mrs. Lyons
(as Rosana De Soto)
Sachi Parker
-
Carrie
Robert Neches
-
Gary
Joe Greco
-
Gus
Ada Maris
-
Carmen
Taglines:
It's about men, women, choices, friendship, love, last night...
Release Date: 2 July 1986
Filming Locations: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Opening Weekend: $3,152,469
(USA)
(7 July 1986)
Gross: $38,702,310
(USA)
(2 November 1986)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
The original title of this film was "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" (taken from the play it is based on). The title was changed after many newspapers and TV stations refused to run ads for a film with such a title.
Goofs:
Continuity:
The end of the movie apparently takes place when the softball team has a spring practice. However, we see that the leaves are changing.
Quotes: Danny:
Oh, you're not leavin' are ya? Joan:
No, we're walking in backwards.
User Review
Sex vs. love, a great movie to watch
Rating: 8/10
I know I know you look at the cast and say "Geez, another a brat pack
movie from the 80's". However, this movie is really good. The scariest
part is how accurate the movie is in portraying the challenge to find
true love among young twenty something's in the eighties. All of which
still applies today. Did David Mamet know something thirty years ago
that we didn't? Even the four main characters and the different
personalities they have are easy to relate too and understand because
they are all people that we know or once used to know!!!!! Danny (Rob
Lowe), a restaurant supply salesman, and Debbie (Demi Moore), an art
director at an advertising agency, meet at a baseball game and later
link up at a singles bar in Chicago. He's a handsome guy used to
one-night stands; she's having an affair with her boss but is looking
for something more romantic and less sleazy.
After a one-night stand at Danny's apartment, Debbie tells him, "It's
been a slice of heaven." She returns to her place where she lives with
Joan (Elizabeth Perkins), a kindergarten teacher whose smart ass tongue
discourages most men. Meanwhile at work, Danny's buddy Bernie, a
Neanderthal barbaric like fellow (played beautifully by Jim Belushi)
who sees himself as a lady killer, queries his friend about his date
with Debbie.
The affair continues, and Debbie decides to move in with Danny. Living
together proves to be a difficult experience for them. They try out
plenty of new positions for sex, but find that coping with each other's
habits, quirks, and expectations is far more challenging. Danny's
passivity and inability to open up bother Debbie. At one point, he
discovers her looking through his private possessions for clues to his
past life.
Debbie, of course, wants them to be a couple, while Danny, hiding
behind the myth of the independent male, doesn't want to tie himself
down and so ends up treating Debbie as nothing more than a live-in
sexual object. And if there isn't enough tension between them, Bernie
and Joan are constantly trying to sabotage their relationship. Thus the
beginning of the end starts when Danny and Debbie use the "L" word
after a steamy night of passion. Danny's frustrations with his career
spill over into his relationship with Debbie. More frustrations come
about with his best friend Bernie giving him a hard time about being
with Debbie, losing touch with his own free spirit partier identity and
a lack of communication with Debbie. This ultimately leads to a gut
wrenching break up scene followed by Danny's painful attempts to get
Debbie back after he finally realizes that what he had was special and
now wants back what he has lost.
As I was watching this movie I found myself squirming in my seat while
these characters struggle to relate to each other. It wasn't very
difficult for me to remember that I had gone through the same
heartbreaking downfall of a good relationship in my early twenties due
to my lack of communication and inexperience regarding matters of the
heart like Danny in the movie. And how difficult it can be to move on.
My only peace of mind comes at the end when Danny and Debbie decide to
start courting again. This time with the realization that they were
both unrealistic and naive and that they will be better to each other
because of the painful lessons learned. The voices inside Danny,
Debbie, Bernie, and Joan speak volumes about the loneliness, anger,
self-hate, and fear of men and women who remain perplexed about
themselves and the opposite sex. About Last Night is a provocative
portrait of young adults. A very underrated movie and a must see.
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