Last Resort (1986) User Reviews

Even Charles Grodin fans should beware

[speedb87 · 3/10 · 18 August 2011]

I enjoy Charles Grodin doing his deadpan comedy bit, but instead here, he spends most of his time screaming at some person or thing that's making him mad. That get's old pretty quickly.

They should've given more time to the younger son in the family, most of his one-liners were hilarious. The older two kids, one of which is a young Megan Mullally, whom I barely recognized, added virtually nothing, and should have been cut in the writing process. Wait a minute, writing? I agree with a previous reviewer who said they probably were making this up as they went.

As a fan of Seinfeld, I enjoyed seeing a young Mr. Pitt, though he is barely in it. This was worth watching if you like bad comedies, or offbeat nonsensical farces, but if not, stay far, far away.

Were They Serious?

[cfc_can · 5/10 · 6 August 2000]

Last Resort features a capable comic cast but it really makes the sesnses whirl at times. It starts off as a family comedy and then starts throwing in lots of sex-oriented humor along with some real lame jokes and offensive stereotypes. One gets the feeling they sort of made up the story as they went along. It does have some laughs and some surprises but don't expect any sort of coherent story line. Chances are the better known cast members aren't too proud of this one.

The "resort" is cheap and nasty, like the movie

[Groverdox · 3/10 · 10 May 2016]

"Last Resort" involves an island retreat that seems cut price and crappy less as a plot development than a necessity of the movie's cut price and crappy production values. You aren't thinking, hey, that accommodation really sucks, you're thinking, of course it does. They couldn't afford to make a resort that sucks in a funny way.

Part of the problem is that you never get an idea of the place as an actual location, which could be due to the lack of suitable shooting locations afforded by the budget. What locations there are seem completely separate from each other, and none of the staff are distinct characters outside of some weird tics.

What is unforgivable about this is that this movie stars both Jon Lovitz AND Phil Hartman. Neither are given much to do, or anything funny. They may not have had much money to make the movie, but they had comedic gold in their hands with the talent they were working with. They should've just let Lovitz and Hartman improvise.

Hartman, in particular, is wasted. Lovitz at least has one scene where he is within his comic element as a bartender so arrogant he can't or won't speak any language in a way that might be understood by anyone. He doesn't have any funny lines or anything, it's more funny because it's Jon Lovitz, so you start laughing in preparation for a joke that never really comes.

The movie is about a guy who wants to take his family for a good vacation, but ends up getting screwed in ridiculous ways - sound familiar? Charles Grodin is passable in the lead, but his wife, older son and daughter are dispensable. The older son, particularly, seems to have been chosen for his resemblance to Chevy Chase's son in one (or all?) of the "Vacation" movies. It's the younger son who stands out as a capable performer, though IMDb says he hasn't done much else.

I guess Lovitz and Hartman couldn't complain: they may have been in a movie that didn't appreciate their talent, but the actor who played the kid was in an industry that didn't.

Bargain-basement junk...

[moonspinner55 · 1/10 · 27 November 2005]

Cheap-cheap-cheap comic feature. An extremely bad, agonizingly unfunny comedy concerning urban family man Charles Grodin taking the wife and kids on vacation to an island resort, and not getting what he expected. Grainy, grimy mess is a most uncomfortable viewing experience. The movie actually manages to look worse than your average TV feature, with the limp writing at a sophomoric level and a direction that seems non-existent. Grodin, in desperation-mode, is obviously being wasted, but supporting performers Jon Lovitz, Mario Van Peebles and Phil Hartman don't even seem to take notice.

A real dog; NO STARS from ****

ummm.....

[BrettErikJohnson · 1/10 · 9 February 2005]

How can there be screenwriters when this film doesn't even have a real plot? Charles Grodin plays George, a guy who sells chairs for a living. He tells his best client that he is fat and the client takes his business elsewhere. The owner of the business is furious and George decides it's a good time to go on vacation. He takes his family to some fleabag "resort" that he knows nothing about. Let the laughs begin! Heh.

