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‘The Last Kiss’

We’re not sure if The Last Kiss is really a date flick, given its themes of infidelity and breakdowns: In Zach Braff’s latest film, almost-30-year-old Michael (Braff) finds out his long-time girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) is ten weeks pregnant and begins to flirt with another, younger girl, Kim (Rachel Bilson). But if you’re going to bring a date anyway, here are the crib notes to make sure your first kiss isn’t your last.

1. That Soundtrack: In 2004, Zach Braff proved he could helm a swoon-worthy soundtrack when he compiled tracks by the Shins, Iron & Wine, Nick Drake, Frou Frou, and others for Garden State. Now, Braff drafts Snow Patrol, Ray LaMontagne, Cary Brothers (Watch the video), Imogen Heap, Rufus Wainwright, and a slew of others.

2. The Original: Paul Haggis’ screenplay is actually adapted from the 2001 Italian flick by Gabriele Muccino in which lead character Carlo’s life is thrown into disarray when he finds out his longtime girlfriend is pregnant. Friends Paolo, Adriano, and Alberto similarly struggle with their own lives.

3. From Small Screen to Silver Screen: At least three of the films stars are also stars of the small screen. Braff rose to fame playing the lovably awkward John Dorian on NBC’s Scrubs. Most people will know Bilson as the popular-girl-turned-comic-geek’s-girlfriend in The O.C.. Barrett, meanwhile, got her first dose of fame playing herself in MTV’s The Real World: London in 1995.

4. Modern-Day Renaissance Man? Braff is proving himself to be a jack-of-all-entertainment-trades. To date, the actor has proved himself adept as a TV star (Scrubs), a leading man on the big screen (Garden State, 2004), a voice-over for-hire (Chicken Little, 2005), a director (Garden State, episodes of Scrubs), and a soundtrack curator (Garden State, The Last Kiss).

5. Behind the Lens: Director Tony Goldwyn has also tried his hand at both acting and directing. While his directing oeuvre is small (A Walk on the Moon, 1999; Someone Like You, 2001; episodes of The L Word, Grey’s Anatomy and others), Goldwyn has acted plenty. His TV work includes stints on St. Elsewhere, Matlock, Frasier and others. As for films, remember that creepy guy, Carl, in Ghost who gets skewered by the window glass? Yep, that’s Goldwyn. He’s also been in The Pelican Brief (1993), Bounce (2000), The Last Samurai (2003) and others.

Talk: So…um…did you make out? COMMENT

On SPIN.com:
Zach Braff’s New Music Video!
Snow Patrol, Coldplay on Zach Braff’s New Soundtrack

On the Web:
lastkissmovie.com