Queen Latifah made me cry. I wouldn’t normally admit that I teared up during a heartwarming, inspirational romantic comedy, but I’m willing to go on the record so that others might not pass up “Last Holiday, “a remake of the 1950 movie of the same name. In it, Queen Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, a demure, church-going New Orleans department store worker, who decides to travel to Europe and pursue her dreams of staying in a grand hotel and eating foods prepared by a world famous chef after being told she has only three weeks to live. Once in Europe, Georgia’s new-found passion for life leads to a comical case of mistaken identity and some truly hysterical scenes in the hotel spa.
While not exactly ground-breaking storytelling–and there’s a somewhat distracting political subplot–the laughs are plentiful, the scenery fantastic, and it’s great to see Timothy Hutton and Gerard Depardieu back on the big screen. As a general rule, I try to avoid anything that could be labeled “inspirational,” but Queen Latifah’s energy embodied the reinvigorated Georgia Byrd so perfectly that I couldn’t help but get caught up in the tale and get a bit verklempt at the appropriate moments. Georgia’s story speaks to everyone who has ever postponed chasing their dreams, and that’s probably a good 99% of the population.
When interviewing Queen Latifah about the film and her own spiritual journey, I admitted that, although my usually-stony media-maven self shies away from movies that are heartwarming, she replied,”Get your ‘heartwarm’ on, girl!” (You can read the interview here.) So to all of you looking for an enjoyable–and, yes, inspirational–film to watch this weekend, go and get your “heartwarm” on with “Last Holiday.”
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posted January 14, 2006 at 9:09 pm
I saw this movie at the theater last night. And I just wanted to say that it was great like all of Queen Latifah’s movies are. She is a wonderful actress.>
posted January 18, 2006 at 5:04 am
I saw this movie Saturday night and it was great. It gave ma lift because it was funny and clean.>
posted January 18, 2006 at 11:27 pm
I saw the movie and really enjoyed it. Queen Latifah was subperb as usual.>
posted January 20, 2006 at 6:53 pm
Love this movie. It is about time for some clean movies to come out. Love you Queen>
posted May 3, 2006 at 10:37 pm
I love Dana Owens,(Queen Latifah) and would love to see her lastest film. She’s a superb actress and a lovely person.>
posted January 11, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I agree. She is a superb actress. I am so glad that something clean actually came out of Hollywood!
posted June 14, 2010 at 4:00 am
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and
needs to be appreciated by everyone.
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Budget Travel
posted June 14, 2010 at 4:02 am
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and
needs to be appreciated by everyone.