Last Holiday Fit for a Queen
The new Queen Latifah feel-good comedy “Last Holiday” is based on a 1950 British semi-classic starring Alec Guiness and written by J.B. Priestley. In that movie, after Guiness discovers he only has a few weeks to live, he decides to enjoy life to the fullest. Of course, he isn’t really dying, but his character only learns this after coming to the realization each day should be treated as a gift, something a person should never take for granted. He then proceeds to climb into a car, get into an accident and die, thus proving the moral imparted throughout Guiness' previous travails.
There is probably no need to point out that Wayne Wang’s (“The Joy Luck Club,” “Chan is Missing”) remake does not employ the same ending. While I am sure there are a scant few out there in the world who would consider this remark a spoiler, this is a glossy Hollywood comedy and anyone expecting Paramount Pictures to let screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”) do in Queen Latifah should probably have their heads examined. This is a movie where the outcome is known by a person just about the time they choose to by a ticket, and if I was looking for a story with twists and turns that were unexpected I certainly would start with this.
“Last Holiday” does have one surprise under its dress sheets, however, and it’s a biggie: It’s actually a pretty darn good movie. Predictable, familiar and definitely by the numbers, this film is nonetheless classy and charming, a pleasant fairy tale romance that uplifted my spirits and made me happy I’m a critic. Anchored by a winning, multifaceted, low-key and heartfelt performance by Latifah, I still find myself more than a little bit in shock Wang’s comedy is as winning as it is. This is the type of early winter cookie cutter studio programmer I detest, and yet here I am this time singing both the star’s and the movie’s praises as if I was auditioning for my church’s choir.
New Orleans department store kitchenware clerk Georgia Byrd (Latifah) is a quiet, timid and shy woman who keeps her dreams of being a famous chef buried deep inside a book labeled, “Possibilities.” When she discovers she only has a few weeks to live, possibilities become realities as Georgia cashes in her entire life savings and leaves Louisiana for a dream vacation in Europe at the historic Grandhotel Pupp. Soon this once modest woman is unafraid to try anything, mingling with politicians, celebrities and even one of her idols, the hotel’s kitchen master Chef Didier (a divine Gerard Depardieu).For the first time in her life Georgia finally feels alive, it only taking the specter of death to get her there.
This is about as complex as “Last Holiday” gets. Sure there are other subplots running around here and there; the owner of Georgia’s department store Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton) tries to discover who the mystery woman is that’s captivating the hearts and minds of his guests putting a business deal in jeopardy, coworker Sean Matthews (a wonderfully against type L.L. Cool J) rushes across the globe to find the woman he didn’t realize he loved until she ups and disappears; but they don’t exactly add up to very much. No, the movie begins and ends with Latifah, and director Wang and his two writers wisely keep the focus squarely upon both her and her character’s butterfly-like transformation.
There are some things I wish they had done differently. Hutton’s character could be fleshed out a bit more, a final rooftop scene between Kragen and Georgia ringing false and hollow. I also could have used a little bit more of Giancarlo Esposito’s character, dialogues between him and Latifah so good I could have heard far more of the discussion. The look of the movie is also a bit off, Geoffrey Simpson’s (“Under the Tuscan Sun”) cinematography washed out and grainy, ruining many of the stunning indoor and outdoor settings by making them look drab and indistinct. In fact, had the filmmakers been truly courageous they would have had the guts to shoot the picture in black and white or in lavish Technicolor. That really would have been something indeed.
But, for a fluffy Hollywood old-school (think “Ninotchka” or “Born Yesterday”) comedy, “Last Holiday” is as charming and wondrous as these kinds of things get. Wang directs effortlessly (his best effort in a long, long time) taking things from points A to B to C with delectably transparent ease. Price and Seaman craft their plot with precision, the mechanics making it kick maybe obvious ones but they’re handled with such intelligent grace this fact never matters as much as it probably should. (On a side note, speaking of delectable, the scenes of food and food preparation are so smashing I’d recommend not going to the film hungry; this movie will make your mouth water.)
It is Latifah that makes this engine. Without her “Last Holiday” would not work near as well as it does. With her, it becomes splendid, so genuinely entertaining I even find myself humming a happy tune as I write this review. This is all the actress’ doing, Latifah charming me so completely Georgia becomes instantly memorable. By the time she's cooking a black tie fundraiser alongside Chef Didier, Georgia had me intoxicated so thoroughly I almost felt drunk. This is the magic of what Latifah does, the beauty of the character she creates, thus making this one vacation at the theater to remember and a holiday fit for a Queen.
