Dir. Wayne Wang, USA, 2006, 112 mins
Cast: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton, Gerard Depardieu
Review by Michael Blyth
Having worked in both the realms of independent cinema and big-scale studio fare, director Wayne Wang’s cinematic output has for the most part been united by the wholesome blending of comedy and drama. His films, whether it be the indie breakthrough of Smoke or the undemanding romanticisms of Maid in Manhattan, deal fundamentally with human aspirations and the desire to assess one’s own life. With Last Holiday Wang is firmly in mainstream territory once again. And like the aforementioned J-Lo flick or the mother/daughter tragi-comedy Anywhere But Here, he has set his sights squarely on the female market.
Georgia Byrd (Latifah) is a shy, dowdy sales assistant working at a large department store. Too afraid to act on both her crush for co-worker Sean (LL Cool J) and her dreams of being a chef, Georgia sleepwalks through her life. But when she is unexpectedly diagnosed with a fatal brain tumour and given three weeks to live, she decides to spend her savings on one final holiday to a lush ski resort in Europe. Encountering many people at the hotel including her miserly Boss Kragen (Hutton) and the charming Chef Didier (Depardieu), Georgia’s transformation into high-flying society gal begins to have a profound affect on everyone she meets.
Thanks largely to an amiable performance from Latifah, Last Holiday is a diverting enough experience. Georgia’s reclamation of her life through the realisation of her impending death may lack any original philosophy, but there are some guiltily wrought pleasures to be found in the comforts of Hollywood cliché. Only the most cynical of viewers could fail to derive some enjoyment from Georgia’s blossoming confidence, which is all played with a lure that falls on just the right side of cutesy. Meanwhile the unplanned encounter with her malevolent boss leads to an unexpected commentary on the evils of big business. Of course, such observations result in little more then the old truism that money can’t buy happiness, all of which is slightly undermined by the fact that it is her own financial affluence that gives Georgia the opportunity to visit the fancy spa in the first place. But ultimately it is always fun to watch the underdog stick it to the man.
It is in the comic sequences that the film mostly disappoints. Minor characters, like the supposedly evil German chambermaid or the inept Indian doctor, are often too scantily written to be anything more than bumbling stereotypes, and generally irritate rather than enchant. And an unnecessarily lengthy sequence that sees a snowboarding Georgia hurtling down a ski slope is particularly humourless. It is a shame Wang failed to utilise the comic talents of Depardieu to greater effect, but he remains largely wasted in the unrewarding role of Georgia’s mentor. Perhaps a more spirited performance from the Frenchman could have upped the flagging laugh quota, and elevated the picture from its pleasant, if unremarkable, status. Similarly, the romantic side of things is left equally unattended. Wang sets up a love story between Georgia and Sean that is only significantly explored during the film’s closing scenes. The couple barely share any screen time together, and as a romantic male lead LL Cool J is notable only for his absence.
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