A Reel Review: LAST CHRISTMAS

In 1984, the pop-group Wham! released their hit holiday song, Last Christmas. Destined to become a contemporary holiday classic, it’s memorable opening line of “last Christmas I gave you my heart” is known by nearly everyone on the street. That opening line alone is the basis for Paul Feig’s newest film, LAST CHRISTMAS. 

Kate (Emilia Clarke), works a dead-end job as a Christmas elf in an ornament shop, and spends her nights drinking, sleeping around, and either battling with or avoiding her family. She meets Tom (Henry Golding), whose whimsical approach to life catches her off guard. 

LAST CHRISTMAS follows Kate and her hot-mess of a life. She’s a few years removed from a life-threatening illness; an illness that she never quite recovered from in that she has never felt like herself again. She has no home of her own and carries everything she owns with her all the time, burns bridges with friends that she crashes with, avoids her mother (Emma Thompson), and wars with her sister (Lydia Leonard). When she meets Tom, she is reluctant to buy into his optimism, but at the same time is attracted to it. As the two begin a romance, Kate begins to heal and get her life straightened out. 

The plot is standard fare for a holiday film, taking many cues from anything by Hallmark or the latest Dickens adaptation. Towards the back half, the film introduces a mighty twist that changes the entire perspective of the story. It’s a two-part surprise, with one fairly clever and the other making no sense when looking back at the movie. It may have been better to split the two and introduce one earlier, because together they are jarring enough to knock any viewer out of the movie. It takes that opening line from the Last Christmas song quite literally. It’s heavy-handed, divisive, and it either works for a viewer or it doesn’t. 

As a holiday movie, LAST CHRISTMAS dashes along just fine. Director Paul Feig, working from a script co-written by Emma Thompson, is playing with familiar themes of family, kindness, helping others, and the spirit of the holiday season. There are probably one too-may sub-plots at work; including Kate’s mother’s heritage and odd relationship with her father, and a budding romance for her boss (wonderfully played by Michelle Yeoh). Still, the film has a lot of energy, light but effective comedy, and the dramatic parts not too heavy. The script could have been a bit tighter, as by movie’s end a few loose threads are still hanging out there. 

Emilia Clarke carries the film and is the best part about it. A delight on screen, she goes through a box full of emotions and handles it perfectly, and her musical bits are very well done. Henry Golding is a bit of a plank and has a one-dimensional character to work with. Emma Thompson is quite wonderful. 

The success or failure of any movie can often rest upon how it makes us feel when its over; happy, sad, depressed, enlightened…it really doesn’t matter which emotion we feel at the curtain, as long as it works to the point that any flaws can be forgiven. This is especially true of any holiday movie, because as long as the ending has our characters singing Joy to the World (or Last Christmas), we can go home with bright spirits. LAST CHRISTMAS does indeed end on a high note, and it’s just enough to overlook that clumsily-handled, sink-or-swim twist. 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it