It is about getting in the last word. Literally. As in this case one's obituary. This fantastic movie by director Mark Pellington (of erstwhile cheesy Jerry Maguire fame) is a comedy drama with Shirley Maclean in the lead role.
Shirley's character is a former ad exec and a woman scorned. As in hated by all those around her, divorced from what was a caring husband and someone who does things her way, being a control freak, in the opening sequence of the film.
She goes looking for a writer that will pen her obituary so as to highlight her life in the most impressive way possible. That journey takes her to a newspaper obit writer (played by a not my favorite actor Amanda Seyfried) in town who automatically is repulsed by her behavior and holier than thou attitude even when asking a favor.
Shirley's character sets out to frame 'her last words' or getting in the 'last word' as it were ensuring that her true character sees light of day. It turns out she does have a knack for creative writing and was a fairly aggressive yet visionary ad executive at a time when a woman with a college degree in a male dominated career was the bugaboo.
The obit writer also ends up eventually falling in love with this eccentric yet charismatic character and shares with her the four components of what makes an obituary click. Together along with an at risk black girl they go about finding that magic that makes her a force. The film is well written and characters play the roles with an ease that makes it enjoyable.
Shirley's character is a former ad exec and a woman scorned. As in hated by all those around her, divorced from what was a caring husband and someone who does things her way, being a control freak, in the opening sequence of the film.
She goes looking for a writer that will pen her obituary so as to highlight her life in the most impressive way possible. That journey takes her to a newspaper obit writer (played by a not my favorite actor Amanda Seyfried) in town who automatically is repulsed by her behavior and holier than thou attitude even when asking a favor.
Shirley's character sets out to frame 'her last words' or getting in the 'last word' as it were ensuring that her true character sees light of day. It turns out she does have a knack for creative writing and was a fairly aggressive yet visionary ad executive at a time when a woman with a college degree in a male dominated career was the bugaboo.
The obit writer also ends up eventually falling in love with this eccentric yet charismatic character and shares with her the four components of what makes an obituary click. Together along with an at risk black girl they go about finding that magic that makes her a force. The film is well written and characters play the roles with an ease that makes it enjoyable.
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