All of the employees at the resort are strange and/or gay. The employees that Phil Hartman and Mario Van Peebles play are both homosexuals for the sole purpose of having Grodin's character show his disdain for them. Throw in Jon Lovitz and Megan Mullally and you would think that the supporting cast alone would at least make this watchable. You would be so, SO wrong to assume that though.

Well, I guess I can wrap this up already since there isn't much to discuss in terms of the "plot". George and his wife smoke some pot, his wife also takes some hallucinogenic mushrooms, a few women take their tops off and everything culminates in a massive shootout with some rebel guerrillas...or something. Did I mention that this takes place around Christmas? Sorry, it's easy to forget since it is specifically pointed out at the beginning of the film and then virtually ignored for the rest of the story. My advice to you is to ignore this entire film. 1/10

Dreadfully unfunny

[casablancavic · 2/10 · 22 June 2022]

The only thing good about this movie is the poster.

That's the thing that reels you in because the artist actually invested some time on it.

The actual movie is horrid on levels that are just insulting.

The only way this film was made was to be a money laundering scheme.

Nothing in this movie works to any degree.

Story wise, this is just miserable - even though there is a great cast, the plot has nothing to it.

I assume money laundering is big business in films - because so many films which would never pass in reality are made - even though like this one, they are made truly horrible.

There's no spoilers because there's nothing to spoil...the movie was spoiled from the very beginning and lasted to the very end.

When even the trailer cant evoke a laugh I start to worry...

[imseeg · 4/10 · 17 June 2022]

Slapstick. I dont particularly like it. I liked slapstick as a kid. And some slapstick movies can still be great to watch as an adult, but not this one.

The bad: the jokes arent funny. And the "jokes" are in my face. THIS is a joke, NOW LAUGH. I hate that.

Not any good? Charles Grodin is a great actor and comedian as well, but Grodin usually excells in subtle, sarcastic humor, NONE of that is to be found in this movie though. Bummer.

NOT recommended, unless you are fond of silly slapstick then this is the movie for you!

Aptly Named

[nitro72 · 1/10 · 4 February 2022]

Aptly named waste of time & celluloid is 'National Lampoon's Vacation' minus the setups, punchlines, structure, & any likable characters. Flat, dumb, & cheaply-made, I weep for Ashton, Hartman, & Mullally, but especially Grodin. #nitrosMovieChallenge.

A low budget trip best viewed with red drink

[cylandprops · 6/10 · 1 December 2018]

First and foremost most if not all the background actors were fairly fresh, Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz hadn't been on SNL yet, Mario Van Peebles was still an extra. The real only headliner was Charles Grodin. This movie takes many viewings to properly get into the spirit of things. I've watched it several times usually followed up with Club Paradise and Club Dread.

Cult Classic but not for everyone

[seantmac · 9/10 · 23 January 2007]

I can see why people hate this, but really there's a lot of good lines in there. It's an absurd movie but maybe you have to have seen it 20 times when you were 19 (and entertainment choices were more limited than they are now) to really appreciate it. Anyway, I love it. Phil Hartman is great. I will admit to being a Grodin fan and maybe that is necessary too. I love the Club Sand Song. The catch phrases, "What!" "Brainwash" "Manwhaaaaay-lo" "we're gonna teach you" But it's full of SNL-style, catch-phrase heavy humor, sketch-oriented type stuff, and you shouldn't miss Megan Mulally as 17 yr old Jessica. It was all something back in '86.

Interesting Trivia

[kts-3 · 10/10 · 29 September 2006]

All of the dialog was dubbed by Hartman and Markowitz in a marathon 24-hour looping session. Because of budgetary restrictions, they shot the entire film without sound and the two comics dubbed everything later. No, this is probably not in the stack of films Grodin plays in his DVD as he gets nostalgic.

While that trivia doesn't make the film a totally enjoyable experience, it's a better rental than "Riding the Bus with My Sister". Markowitz has some new films in production that look outstanding. He has directed his energies toward writing and producing, and is a brilliant force in the business.