Chances are you don't need a movie to learn that commitment is a mighty scary concept, but a film as honest and insightful as The Last Kiss is well worth checking out. Populated with characters who are case studies in screwed-up relationships, the motion picture rings with authenticity, and its plot twists rarely feel clichéd.

Zach Braff, challenging the nice-guy persona he has cultivated on "Scrubs," stars as Michael, a 29-year-old architect who launches into a premature midlife crisis when his girlfriend, Jenna (Jacinda Barrett), announces she is pregnant. Michael loves Jenna, but he is terrified by what the pregnancy means: marriage, family, responsibility. He fears that life holds no more surprises.

It doesn't help that his best friends are in various stages of relationship meltdowns. Chris (Casey Affleck) is in a marriage strained by the arrival of a baby, while Izzy (Michael Weston) is utterly despondent over being dumped by his girlfriend. The only seemingly happy one, Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen), is firmly entrenched in a succession of one-night stands. Meanwhile, the most cautionary tale for Michael might be Jenna's parents, Stephen and Anna (Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner), whose 30-year marriage has dissolved into bitterness and indifference.

The overflow of misery pushes Michael into selfishness and stupidity. When he meets a beautiful college student Kim (Rachel Bilson) at a friend's wedding, he knows no good can come from their flirtation. But he doesn't stop himself.

An English-language remake of a 2001 Italian film, L'ultimo bacio, The Last Kiss presents a searing, clear-eyed view of relationships. The men and women in the movie's orbit are imperfect people given to bad choices. One needs look no further than Michael, a guy blessed with a good job, a loving girlfriend and a promising future. Even so, he's beholden to a paralyzing fear of commitment that prompts devastatingly bad behavior. Equally honest is the film's look at Jenna's parents and the airport's worth of emotional baggage they're lugging. Stephen, a therapist by profession, has little patience or empathy left over for his unhappy -- and unfaithful -- wife.

The Last Kiss is written by the uber-prolific Paul Haggis, who employs an approach similar to what he used in the Oscar-winning Crash. Here he presents a cross-section of characters plagued by self-indulgence, pettiness and casual cruelty -- but all of whom are too fully realized not to elicit sympathy and, more importantly, forgiveness. The screenplay's honesty is augmented by a superb cast. Braff, Danner and Wilkinson are excellent, but Barrett's performance is particularly riveting. Also first-rate in her feature-film debut is "The O.C.'s" Bilson, who projects a young-girl vulnerability that keeps Kim from being a one-note vixen.

Still, the movie is hardly without its flaws. Director Tony Goldwyn goes to considerable lengths to follow the story threads of Michael's buddies, but appear to lose interest about two-thirds into the flick. And while Goldwyn has an obvious talent with actors (it might help that he also happens to be one), he can be uneven with the mechanics of tone and pace. The Last Kiss is better at art than artifice.

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, the picture quality is first-rate. Skin tones are realistic; blacks are well-defined. There are a few spots with a little noise and fuzz, but such instances are very minor.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is excellent. While this is a dialogue-driven movie, the sharp audio does justice to a better-than-average soundtrack that includes Coldplay, Remy Zero and Snow Patrol. A French audio track is also available, and viewers can select subtitles in English or Spanish.

The DVD boasts two commentary tracks. Braff and Goldwyn have an easygoing, jokey rapport on the first track, but the second -- in which the two are joined by Barrett, Bilson, Weston and Olsen -- is too crowded for its own good. The cast is obviously having a fun time, but it's not a particularly interesting festivity for viewers, nor does it help that they periodically clam up to watch the movie.

Four featurettes are of so-so value: Filmmakers' Perspective (2:30), Getting Together (26:41), Behind Our Favorite Scenes (8:24) and Last Thoughts (3:27). The most worthwhile is Behind Our Favorite Scenes, which boasts insights from Goldwyn and others. The weakest, Getting Together, sings the praises of the (admittedly accomplished) cast.

Seven deleted scenes include two alternate endings that, thankfully, were scrapped. Other extras include a music video for the Cary Brothers' "Ride" (directed by Braff, who supplies an intro), a two-minute, 42-second gag reel, a theatrical trailer and previews for Dreamgirls, Babel, Jackass Number Two, World Trade Centerand An Inconvenient Truth.

It's rare to find a movie that rings with such authenticity that it challenges our expectations of what its characters will do next. The Last Kiss is such a movie. If that isn't a sign of considerable merit, I don't know what is. Like The Break-Up, this picture suffered from dumb marketing during its theatrical release. While there are some funny scenes, don't expect The Last Kiss to be a comedy – well, unless you happen to find infidelity and deceit funny, that is.