A very specific kind of panic defines Last Minute – the kind born from a pre-internet world, where deadlines couldn’t be solved with a quick search and “doing homework” often became a family-wide emergency. Set in 1989, the short leans into that pressure with warmth, humour, and an undercurrent of genuine affection for a time when problem-solving required more than just typing a question into a screen.
The story follows Jackie (Charity Schubert), a single mother thrown into a late-night scramble when her 12-year-old son (Espyn Doughty) reveals – far too late – that a major assignment still needs to be completed. What unfolds isn’t just about finishing the work, but about the increasingly frantic, often funny attempts to figure it out using whatever resources are available. Encyclopedias, landline phone calls, and sheer determination replace the instant gratification audiences are used to today.
From its opening scrawl – “The year is 1989. The internet is not in homes. ChatGPT is decades away…” – the film immediately grounds itself in its era, but never treats that setting as a novelty. Director Michael Cusumano understands that the limitations of the time are what give the story its shape. Without easy access to information, every step forward requires effort, and that effort becomes the engine of both the comedy and the emotion.
There’s a theatricality to the performances that evokes an ‘80s sitcom sensibility, and it plays as a strength rather than a distraction. The heightened delivery keeps the pace brisk and the stakes clear, while still allowing moments of sincerity to land. Schubert anchors the film with a performance that captures the push and pull of parenthood – frustration, urgency, and an unwavering willingness to do whatever it takes.
What lingers most is how Last Minute uses nostalgia with purpose. It’s not just reminiscing about a world before Google; it’s exploring what that world demanded of people. The inconvenience of the era becomes a catalyst for connection, forcing characters to rely on each other in ways that feel increasingly rare.
Cusumano’s reflection that the characters might wish for a “magic device” to solve their problems, but instead gain something more meaningful through the struggle, becomes the film’s quiet thesis. The assignment may be the immediate goal, but the real takeaway lies in the shared experience – the chaos, the bonding, and the memory of a night that will outlast whatever grade ends up on the page.
Compact, charming, and sharply observed, Last Minute understands exactly what it’s tapping into. For audiences who remember that analogue world, it hits a deeply familiar note. For everyone else, it offers a glimpse into a time when answers were harder to find – and, because of that, often meant a little more.
THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Last Minute is screening as part of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, running between June 3rd and 14th, 2026. For more information on the festival, head to the official site here.
