Last Holiday

What would you do if you were told you had three weeks left to live? If you're Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah), luckily you have a Cliff's Notes to help you answer this question—the Book of Possibilities you've been cutting and pasting your dreams into for the past several years. There are pictures of the lavish meals you've cooked with Emeril's televised instructions before serving them to your neighbor boy and digging into your much healthier Lean Cuisines. There are doctored-up photos of your secret work crush, Shawn (LL Cool J), and you in wedding garb driving off in a snazzy convertible. And magazine clippings from an amazing resort in England—which your job in the housewares department of the local department store could never afford you a chance to visit.

Georgia (Queen Latifah), who has a secret crush on Sean (LL Cool J), has been given three weeks to live

So when Georgia is diagnosed with a brain tumor and given three weeks to live, she leafs through her Possibilities and decides to liquidate the bonds and IRAs her mom left her and head to real-life Grandhotel Pupp, home of Chef Didier (Gerard Depardieu), her hero. There, she's determined to try everything—the impressive and not-in-the-least health-conscious cuisine Chef Didier dishes up each night, snowboarding, base jumping, fou-fou spa treatments, haute couture gowns, gambling. Amazingly, she tackles each new adventure with both endearing wide-eyed awe and lightning-fast proficiency.

Another amazing coincidence is the presence of a few of Georgia's fellow guests at the five-start European resort—the senator (Giancarlo Esposito) who was supposed to visit her church the previous Sunday but who was reportedly too busy with important work in Washington; Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton), the business mogul and cheeseball author of Young, Hip and Rich, who just bought the store Georgia works for; and her congressman (Michael Nouri). Apparently they're all conspiring in some business deal of Kragen's shady design. And they're also all—well, all but Kragen—instantly smitten with Georgia and her newfound living-on-the-edge ways. Thanks to her new wardrobe and willingness to spend money like it's a silly little nuisance, they mistake her for a fellow mover and shaker.

The famed chef Didier (Gerard Depardieu) gives Georgia some culinary lessons

Of course complications must arise, and they do so in the form of Kragen's desire to find out who Georgia really is. And Georgia starts to wonder if spending her final days away from all her friends is really such a great idea. Back home, Shawn decides to track down the suddenly MIA Georgia, who, of course, he's also been secretly crushing on. And there's another twist you see coming in the first quarter of the movie, if not in the previews themselves.

The problem here, as you may have already picked up on with all the previous uses of "coincidentally" and "of course," is the fact that too much of Last Holiday is too predictable and unbelievable and tidy. I mean, the willing suspension of disbelief we all initially grant a movie flies out the window when Georgia is snowboarding down an expert slope, supposedly recklessly out of control and yet amazingly displaying skills that would make Olympic snowboarders applaud. This is all the more unfortunate because the plot had potential. If the people responsible for the lovely Euro-gems Dear Frankie, Italian for Beginners, or Bread and Tulips had gotten hold of this script, grated off a couple pounds of cheese, and handled what was left with a much more subtle and nuanced hand, it could have been charming. Instead, it's cheesy and ridiculous.

Out of control, but somehow with the skills of an Olympian

That said, the flick does have a lot of heart. I can't remember when I've seen a film work so hard to encourage viewers to carpe diem and so determined to provide a happy ending. And in a season filled with well-done but uber-somber flicks such as Munich and Syriana, this is a tad refreshing. And bless Queen Latifah's heart for doing the best she could with such contrived material. She saved the film from being any more cheesy and annoying. She's at her best toward the beginning of the movie, when she's dowdy and awestruck by the stunning scenery around her. When she's all decked out and living large later in the movie, she's less and less Georgia and more and more the Queen. Likable, yes. Believable, no. The other notable cast member—though not in a positive way—is Timothy Hutton. Dressed in a black wife-beater and black dress pants plotting dastardly deeds, he looks old and unhealthily thin. I would have believed he had three weeks left to live more so than the amazingly symptom-free Georgia.

Our heroine lives it up, but would it really be her last holiday?

Another curiosity of Last Holiday is the depiction of Georgia's faith. She's a good churchwoman who sings in the choir and regularly prays aloud. But usually this is just to comedic or stereotypical affect. For example, when Georgia has an unbelievably good run at the roulette table, she wonders aloud, "God, now you change my luck?" And just after Georgia's diagnosis, we see her lead her choir and entire congregation on a spontaneous musical injunction to God, "Why me, Lord?" No one there knows what she's referring to, but that doesn't stop them from singing along, swaying with eyes-closed spiritual reflection, or dancing out of control as the spirit so moves. What's most interesting in this scene is when Georgia fleshes out her questioning a bit: "Why me, Lord? I followed your commandments. I never slept around like my sister did. I never cussed my boss. Why me?" Though we've all undoubtedly lobbed such frustrated questions heavenward, without any further contextualization, it certainly doesn't paint God's role in our life accurately.

In the end, what could have been a charming little flick about a quiet, hesitant, coupon-clipping woman literally discovering the world, and all the real-life possibilities it holds, misses the mark by trying way too hard. In other words, if you had three weeks left to live, I wouldn't recommend you spend your precious time watching this.

Talk About It

1. What would you do if you were told you had three weeks left to live?
   
   
2. Like Georgia, have you ever questioned God about something bad that's happened when you've done most everything right? How did he respond? How does this thinking compare to God's true character and how he works in our lives?
   
   
3. Do you have your own Book of Possibilities—either literal or just a mental list of things you'd like to do "someday"? Are there any of these you need to stop putting off and turn into realities?

The Family Corner

This could have been rated PG if not for one or two conversations about an affair one of the characters is having. That situation might be sticky to explain to younger kids—though Georgia does confront them on this extramarital behavior. And it could be a tad heavy for younger kids to think Georgia is dying, though her health never really does appear at risk.

Photos © Copyright Paramount Pictures

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

What Other Critics Are Saying

What would you do if you were told you had only three weeks to live? You'd probably have better things to do than go to the movies. But Wayne Wang's comedy Last Holiday has a thing or two to say about how to enjoy your life while it lasts.

Queen Latifah plays Georgia, who finds herself in just such a predicament, in this romantic comedy loosely based on the 1950 film starring Alec Guinness. As she lunges into risky adventures with gourmet cooking, skiing, and love, the film seeks to inspire people to get out and seize the day. But this Holiday is only inspiring about half of the mainstream critics who have seen it, and Christian film critics are divided as well.

Steve Beard (Thunderstruck) calls it "thoroughly enjoyable" and says it's "filled with moments that make you smile. You get the feeling that the cast and crew enjoyed making this feel-good film. In its own comedic way, it does provoke the question of how you would spend your final few weeks on the planet—which I suppose is a good way of discovering what you really are passionate about in life."

Cliff Vaughn (Ethics Daily) writes, "The humor works for several reasons, not the least of which is Latifah's screen presence. … Director Wayne Wang keeps the movie fairly tame in terms of content. Holiday isn't as squeaky clean as Winn-Dixie—there are a few remarks about sexual activity—but it's not far behind." He concludes that the movie "may even inspire you to be more like Georgia—embracing each day as if it were your last."

But Tom Neven (Plugged In), while admitting that it's "a good-hearted movie with lots to say about seizing the day and using the gifts God has given you to help others," concludes that the "gratuitous language and sexual situations" are "especially disappointing."