The Last Supper (1995)

Five liberals invite various right-wing extremists over for Sunday 
dinner and death.  That's the premise of this heavy-handed black 
comedy from up-and-coming director Stacy Title.  The liberals-- 
grad student housemates, of course-- are played by a quintet of 
appealing young actors.  Cameron Diaz, Annabeth Gish, Courtney B. 
Vance, Jonathan Penner, and Ron Eldard are an enjoyable ensemble, 
until their characters become too smart-alecky for their own good.  
The roles of the victims-- one per meal-- are relegated to (mostly) 
star cameos.  Look for Bill Paxton as a racist redneck, Charles 
Durning as a homophobic priest, and so on.  Paxton, as the first 
addition to their tomato patch, makes the strongest impression of 
the lot.  However, by the time we get to Jason Alexander's brief 
appearance as a meat-eating anti-environmentalist, the joke has 
become extinct.  THE LAST SUPPER isn't nearly as funny as the set-
up suggests.  The characters all but bludgeon the audience with 
their extreme political viewpoints.  Comedy has no room to breathe 
and, by the turnabout-is-fair-play end, the heavy-handed narrative 
makes the final transition from unbearable to just plain boring.  
For this, talk radio exists. (Rated "R"/93 min.)

Grade: C-

Copyright 1996 by Michael J. Legeros

Originally posted to triangle.movies in MOVIE HELL: June 8, 1996