By Emily Smith

Giggling and girly, some friends and I went to see The Last Kiss on Saturday night.

I hadn’t read any reviews, but I expected a barely-worthwhile romantic comedy, featuring Zach Braff in his element as a pathetic, tongue-tied romantic whose acting consists primarily of moving his eyebrows and speaking through his teeth.

The Last Kiss is not a comedy, but the “barely worthwhile” prediction was accurate. An appropriate adjective for the film would be trendy, as it features a hip soundtrack, cutesy outfits, and a brand new Toyota Prius. Despite good direction by Tony Goldwyn and convincing acting, it isn’t a film that anyone will care about in a year.

Because I have a sort of dysfunction in terms of following plots—I confess, I’m the annoying one who pokes friends’ shoulders, whispering, “I don’t get it! What’s going on?”—I appreciated the film’s easily-followed storyline.

The story, however, isn’t great. The Last Kiss is mostly about adults who behave badly—two who leave their spouses, a quintessentially bitchy ex-girlfriend, and a young man who runs in terror when he has to meet his girlfriend’s parents. The central plot revolves around Braff’s character cheating on his three months pregnant girlfriend with The O.C.’s Rachel Bilson.

Rachel Bilson plays Kim, a University of Wisconsin co-ed who meets Braff at a wedding and resolves to seduce him. Her character is cliché to the point of offense. I am sick to death of the impulsive and irresistibly sexy woman who’s sort of a femme fatale except for the fact that one is meant to feel sorry for her. In some cases, the movie is good enough to forgive the cliché (Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Almost Famous, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to name a few), but in this case, it’s just uninteresting. Maybe she really has feelings for him, but I found her lines, including such understated gems as: “I could be your last chance at happiness,” unrealistically forward.

I believe the audience is supposed to be convinced that Braff learns from his mistake; that he loves his girlfriend and will never cheat on her again. Call me a man-hater, but I don’t trust him.

That being said, The Last Kiss may be worth a $4 rental. Macalester’s heavy intellectuals tend to appreciate complex films that demand some contemplation, but we can admit to those occasions when we just want to watch Mean Girls or 10 Things I Hate About You for the hundredth time. The Last Kiss, though it’s not as comedic as its predecessors, fits the same sort of occasion: it requires no thinking whatsoever.