Last Christmas Review

Grade: B-

Emma Thompson won an Academy Award in the mid-90s for adapting Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility for the big screen. Since then, she has not done a lot of screenwriting, but has dabbled in it, writing the scripts for the Nanny McPhee movies and the Bridget Jones sequel Bridget Jones’s Baby. As an incredibly well-respected actress, though, it demands attention every time she does produce a screenplay because Ms. Thompson is a thoughtful, empathetic woman who has done brilliant work in movies and TV since the 1980s. So when I heard she had written the script (with Bryony Kimmings) for a Christmas romantic-comedy and that the movie would star notoriously photogenic stars Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) and Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) and that the movie would be directed by respected comedy director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids and 2016’s Ghostbusters), I was intrigued and excited. Both romantic-comedies and Christmas movies have generally grown stale over the last 15 years and to hear that these amazing filmmakers were going to collaborate on one made me think that it could be something special. Having seen the film, I am a bit sad to report that they have not really succeeded in making something special. Nevertheless, they have succeeded in creating something diverting for the holiday season that will make you smile and make you laugh and provide an opportunity for you to see some fantastic actors trying their best to entertain you.

I will admit that my expectations were affected by seeing the tepid reactions from critics before I actually had a chance to see the movie. The first review I read was by Richard Roeper, one of my favorite movie critics, who said that “Even on [his] most Ebenezer of days, [he] wouldn’t have been able to resist this sentimental journey.” So my hopes began to rise. However, it ultimately ended up at 47% recommended on Rotten Tomatoes, which brought my hopes right back down to earth. And I would say that it was good that those hopes lowered because the movie is not quite as unique as it could have been. Clarke stars as Katerina (or Kate, as she likes to be called), a Yugoslavian-born woman who had a heart transplant and a falling out with her family. She works at a year-round Christmas store in London for a Christmas-obsessed boss played by Michelle Yeoh who goes by the name of “Santa.” (Yeoh is always fun to watch.) As her life begins to fall apart around her, Kate meets Tom Webster (Golding), a delightful and enigmatic man who helps her to find her equilibrium again and maybe even some romance. That is all I will say about the plot, which hits some very familiar beats on its way to a not-perfectly-satisfying conclusion.

Though I had a lot of fun with the movie, I found myself wishing that it had done a little more to distinguish itself from the vast array of holiday fare that already exists. The actors try their level-best. Clarke gets to show off her effortless charm, as she did in Me Before You. Though Katerina follows a predictable path, Clarke imbues her journey with enough pathos that glimpses of reality shine through. Golding is a good match for her, even though his character can sometimes feel too good to be true. His casual “down-to-earth-ness” gives the movie a warmth that is required of holiday movies and his disarming smile will melt even the coldest audience’s hearts. Emma Thompson herself shows up as Katerina’s mother and gets a lot of the movies best lines, even though those lines often stem from her cluelessness about American culture as a Yugoslavian immigrant. Boris Isakovic and Lydia Leonard get some interesting screen time as Kate’s father and sister, respectively. And a whole host of actors and actresses shine playing homeless people who frequent a homeless shelter that figures prominently into the story.

Though Thompson and Kimmings’ screenplay does attempt to touch on some interesting issues about immigration and acceptance, those moments feel more shoehorned into the plot and are always overshadowed by the all-too-common machinations of the plot that feel designed to give the people a by-the-numbers experience. And, sure, there is something to be said for the warm-cup-of-cocoa-like feelings that come from watching a Christmas movie or romantic-comedy that provides exactly what you expect. But with such a great group of movie-makers involved here, I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed. Paul Feig has proven himself an adept comedic director, but there is not a lot he does here to elevate the material. The use of George Michael’s music throughout the film was an amusing touch, and one that I was completely in love with, but it doesn’t necessarily demonstrate a desire to throw curve balls. It does demonstrate the light touch that was brought to the material, but it left me pining for more surprising and delightful decisions that were not there. There are a few late-movie surprises that definitely provided me with something to think about and added a little bit of the depth I was craving, but it wasn’t enough to truly move Last Christmas out of the ranks of carbon-copy holiday movies. So, whether you enjoy the film will depend a lot on your expectations. Since I had sufficiently lowered mine, I enjoyed myself in the theater: I laughed, I cried, I even contemplated my own life a little bit. There’s not much more I could ask for on a casual night at the movies. But Last Christmas will probably not be moving into my “every year” rotation of Christmas films and, with Thompson, Clarke, Golding, and Feig participating, that is what I was ultimately hoping for.