Before I start I have to say that when it comes to Christmas movies I usually steer clear of them, well except for Die Hard and It’s a Wonderful Life (a Christmas Classic), the other night I popped over to Cineworld in Broughton to check out Paul Feig’s Last Christmas the film that has had some rather mixed reviews.
Nothing seems to go right for young Kate (Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Solo: A Star Wars Story), a frustrated Londoner who works as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. But things soon take a turn for the better when she meets Tom (Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians) – a handsome charmer who seems too good to be true. As the city transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, Tom and Kate’s growing attraction turns into the best gift of all – a Yuletide romance.
Probably the mass appeal for Last Christmas is its soundtrack, it’s chock full of music from George Micahel and Wham, the end credits of the film even include a brand new track from George Michael, This Is How (We Want You To Get High) which I absolutely love.
OK, onto Last Christmas, as I mentioned earlier I’ve never been one for Christmas films, but I do enjoy the work of Emma Thompson, so we do not only get her talents on screen, Thompson wrote the story along with her husband Greg Wise, Last Christmas is a story of finding love and changing a way of living.
Emilia Clarke and her family are immigrants from Yugoslavia who escaped to the UK, Kate (Clarke) is a free spirit that has lived her life to the max after an operation to save her life, there are some very comical moments with her and her mother (Thompson) throughout the film which had the audience laughing very loudly during my screening, Kate’s boss “Santa” (Michelle Yeo) at the Christmas show has some great moments as well and the pair certainly work well on the screen together.
One day Kate sees Tom (Golding) outside the shop looking up in the air and intrigued by this she goes outside to see what he is looking and this is where the romance starts for the couple, with Tom teaching Kate more than she bargained for about herself and her potential, she even helps out at a shelter for the homeless, something she may have not done before meeting Tom.
What follows in Last Christmas is a film that may have some moments that seem to slip you by but it certainly has that Christmas movie feel, not just because it is set at the festive time of year but it has the feel-good moments that give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside almost like you’ve just drunk a toasty warm Mulled wine, Last Christmas has the up moments and the down moments that I found lovely to watch.
I really enjoyed Thompson and Wise’s story, loved the characters that were played nicely by the cast, being a follower of Paul Feig’s work it was nice to see his touch to the film and let’s not forget the soundtrack from George Michael and Wham, this certainly brings up the tempo of Last Christmas and makes you realise what a talented artist he was and sad that he didn’t get to see the film that uses his amazing work.
Last Christmas leaves you warm and fuzzy inside
Movie title: Last Christmas
Movie description: Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Her last date with disaster? That of having accepted to work as Santa's elf for a department store. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn. For Kate, it seems too good to be true.
Date published: November 23, 2019
Country: United Kingdom
Duration: 103mins
Director(s): Paul Feig
Actor(s): Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
