Last Christmas (2019) Universal/Comedy-Drama RT: 102 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, sexual content) Director: Paul Feig Screenplay: Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings Music: Theodore Shapiro Cinematography: John Schwartzman Release date: November 8, 2019 (US) Cast: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson, Boris Isakovic, Lydia Leonard, Jade Anouka, Peter Mygind, Ritu Arya, Ansu Kabia, Laura Evelyn, Ingrid Oliver, Ben Owen-Jones, Calvin Demba, David Hargreaves, Joe Blakemore, Rebecca Root, Patti LuPone.
Rating: ***
It’s that time of year again; the time when studios start rolling out new holiday-themed movies with the hope that they’ve come up with the next It’s a Wonderful, Home Alone or Grinch. Sadly, for every cinematic gift like Elf or The Polar Express, there are far too many lumps of coal like Office Christmas Party, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Love the Coopers and the one I detest most, Christmas with the Kranks. I’m not sure if Last Christmas will ever be regarded as a Christmas classic but I really liked it. It’s not flawless but it’s as agreeable as a cup of eggnog made from your grandmother’s secret recipe.
Directed by Paul Feig (the Ghostbusters reboot), it should be noted that Last Christmas is NOT a rom-com, not exactly anyway. It initially seems headed in that direction. It stays on that path for a while before changing direction towards a different destination. I’ll speak to that momentarily. First, I’d like to say something about the movie’s big surprise plot twist. I called it months ago. I noticed something curious in the trailer, which I saw numerous times, that put an idea in my head. I shared my theory about this plot point with only a couple of people. Turns out I was right. Although it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of Last Christmas, I will not reveal it to you. It’s just too much of a spoiler.
What really makes Last Christmas sing is the endearing Emilia Clarke (Me Before You) as Kate, the daughter of Yugoslavian immigrants, aspiring singer and year-round employee of a Christmas store owned by “Santa” (Yeoh, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Katarina, as her family calls her, is just a track-jump away from being a total train wreck. She’s selfish, self-destructive and irresponsible. She makes only bad choices. She drinks and sleeps with random guys. She sleeps on friends’ couches until she does something that gets her thrown out. It finally reaches the point where she’s forced to move back in with her parents who live in the only house on the block not decked out for Christmas.
Kate’s family situation is far from idyllic. Mom (Thompson, Love Actually) worries about things to the point of depression and insomnia. Dad (Isakovic, Men Don’t Cry), a lawyer reduced to driving a taxi because practicing law in London requires further education, stays away from home as much as possible. Younger sister Marta (Leonard, Quacks) resents having to be the one that picks up the slack for Kate. She works a professional-type job while Kate goes to auditions between shifts at the shop. With her boss on the verge of sacking her, she’ll need a Christmas miracle to get her life back on track.
Enter Tom (Golding, Crazy Rich Asians), a mysterious man who first appears outside the shop while Kate is working. Their meet-cute involves a bird pooping on Kate and Tom telling her it’s good luck. She starts bumping into him around the neighborhood. They take walks together during which Tom gives Kate valuable advice about living a better life. He brings out her inner kindness and self-worth; he even manages to get her to volunteer at a homeless shelter.
It should be mentioned that Kate isn’t a terrible person merely for the sake of being a terrible person. Something bad happened to her, something health-related that sent her into a tailspin after a major operation. This piece of information puts the viewer in a precarious position. We’re supposed to feel sympathy for Kate because of her previous life-threatening illness but does it really excuse her behavior? It’s a real conundrum. Now I could sit here and write a whole thing about her psychological makeup as it pertains to her illness and emigrating from a war-torn country. I could justify liking or disliking Kate for a number of reasons. I don’t want to do any of that. Instead, let me just point out that Christmas can be a time of personal growth or positive change. It’s also a time of forgiveness, a time when people put all the petty BS aside and make a fresh start, the operative term being “fresh start”. Such is the point of Last Christmas. Unlike the 125 new Hallmark holiday movies we’ll get this season, it’s all about redemption through self-love.
Clarke is probably best known for playing the villainous Daenerys Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones series. She was great in the role but I’m starting to think she may be better suited for feel-good movies like Last Christmas. She has such a beautiful smile. She’s also extremely likable. She brings this quality to Kate; it shines through all of her character’s less appealing traits. She has great chemistry with co-star Golding who’s equally good as Tom. The only thing I want to say about Tom is that he’s a nice guy and just who Kate needs in her life at this point in time. Thompson is good as Kate’s mother even if her character tends to be a real downer. Yeoh’s character, who gets a romantic subplot of her own, is pretty good even if her character frequently leans towards caricature.
As you probably already guessed, Last Christmas gets its title from the George Michael song of the same name. The soundtrack contains several of his songs including a never-released one called “This is How (We Want You to Get High)”. It’s a fitting tribute to the pop singer who died on Christmas Day three years ago. I like to think that he would have appreciated it. It really is a good movie. Okay, it’s uneven at times. It’s a little darker than the ads let on. A plot element or two feel unnecessary. It’s predictable right down to the impossibly joyous ending with Kate singing the title song backed by a chorus of homeless folks. Call me a sap but I bought right into this bucket of schmaltz. It’s great what can be accomplished by eliminating cynicism and mean-spiritedness from the mix. This is a true feel-good movie. I believe I’ve found another annual Christmas flick.
