The Last Place on Earth Reviews

Writer-producer-director James Slocum'is satisfyingly sentimental soap emphasizes the carpe diem factor in the search for true love. On her deathbed, Mrs. Baskin (Phyllis Diller) asks her devoted son, Rob (Dana Ashbrook), to scatter her ashes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Though Rob is compulsive desire to please others, he risks angering his boss by taking off extra time to honor his mother's wishes. On the way to Lake Tahoe, Rob bumps into outspoken caterer Ann (Tisha Campbell), who thinks he needs to loosen up and doesn't hesitate to say so. But even though they get off on the wrong foot, Rob offers his help when he later spots Ann having car trouble. As their bickering gives way to mutual attraction, Ann concocts a lie — Greyhound refuses to allow her pet pooch on board — that forces the gallant Rob to take a significant detour and deliver Ann to a catering gig for friends. Her extended family of gay friends immediately see that Rob and Ann belong together. Rob eventually does as well and proposes, even though Ann confesses that she has leukemia. The newlyweds get off to a rocky start: Rob’s plan to open a restaurant backfires because Ann isn't interested in a business venture of that nature, but she continues badgers him to quit his draining 9-to-5 job. But despite the squabbling, Rob grows more relaxed and adopts some of Ann's sunny free-spiritedness, a quality that stands him in good stead as she becomes sicker. This marriage of the road movie and the chick flick uses scenic highway travel to symbolize a journey of the soul. Cynics may find it easy to sneer, but the eclectic cast, which includes John Waters regular Mink Stole, keeps the weepy sentimentality in check.