‘LAST CHRISTMAS’ WRAPPED UP IN ROMANCE
“Last Christmas” could have been stamped out in a holiday-movie factory.
It sports two incredibly photogenic rising stars (Emilia Clarke from “Game of Thrones” and Henry Golding from “Crazy Rich Asians”), a brand-name comedy director (Paul Feig of “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” fame), a contemporary yet still storybook England-at-Christmas setting and a George Michael soundtrack including, of course, the inescapable song that gives the movie its title. Even the big twist can be spotted several reindeer-length’s away.
But none of that really matters too much as “Last Christmas,” from a script co-written by Byrony Kimmings and actress Emma Thompson (who also costars), is always generally pleasantly entertaining and occasionally hilarious, largely thanks to Thompson.
Clarke is Kate, a young woman in London who’s on a fast track to nowhere. She has been kicked out of a variety of living situations, to the point where her roller-bag just might be her most reliable friend. She could just go to her parents’ house but she can’t face her disapproving, Yugoslavian-immigrant mom (Thompson) who still wants to call her by her given name of Katarina. Then there’s her sister’s place, but that’s not an option either, as she doesn’t really get along with her.
On top of that, Kate considers herself a singer but works as an assistant dressed as an elf in a holiday store run by a taskmaster named Santa (Michelle Yeoh, also from “Crazy Rich Asians”). Kate may not be ready to jump off a bridge like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” but she’s not far behind him.
Enter Tom (Golding), a dreamboat who just happens to walk in the store and is immediately smitten, as is Kate. But they are complete opposites. She’s selfish, he volunteers for the homeless. He’s self-assured, she’s a Santa sack of doubt and worry. He’s always looking up, she barely sees what’s in front of her. Can these crazy kids make it work?
Their budding romance is set against the backdrop of a gorgeously decorated London and, in an awkward stab at relevance, rising anti-immigrant sentiments that target Eastern Europeans living in England. But, it’s a Christmas movie, so it doesn’t get too deep.
“Last Christmas” is that film that fits neatly between spasms of holiday shopping, when you want to just get away from the mall madness for a couple of hours. Sometimes that’s the best gift of all.