The Last Word

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The Last Word

R

2017

1h 48m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

40%

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92 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), a once-successful businesswoman, works with young local writer Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) to pen her life story. When the initial result doesn't meet Lauler's high expectations, she sets out to reshape the way she'll be remembered, dragging Anne along as an unwilling accomplice. As their journey unfolds, the two women develop a strong bond which not only alters Harriet's legacy but also Anne's future.

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Critics Consensus

The Last Word proves Shirley MacLaine remains a wonderfully magnetic screen presence -- and deserving of a far better vehicle for her considerable talents.

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Jonathan Dean

The Times (UK)

Jul 11, 2017

2/5

This is a curious mix of The Blind Side, High Fidelity and A Christmas Carol.

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Ed Potton

The Times (UK)

Jul 11, 2017

3/5

A bracingly cynical set-up is slightly betrayed by a treacly ending, but redeemed by the cast, especially the watchable Seyfried and MacLaine, who has the same glint in her eyes that she had in 1960 in The Apartment.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

Jul 9, 2017

2/5

With its off-the-mark proclamations about the Kinks and hi-fi nerd jargon, this feels like a screenplay written by someone who once read about music on Wikipedia but prefers not to listen to it.

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Leigh Monson

Substream Magazine

Sep 24, 2020

2.5/5

What we have is a film built around a character arc that we never really see play out, and while it is intermittently funny, it rings hollow as a weekly sitcom.

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Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

May 5, 2020

You could do better this weekend, but you could do a whole lot worse.

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

Oct 30, 2019

You'll laugh. You'll cry. The Last Word speaks from the heart with the last word on life and legacy - Love.

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Simon S

@Simonsobo Sep 4, 2026

The Last Word is almost unbelievably inept. The director seems incapable of providing possible motivations for why these people are together. The chemistry is simply not there so everything they do together seems forced by a script rather than actual people interacting. It repeatedly tries too hard to seem cool and shocking. But the writer is clearly as dull as the character who is presumably supposed to be freed but by doing “shocking“ things

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David R

@Dario2 Feb 19, 2026

Entirely too predictable movie the is saved by good (not great) performances by Seyfried and the always watchable Shirley MacLaine. Good supporting cast. While this is not the best movie, it does raise some thought provoking questions and asks us to consider what legacy we want to leave. Those who wrote reviews saying this was a mean old woman looking for redemption are completely missing the point of the movie: she's not a mean old woman. She's a driven perfectionist with undiagnosed OCD who did the best she could during a time when women were not welcome in business leadership. One of the key points of this movie is that women paid (and still pay) too high a price for being ambitious and successful.

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Stephen C

@Alexjobi Jan 4, 2026

Two decent actors with a terribly predictable plot phoning in their performances. It’s the overused stories of redemption, finding yourself, regret and old lives matter smashed together in uninteresting ways. Also, there is the unpleasant notion that if you’ve got money, you can say and do whatever you want. Terrible. Don’t watch this.

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Todd T

@2045ASI Dec 31, 2025

This movie was terrible. A mean, evil old woman treats everyone like garbage and then we're supposed to act like her life was a good influence on those around her.

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Marie W

@RT82086738 Dec 4, 2025

Qu'il est con ce film! "You are happy. I was a good mother" Ciao! Check! I couldn't finish it.

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Susan M

@RT79774541 Nov 30, 2025

Excellent message and great acting by all.

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Mark Pellington

Director

Shirley MacLaine

Harriet

Amanda Seyfried

Anne

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Synopsis

Harriet Lauler (Shirley MacLaine), a once-successful businesswoman, works with young local writer Anne Sherman (Amanda Seyfried) to pen her life story. When the initial result doesn't meet Lauler's high expectations, she sets out to reshape the way she'll be remembered, dragging Anne along as an unwilling accomplice. As their journey unfolds, the two women develop a strong bond which not only alters Harriet's legacy but also Anne's future.

Director: Mark Pellington
Producer: Anne-Marie Mackay, Mark Pellington, Kirk D'Amico
Screenwriter: Stuart Ross Fink
Distributor: Bleecker Street Media
Production Co: Myriad Pictures, Parkside Pictures
Rating: R (Language)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 3, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 16, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.8M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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