Themes: Facing Death, Dying Young, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Gina Gershon, Wyclef Jean, Sunny Mabrey, Cynthia Nixon, Michael Angarano, Michael Rispoli, Brian Stokes Mitchell
Release Year: 2005
Country: US
Run Time: 93 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A teenage boy makes the sort of wish you'd expect a teenage boy to make, and he might just get to live it out in this dark comedy. Dylan Jamieson (Michael Angarano) is a 16-year-old boy living in Pennsylvania who is being raised by his mother, Karen (Cynthia Nixon), on her own after the death of his father (played by Ethan Hawke). Karen and Dylan have received the news that the boy has contracted a rare form of cancer and isn't likely to live to see seventeen. Dylan has taken the news surprisingly well, facing his treatment with pointed good humor and spending much of his free time with his best buddies Slap (Gideon Glick) and Ricky (Matt Bush). Aware that the end is on the horizon, Karen contacts United Wish Givers, a group that arranges for ailing youngsters to enjoy a final adventure before they pass, and they set up a fishing trip for Dylan with a professional football star. However, Dylan comes up with a better idea with the help of Slap and Ricky, and on television, tells the group's representatives that what he really wants is a weekend-long date with Nikki Slater (Sunny Mabrey), a supermodel and world-class sex symbol. While the United Wish Givers are appalled and Karen isn't sure this is a good idea, Arlene (Gina Gershon), Nikki's agent, sees possibilities in this news -- Nikki has been on a bender of bad publicity recently, and granting a kid's last wish might be just the thing to help folks forget that she's been pushing rival models off runways. One Last Thing... was directed by Alex Steyermark, who worked with Gina Gershon on his previous film, Prey for Rock & Roll. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
One Last Thing... is a 2006comedy-drama film produced by HDNet Films and released by Magnolia Pictures. It was screened at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, 2005 and had a limited release in the United States on May 5, 2006. It was directed by Alex Steyermark and written by Barry Stringfellow.
Living in New York City, Nikki is watching television and hears about Dylan's wish; she is convinced by her agent to see Dylan, but her visit is very brief. Dylan is disappointed and decides to raise money and travel to New York, trying to see Nikki again.
Carol struggles with allowing her sick son (traveling with two friends) to be unsupervised in an unfamiliar city. Nikki has her own problems and is reluctant to even speak to Dylan.
Striking out and growing sicker, Dylan and his friends take a cab back to Pennsylvania, and eventually to the hospital. Surprisingly, Nikki shows up and, at his request, takes Dylan to the beach. They spend the day together talking, fishing, and kissing eventually falling asleep on a blanket.
In the morning, Nikki discovers that Dylan has died. Nikki attends his funeral with friends and family. As he enters the afterlife, Dylan arrives on the beach to see his father, who died years before, fishing. He invites Dylan to join him. Dylan asks his father how he knows this is not a dream. His father replies, "You don't, and you never will".
