Last Holiday (2006)

Queen Latifah play Georgina Byrd, a New Orleans saleswoman who learns that she only has a few weeks to live, so she decides to use her remaining time to take a dream vacation to a European resort. Once there, she starts taking on all sorts of risks and challenges because she really has nothing to lose.

Last Holiday is clearly not an Oscar worthy film but it is an enjoyable one and one that's hard to hate. The premise is pretty depressing yet optimistic at the same time. Georgia is a hardworking, quiet and hopeful girl. In the beginning of the movie, she lives a dull existence until she hits her head and finds out she is going to die in two weeks. After this, she decides to live life to the fullest. She doesn't want to be scared of the world anymore. For her final two weeks, she decides to fly to a fancy hotel in Prague she has always dream of going to. This raises the question if you need to have a lot of money to really live life to the fullest. It seems a little too much for me but everyone would want to spend their last two weeks differently. For those expecting a movie like the original, forget it. The original had an effective twist at the end and it was more social commentary than escapist humor. This version is more escapist humor but that doesn't mean it's a bad movie just not as effective as the original.

What really makes Last Holiday something is Queen Latifah. She offers a dazzling and enjoyable performance as Georgia. Her character is really hard to hate as well. LL Cool J plays Sean and he likes Georgia but he is kind of afraid to make a move. LL Cool J's performance is actually a little weak so it's a good thing that he didn't get a lot of screen time. Tim Hutton was pretty good as the bad guy. Alicia Witt was okay, a little bland though. There were some other supporting characters that were funny like Susan Kellerman as Gunther.

Despite the film's good nature and warm feelings, it was still too cheesy at times. Apparently, everyone at the hotel is living an uneventful life. However, just watching Queen Latifah have fun is enough for them to change their own lifestyles. I thought it was a little cheesy that she was able to touch everyone at the hotel. I also didn't like the fact that Wayne Wang kept the film too safe. His vanilla like directing prevented the movie from really breaking out. The screenplay was okay just not very original and kind of generic. In fact, if Queen Latifah were not present then the whole film would have been forgettable. Last Holiday proves she is an effective actress when given the right material. In the end, this warm, good spirited movie is worth checking out if you like Queen Latifah. Rating 6/10

Fmovies: I actually ended up watching the DVD of this movies 3 times and I smiled throughout the film and laughed each time. So far everyone who watched it with me also came away thoroughly enjoying this movie. And what a surprise Queen Latifah was. She's a very talented actress. Her Character was sweet, charming and strong. The acting was uniformly good. These are the kind of positive role models that are missing from black films. LL Cool J was also a surprise although not as skilled an actor. It was also very interesting to see a place I had never heard of and to discover that the Grand Hotel Pupp really exists.I'll bet the jet set will end up going to the Czech Republic now

One of two marvelous feel good flicks that mark the early crop of 2006 film releases (the other is "Glory Road"). Queen Latifah (in her 25th film since debuting in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever") glows with warmth, dignity, gentle confidence and a fine comic sensibility as the central character, Georgia Byrd, a salesclerk in a New Orleans chain discount supermart, who learns she will soon die of a rare brain disease.

She scares up all the cash she can in order to blow it on a luxury dream trip to a Swiss ski chalet, where she meets a variety of locals and some powerful folks from back home. All sorts of clichéd characters pop up here (a groveling, mistake prone east Indian physician; an austere prison-matronly hotel maid; a porcine four star French chef, an avaricious corporate CEO, a Senator for sale, and on and on).

Each one is held up for humorous dissection, but the laughs are never purchased at the price of either stupidity or malice. Be sure to stick around till the end, when, before the final credits, there are priceless still photos of the players with text about their fates. With terrific turns by LL Cool J, Gerard Depardieu, Timothy Hutton, Giancarlo Esposito, Alicia Witt, Susan Kellerman and Ranjit Chowdhry. Judged within the light comedic genre, this one gets an A.

Last Holiday fmovies. I really enjoyed this movie! Its a nice, light movie to start out the New Year and clear away those post-holiday blues! Treat yourselves, forget about your troubles for 2 hours and see this film! It was much better than I thought it was going to be and I found myself smiling at the end. The audience clapped when the credits started rolling if that gives you any indication. Queen was stunning and so was the scenery. The cast of characters were funny enough, and the hotel setting was so elegant; makes you just want to hop on a plane to Prague! This movie will probably never be nominated for an award, but who cares! It was fun and sometimes that's what going to the movies should be about; especially given all the heavy hitters nominated for Golden Globes this year... Yikes, talk about depressing! I would say this movie may be more appealing to women. So, ladies call your best friends, take your mom, sisters, nieces and enjoy!

I saw this film with my mom, and we both loved every minute of it. In fact, I'm pretty sure everyone loved it, because it was one of the only movies that everyone clapped at the end. Although it was often silly and predictable, it was absolutely hysterical and had a lot of heart.

Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah), a worker at a supermarket, is a normal, shy and reserved person. She's afraid to talk to the guy she loves (Sean, played by LL Cool J), and she never does anything exciting. Within the first 15 minutes, you see her cook a wonderful looking meal which she cooked along with the show "Emeril", in which she takes a picture of and gives to her neighbor. She in turn eats a Lean Cuisine. These greatly affect the establishment of her character, so I give props to the writers.

She later hits her head and learns that she has a terminal disease and is going to die in 3 weeks. She is very sad at first, and goes back to her normal life for a day or two, when she finally looks at her possibilities book (a book with all the things she wish she would have eaten, vacations she wanted to go on, and fake pictures of her marrying Sean), and decides to go to the "Grandhotel Pupp" and live up her last three weeks.

Once at the hotel, she sees the senator of Louisianna (who was supposed to attend her church service) and Congressman Kragen, the owner of the chain of shops that she works at. She also meets the hotel staff, ranging from a mean housekeeper to a kind chef she had wanted to meet. That is where the humor really starts.

She completely splurges, getting the nicest room in the hotel and getting orders of everything in the restaurant, making everyone think she is a very important person. She also manages to get many different spa treatments and do many exciting things including snowboarding and base jumping.

You get all the humor of a typical Queen Latifah movie, with a lot of heart that will make you love the movie even more. The drama isn't really extremely big, but it really makes you enjoy the movie more. The best part of the movie, in my opinion, is when Georgia says "Next time... we will laugh more, we'll love more; we just won't be so afraid.". It makes you appreciate life and enjoy the movie. You will laugh, you may even cry, but you will leave the theater with a smile on your face.

Nice feel-good movie comedy that had me laughing and crying at different parts. Fantasy but everyone could relate. It rings as true, or could be true in a positive way. Queen L. carries the show as a hardworking everyman who is good at her job but finds out she only has 3 weeks to live. She decides to take her money and spend it all on the ultimate vacation before she dies. Timothy Hutton is a believable jerk who plays his part as the owner of the company just right without overdoing it. Latifah runs into Hutton and his rich friends who don't know who this mystery woman spending all the money is at the luxury resort but Latifah shows that she has more class than all of the rich guests put together. I hope this movie turns into a big word of mouth success at the box office.