The Last Film Festival (3½ Stars)

I love films about films. Don't you?

The director Nick Twain (played by Dennis Hopper in his final role) has made a sci-fi film called "Barium Enigma". It's been rejected by every film festival in the world, except for one: the new O'Hi International Film festival in O'Hi, Ohio, the sheep shearing capital of the world. Nick is certain that his film will scoop all the awards, because he's generously bribed the judges. The trouble is that the festival is hit by food poisoning, and the judges are taken sick. It's too late (and too expensive) to bribe the new judges.

The film is plagued with problems. The film's lead actor, Zachary Reed, is arrested for attempting to solicit an undercover policeman. The film's two lead actresses, one of whom is Nick's ex-wife, hate one another and get into fights. Nick meets a young woman, Desiree, who claims to be his daughter. But the biggest problem comes when the film is screened. The projectionist has also been taken sick with food poisoning, and his replacement is an amateur who plays the film reels in the wrong order.

Sadly, this was also Leelee Sobieski's last film. She quit films because she was somehow of the impression that 90% of films involve sex. If she'd looked back at her own career, she would have seen that the figure is only 6%. I suspect that this was just an excuse, and the problems lay elsewhere.