Main Cast: Nora Dunn, Charles Durning, Mark Harmon, Bill Paxton, Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish, Jonathan Penner, Courtney Vance, Jason Alexander
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
If you met Adolph Hitler when he was just a struggling cartoonist, wouldn't you have done the world a big favor by murdering him? That philosophical question provides the linchpin of this black comedy. Jude (Cameron Diaz), Pete (Ron Eldard), Paulie (Annabeth Gish), Marc (Jonathan Penner), and Luke (Courtney B. Vance) are five graduate students who are confirmed members of the political left, participate in small-scale activism, and share a house together. One night, Pete is stuck in the middle of nowhere, and Zack (Bill Paxton), a truck driver, gives him a lift home. The housemates are just about to sit down to dinner, so to show his gratitude, Pete asks Zack to join them. However, it soon becomes obvious that Zack doesn't share the group's political views, and when he states that he thinks Hitler had the right idea, the argument turns into a fight, with Zack brandishing a knife. The trucker is accidentally killed in the scuffle, and rather than report the death to the police, his body is buried in the backyard vegetable garden. However, the event prompts much discussion among the housemates -- if Zack was a hateful bigot, isn't the world better off without him? And wouldn't killing other ignorant hatemongers improve society all the more? Before long, the group is having a weekly dinner party in which they invite a special guest -- including an anti-environmental activist (Jason Alexander), a right-wing religious leader (Charles Durning), a sexist who doesn't believe there's such a thing as rape (Mark Harmon), and a teenager campaigning against sex education in schools (Erin Bryn) -- and serve them some wine, which happens to be laced with arsenic. While the group's attempt at community improvement does wonders for their tomato plants, the recent disappearances eventually attract the attention of the local sheriff (Nora Dunn). The Last Supper was the first feature for director Stacy Title, who won an Academy Award for her short subject Down on the Waterfront; screenwriter Dan Rosen appears in a supporting role as a police deputy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A lightweight but entertaining attack on the overzealous political correctness of the early '90s, the ambition of Stacy Title's sophomore effort often outweighs its effectiveness, though the end result remains a fairly satisfying black comedy. The concept of a group of liberals who become so obsessed with their political agenda that they can blindly justify the murder of those in disagreement is indeed a ripe target, and for the most part Title's marksmanship is sharp; it's only in terms of over-familiarity that the film begins to falter. Though the performances on both sides of the political fence are ample and the dialogue is smart and witty, one can't help but feel that the second half of the film is simply more of the same (save for an amusing scene in which one of the guests is disposed of with laughable efficiency). This considered, a secondary plot in which a snooping sheriff (Nora Dunn) begins to suspect foul play upon spotting the lush foliage in the murderous liberals' backyard provides ample distraction and an endearingly tenacious turn by Dunn. While the ideas and concepts that drive the murder spree are indeed intriguing, the caricatured nature of both political slants represented in the film help it to remain in neutral territory in order to appeal to the largest crowd possible. Taking a turn as an ultra-conservative talk show host (shades of Rush Limbaugh) who attends to the climactic titular meal, Ron Perlman truly stands out and provides a darkly humorous coda that, while fairly easy to predict, nevertheless satisfies in terms of bringing the story full circle. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Nora Dunn - Sheriff Alice Stanley; Charles Durning - Rev. Gerald Hutchens; Mark Harmon - Todd Thatcher; Amy Hill - Illegal Alien Hater; Bill Paxton - Zack; Ron Perlman - Norman Arbuthnot; Steve Welch - Tow Truck Guy; Bryn Erin - Heather; Matt Cooper - Jerk in Coffee Shop; Dan Rosen - Deputy Hartford; Larry Weinberg - Businessman with White Socks; Elisabeth Moss - Jenny; Nick Sadler - Homeless Basher; Rachel Chagall - Abortion Activist; Amber Taylor - Girl in Coffee Shop; Pamela Gien - Illiterate Librarian; Warren Hutcherson - Nation Man; Frederick Lawrence - Skin Head; Gil Segel - Iowa Resident at Door; Carly Webb - Young Jude
Credit
Jonathan Penner - Associate Producer, Stacy Title - Associate Producer, Dan Rosen - Co-producer, Leesa Evans - Costume Designer, Stacy Title - Director, Luis Colina - Editor, Jonathan Penner - Executive Producer, David Cooper - Executive Producer, Stacy Title - Executive Producer, Mark Mothersbaugh - Composer (Music Score), Linda Burton - Production Designer, Paul Cameron - Cinematographer, Larry Weinberg - Producer, Dan Rosen - Screenwriter
