A better way to seize the day would be to do something other than sitting through the sitcomedic Last Holiday.
Last Holiday (2006)
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Reviews Counted:112
Fresh:61
Rotten:51
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Although Queen Latifah's bountiful life-affirming spirit permeates the film, director Wayne Wang is unable to revive this remake with any real flair.
Theatrical Release:03-03-2006
Synopsis: Queen Latifah is absolutely delightful in Wayne Wang's romantic comedy, LAST HOLIDAY. Latifah stars as Georgia Byrd, a reserved plus-sized woman who lives a dreary, ordinary life in pre-Katrina New... Queen Latifah is absolutely delightful in Wayne Wang's romantic comedy, LAST HOLIDAY. Latifah stars as Georgia Byrd, a reserved plus-sized woman who lives a dreary, ordinary life in pre-Katrina New Orleans, where she dreams of an elegant existence filled with fancy food, stylish clothing, and high-society parties. But she spends most of her evenings eating frozen dinners all alone, often thinking about a shy coworker (LL Cool J) she has a crush on. When she is suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three weeks to live, she collects her savings and decides to go crazy, doing all those things she would never allow herself to do before. She heads for one of the world's ritziest hotels, the Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, where she takes advantage of every luxury she can, from spa treatments to downhill ski runs to helicopter trips to designer shopping excursions. While her lavish appetite is admired by a gourmet chef (Gerard Depardieu, showing agile comic skill), she is deemed a potential threat by a corporate bigwig (a slick Timothy Hutton). She's also none too happy to find her too-smooth senator (Giancarlo Esposito) enjoying a lush vacation instead of serving his community. Latifah simply lights up the screen in a somewhat different version of the role played by Alec Guinness in Henry Cass's 1950 original. This version of LAST HOLIDAY has been updated with a playful pop soundtrack, Geoffrey Simpson's beautiful photography, William Arnold's bright and colorful production design, and an enjoyable, lighthearted pace from director Wang (DIM SUM, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, and MAID IN MANHATTAN). [More]
Starring: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Gerard Depardieu
Starring: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Gerard Depardieu, Alicia Witt, Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Nouri, Jane Adams
Director: Wayne Wang
Director: Wayne Wang
Screenwriter: Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman
Producer: Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Richard Vane, Laurence Mark, Jack Rapke
Composer: George Fenton
Producer: Peter S. Seaman, Jeffrey Price
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Reviews for Last Holiday
Traps a nice character and a lovely performance in a morass of stupid contrivances and useless complications.
Holiday certainly is harmless entertainment, but considering the pedigree of the talent here, the final product is more than a little disappointing.
not a horrible movie, but it often lacks the spark and magical inspiration it aspires to impart on the audience
... overlong (it's almost two hours) and unfocused, but thanks to Latifah, at least you're in amiable company.
An appealing morality play in which Queen Latifah demonstrates a warm embrace of life with humor and humanity.
There are some funny gags interspersed among the undistinguished ones, but Wang's direction has little snap or wit, and the movie overall is too fixated on the laborious task of massaging our universal self-esteem.
At times it feels like an extended trailer for itself with silly set-pieces (Georgia base-jumps! Georgia cooks with the chef!), but we are on her side all the way and when the happily-ever-ending arrives, we're as happy as she is.
It's far from a five-hanky snifflefest, even for softies, but thanks to Latifah's talent, you'll say 'Awwww, that was sweet' when the credits roll.
This story of a gentle soul (Queen Latifah) who learns to live only after learning of her imminent death is as witless as it is formulaic.
While there is something undeniably enjoyable about watching someone likable enjoy themselves, it's not enough to make a good movie.
Latifah proves once again the weird parallels between rap stardom and movie stardom. Both formats seem to be about a magical something called presence, and Latifah, even in a dialed-down, quiet role like this one, has it.
The Queen is in fine form, but this particular throne is a bit rickety.
...strictly by the numbers, but, as with Beauty Shop, the Oscar-nominated Queen Latifah has the talent to give sub-par material a likability factor.
The most fatal pitfall is a purely Hollywood ending that would be enraging if it wasn't such an obvious foregone conclusion.
This isn't the sort of movie that's meant to surprise, but it is a movie that gets better as it goes.
The Last Holiday would be predictable even if it weren't a remake, but that isn't necessarily a drawback. On the contrary, it actually adds a boost to the movie's feel-good format.
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July 07, 2006:
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January 17, 2006:
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