The Last Supper (1995)

A group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering rightwing pundits for their political beliefs.

Director:

Stacy Title

Writer:

Dan Rosen (screenplay)

Stars:

Cameron Diaz, Ron Eldard, Annabeth Gish

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cameron Diaz	...	Jude
Ron Eldard	...	Pete
Annabeth Gish	...	Paulie
Jonathan Penner	...	Marc
Courtney B. Vance	...	Luke
Bill Paxton	...	Zachary Cody
Nora Dunn	...	Sheriff Alice Stanley
Ron Perlman	...	Norman Arbuthnot
Dan Rosen	...	Deputy Hartford
Amber Taylor	...	Girl in Coffee Shop
Matt Cooper	...	Jerk in Coffee Shop
Charles Durning	...	Rev. Gerald Hutchens
Mark Harmon	...	Dominant Male
Gil Segel	...	Iowa Resident at Door
Rachel Chagall	...	Abortion Activist

Storyline

Jude, Luke, Marc, Paulie and Pete are liberal-minded roommates and grad students at a Iowa post-secondary institution. Every Sunday for the past year, they have hosted a dinner party, inviting a friend over to have an open-minded discussion about whatever topics are of interest. On a dark and stormy night when Pete was supposed to bring a friend for one of those dinners, he instead comes home with Zachary Cody, who rescued a stranded Pete whose car broke down. They invite Zach to stay for dinner instead of Pete's missing friend. They soon find out that Zach is among other things a racist neo-Nazi, which brings up a potentially dangerous situation for Jewish Marc and black Luke. After some physical altercations and verbal threats, Marc ends up stabbing Zach dead out of what he considers self-defense. As the friends discuss what to do about Zach, they finally come to the conclusion that in killing Zach, they have done society a service. So they ponder 'why not invite other ...

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Plot Keywords:

woman on top | f rated | dinner | iowa | dinner party | 

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Taglines:

Love... Sex... Life... Death. In this house it's all on the table.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, and for some sexuality and violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

La última cena

Filming Locations:

Sierra Madre, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$442,965

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, The Vault, WF/X

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Beau Bridges was originally asked to play Norman Arbuthnot, but he turned the role down.

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Goofs

During dinner with the reverend, dishes move around the table between shots.

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Quotes

Paulie: Look, we're liberals. We do the right thing.

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Connections

References Family Plot (1976)

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Soundtracks

When I Fall
Written & Performed by Sam Phillips
Courtesy of Virgin Records America, Inc.

User Reviews

Well worth a gander

This is a film that can be viewed on two levels.

The first level is that of a straightforward black comedy. Five liberal students, who think they have the answers to all the world's ills, have their comfortable world invaded by a redneck racist who is invited in for supper after coming to the aid of one of the students when he has car trouble. Naturally there is a clash of politics and, after a violent argument, the racist is accidentally killed. They decide to bury him in their garden instead of reporting the killing. What follows is a continuation of an earlier debate they had been having; would people be justified in murdering someone if they knew he was evil? Their answer is yes, and soon they are inviting other rightwingers for an evening of dinner, debate and death. On the first level the film is okay.

It is on the second, more cerebral level, that the film really succeeds. The great irony is that the liberals become intolerant, revealing the dangers of political correctness and the very real possibility of a left-wing police state in which alternative views are crushed in the name liberal values.

A good soundtrack, some sparkling cameos by the dinner guests, and a knockout performance by Ron Perlman as the conservative commentator make this largely overlooked comedy well worth a gander.