by Larry Richman
April 10, 2006 4:52 PM

I had the great pleasure of seeing "One Last Thing" this weekend. Twice, in fact -- Saturday night's East Coast Premiere and Sunday's "East Coast Afternoon Premiere" as it was billed by the Philadelphia Film Festival. After having read and heard and seen just about all one could over the last year, it was exciting to finally watch the film.

Most have read the basic synopsis of "One Last Thing", and I always prefer to comment on the performances rather than write reviews, so I think it's safe to just say that the plot involves a 16 year-old (Dylan, played by Michael Angarano) who has a terminal illness. He is given a "wish" by a national foundation, and making that wish come true is the essence of the story.

I'll come back and post some more about the other actors and talk about the film somewhat, but after having let these two screenings sink in a bit I just wanted to post some of my impressions of Michael Angarano's performance for you.

Michael Angarano is finally beginning to tackle some powerful leading roles, with the soon-to-be released "The Bondage" (which had its World Premiere last month) and now with "One Last Thing." As "Sky High's" Will and "Lords of Dogtown's" Sid we saw just a hint of the powerful range of Michael's abilities, and in "One Last Thing" he uses both his comedic talents as well as dramatic ones in a way that we haven't really seen before. If you liked Sid, you'll love Dylan.

To cut to the heart of his performance here would give too much away, so in lieu of spoilers I'll just say this: Angarano has an uncanny ability to make us laugh when we want to cry and to make us cry when we want to laugh. It's a real gift, and one which we've seen a bit in films like "Dear Wendy" and "Dogtown." But here is able to use that gift from opening to closing credits.

Since the earliest days of theater, tragedy and comedy often go hand-in-hand, and it's no wonder that director Alex Steyermark says that Michael was really his only choice for this role. Anyone who has seen his films will not be surprised at how elegantly Michael slips into this character, but hopefully others who are not as familiar with his body of work will now discover what the rest already know.