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| Director
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Wayne Wang
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| Starring
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Queen Latifah, LL Cool J
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| The plot of
Last Holiday |
After she's diagnosed with a terminal illness,
Georgia Byrd (Latifah) decides to take a European
vacation. |
Last Holiday
Review
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Review by Joe
Leydon:
Paramount may be selling
slapstick and impudent sass in trailers and TV spots,
but "Last Holiday""Last Holiday"
is most successful when it is engaging, not uproarious.
Glossy amusement is an updated remake of a well-regarded
1950 Brit comedy-drama starring Alec Guinness, improbably
retrofitted as a star vehicle for Queen Latifah. Lead's
appealing performance and overall feel-good vibe could
attract diverse demographics and generate strong word
of mouth during a potentially leggy theatrical run.Original
pic (scripted by J.B. Priestley) cast Guinness as George
Bird, a mousy salesman who doesn't begin to enjoy life
until he's told he has just a few weeks to live. Diagnosed
with a fatal illness, he impulsively opts to spend his
life's savings on a "last holiday" at an expensive
resort where he's mistaken for a wealthy wheeler-dealer.
As he savors the unfamiliar pleasure of being treated
with respect and attentiveness, Bird gradually discovers
that he's a much more interesting and adventurous fellow
than he ever suspected..more..
Review By Stephanie
Zacharek:
Wayne Wang's "Last Holiday" is a movie lost
in time and space, and not just because it's a remake
of a 1950 Alec Guinness picture. Queen Latifah plays
Georgia Byrd, a shy New Orleans department store clerk
and skilled amateur cook who, after learning she has
only a few weeks to live, empties her savings and books
herself into the fancy Czech resort hotel she's always
dreamed of visiting. (It's called Grandhotel Pupp, pronounced
with a long u, a name that down-to-earth Georgia can't
help giggling over.) Georgia is determined to live her
last days to the fullest, spending her afternoons mastering
crazy sports she never before had the guts to try, and
her evenings making up for a lifetime of careful dieting:
She takes particular pleasure in sampling the butter-
and pork-fat-laced delights of one of her idols, genius
chef Didier (played by the charmingly game Gerard Depardieu)..More..
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