The Last Time (2006) [R] ***

Jamie Bashant (Brendan Fraser) arrives at the New York headquarters of Bineview Corporation, a company that manufactures and sells office equipment. Jamie is a cheerful, optimistic sales recruit, fresh from the Midwest, with lovely fiancée Belisa (Amber Valletta) in tow. Assigned to mentor Jamie is the company's star salesman, the cynical, foul-mouthed Ted Riker (Michael Keaton).

Unfortunately, Bineview's product line is obsolescent and the company is in a death spiral. Regional offices are closing, the stock price is shrinking, salesmen are fearful they will be axed, and the office politics is reminiscent of Office Space. Ted takes Jamie under his wing, attempting to polish his sales pitch, but Jamie seems to torpedo every sales opportunity he's given, and worse, he appears to have a self-destructive streak. Then Ted falls for Belisa and the two begin a heated, clandestine affair.

But is everything what it seems to be? Is Jamie really as inept a salesman as he appears? Is Ted's relationship with Belisa getting out of control? Does Jamie suspect Belisa and Ted? Is someone following Ted? Fans of Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser and Amber Valletta will enjoy this dark comedy-drama, as will viewers who enjoyed films like The Ides of March, The Lincoln Lawyer and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.   

Labels: comedy, drama, romance, thriller    
Internet Movie Database    
Metacritic 38/100   
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=46, viewers=60)