SummaryThe Last Shift is an American story about two men struggling in the same town, while worlds apart. Stanley (Richard Jenkins), an aging fast-food worker, plans to call it quits after 38 years on the graveyard shift at Oscar’s Chicken and Fish. His last weekend takes a turn while training his replacement, Jevon (Shane Paul McGhie), a talented but s... Read More
Directed By:Andrew Cohn
Written By:Andrew Cohn
The Last Shift
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
User score
Mixed or Average
4.6
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
58
50% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
43% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
7% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Sep 29, 2020
75
One is caught between appreciating Jenkins’s soulful, empathetic performance, and just thinking “fuck that guy,” and wishing the unexpected swerve The Last Shift made was to turn to McGhie’s Jevon, to make Stan an incident in his life, rather than the other way around.
Sep 23, 2020
75
As much as Stanley wants to believe in binaries – good honest work versus cheating, respect versus irresponsibility – Cohn’s low-key narrative undercuts such disingenuous naivety. Combine that with Jenkins’s slow-burn performance, and you have a film that speaks to, rather than talks down to, its audience.
Sep 24, 2020
50
So far, so good, in the mismatched maybe-eventual-buddy-comedy department. But the movie, written and directed by Andrew Cohn, wants a deeper dimension, and in pursuing that, goes wrong.
Sep 25, 2020
40
Cohn, an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, likely was aiming for subtlety, but these are not subtle times. Trying to get a spark from a damp match is a lot harder than holding a flame to dry kindling.
Sep 28, 2020
38
Jenkins is one of my favorite actors, but this strikes me as one he should have passed on. McGhie comes off better, but his character’s background is sloppily sketched-in.
User score
Mixed or Average
4.6
8% Positive
1 Rating
1 Rating
67% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
25% Negative
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
Sep 27, 2020
8
Richard Jenkins plays a fast food employee who’s working his final weekend of the graveyard shift after 38 years. His assignment is to train his replacement (Shane Paul McGhie), a smart young Black man who’s trying to get his life back on track after a brief stint in jail. Even though the description sounds like it’ll go in expected directions, this smartly-written film explores its themes with even-handed depth and gentle humor. Jenkins, with his modest demeanor and one-note laugh, turns in one of the most endearing performances of his accomplished career (his driving scene is very funny). McGhie gives his character integrity with underplayed intensity. Ultimately, this film presents 2 interesting characters, whose sweet encounter expands their mutual understanding and empathy.
Sep 16, 2021
5
It's a shame to see how a story that was demanding a much deeper treatment barely touches the surface of such a crucial issue.
Production Company:
- Bona Fide Productions
- Park Pictures
- Whitewater Films
Release Date:Sep 25, 2020
Duration:1 h 30 m
Rating:R
Awards
Heartland International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
