About Last Night... [P&S]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

David Mamet's play Sexual Perversity in Chicago was adapted for the big screen by fellow Chicago citizen Tim Kazurinsky and became About Last Night... The film stars Rob Lowe as Danny and Demi Moore as Debbie. The pair meet and engage in a torrid sexual relationship, but then slowly negotiate if there is anything more between them. Lowe seeks advice from his loudmouthed friend Bernie (Chicago native James Belushi), whose offers little more than outrageous tales of his randy exploits. Debbie confides in her best friend Joan (Elizabeth Perkins), a bitter, single kindergarten teacher who has lost any hope of finding the right person on the dating scene. Although Danny and Debbie talk, they have trouble communicating. The film ends on a coda that suggests the pair are still unsure as to where their relationship may be headed. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Screen: Pan and Scan
• Subtitle: French, English, Spanish
• Features:
  • • Theatrical Trailers
    • Scene Selections

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Edward Zwick

• Producer:

  Jason Brett, Stuart Oken

• Screenwriter:

  Tim Kazurinsky, Denise de Clue

• Play Author:

  David Mamet

• Cinematographer:

  Andrew Dintenfass

• Songwriter:

  Thom Bishop, Karla Bonoff

• Composer (Music Score):

  Miles Goodman

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Bones Howe

• Songwriter:

  Scott Kempner, Michael Leeson, John Oates, Bob Seger, Tom Snow, John David Souther, Peter Vale, Brock Walsh, Cynthia Weil

• Featured Music:

  Paul Davis

• Editor:

  Harry Keramidas

• Production Designer:

  Ida Random

• Art Director:

  William Elliott

• Associate Producer:

  E. Darrell Hallenbeck

• Executive Producer:

  Arnold Stiefel

• Set Designer:

  Chris A. Butler, Beverli Eagan

• Costume Designer:

  Dallas Dornan, Deborah L. Scott, Sherry Thompson

• Makeup:

  Robert Ryan

• Special Effects:

  Darrell D. Pritchett, Brian Tipton

• First Assistant Director:

  Allan Wertheim

• Camera Operator:

  Dan Lerner

• Foley Editor:

  William Carruth

• Costumes Supervisor:

  George Little

• Second Assistant Director:

  Donald P.H. Eaton

• Still Photographer:

  R. Ronald Batzdorff

• Second Assistant Editor:

  Linda Folk

• First Assistant Editor:

  Alexandra Leviloff

• Music Editor:

  Curtis Roush

• Title Design:

  Nina Saxon

• Production Sound:

  Jacques Nosco

• Hair Styles:

  Gail Ryan

• Foley Artist:

  Jerry Trent

• Assistant Properties:

  Michael Kohan

• Properties:

  Arthur Shippee

• Boom Operator:

  Terrence Emerson

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  Victoria Rose Sampson

• Production Coordinator:

  Lea Andrews

• Costumes Supervisor:

  Julie Starr Dresner

• Script Supervisor:

  Sonny P. Filippini

• Second Assistant Camera:

  Frederick Hamm

• Lighting:

  Paul Jacobsen

• First Assistant Camera:

  Kit Kalionzes

• Gaffer:

  Bruce Olander

• Key Grip:

  Harold Rabuse

• Location Manager:

  Ira S. Rosenstein

• Production Coordinator:

  Constance G. Rowbotham

• Dolly Grip:

  Rebel Schunke

• Foley Walker:

  Evelyn Dutton

REVIEW:

• Based on David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago and filled with recognizable Windy City locales, About Last Night is perfectly fixed in place. It's just as definitively fixed in time thanks to the unmistakable mid-'80s fashions of leading lady Demi Moore and the flaccid, soft rock soundtrack, which featured leftovers from John Waite, Sheena Easton, Bob Seger, and John Oates. Despite the dated accoutrements, the story itself stands up as a well-exectued, if familiar, tale of relationship angst full of predictable but satisfying plot twists and occasionally zippy dialogue. Moore shows off the throaty sensuality and doe-eyed vulnerability that had already made her a star while displaying none of the avaricious careerism that would stifle her a decade later. Rob Lowe, meanwhile, works his pretty-boy looks and flashing-eyed charisma for all they're worth. Elizabeth Perkins is wasted as a standard-issue shrew, but Jim Belushi sinks his teeth into the role of a blowhard lothario -- a welcome break from the all-Brat Pack casts of such companion pieces as St. Elmo's Fire. About Last Night is a little plastic, like the decade that spawned it, but, like plastic, it's surprisingly resilient. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi