Last Holiday (2006)

After she's diagnosed with a terminal illness, a shy woman decides to take a European vacation.

Director:

Wayne Wang

Writers:

Jeffrey Price (screenplay), Peter S. Seaman (screenplay),

Stars:

Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Timothy Hutton

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Queen Latifah	...	Georgia Byrd
LL Cool J	...	Sean Matthews
Timothy Hutton	...	Matthew Kragen
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Senator Dillings
Alicia Witt	...	Ms. Burns
Gérard Depardieu	...	Chef Didier
Jane Adams	...	Rochelle
Michael Estime	...	Marlon (as Mike Estime)
Susan Kellermann	...	Gunther
Jascha Washington	...	Darius
Matt Ross	...	Adamian
Ranjit Chowdhry	...	Dr. Gupta
Michael Nouri	...	Congressman Stewart
Jaqueline Fleming	...	Tanya
Kendall Mosby	...	Anton

Storyline

In morte veritas. Georgia Byrd clerks at a New Orleans department store. She defers pleasure: cooks gourmet meals, eats Lean Cuisine; likes a co-worker in silence; has savings, but hasn't left Louisiana. All that changes when a CT Scan discloses she has three weeks to live. She cashes her savings and heads to Europe's Grandhotel Pupp, where Chef Didier presides. She checks into the Presidential Suite, orders everything on the menu, snowboards, and comes to the attention of the chef and the hotel's powerful American guests: a Congressman, a Senator, a retail magnate, and his mistress. She has nothing to lose, so she tells them what she thinks. Will the truth set them free?

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Plot Keywords:

chef | terminal illness | senator | hotel | congressman | 

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Taglines:

She Always Thought She Was Somebody... And She Was

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual reference

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

13 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Férias da Minha Vida

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$24,059 (New Zealand) (26 May 2006)

Gross:

$24,059 (New Zealand) (26 May 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Last Holiday Productions, Paramount Pictures, ImageMovers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the dishes served in the movie were prepared by Food Network chefs who traveled with the crew to do the cooking. They also taught Queen Latifah some basic cooking techniques so she would look like a professional chef in the movie.

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Goofs

When Kregan and his guests are first shown eating together in the Granhotel Pupp restaurant, the wine in their glasses switches between white wine and red wine several times.

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Quotes

Georgia Byrd: I didn't come here to make an impression on anybody, I just came here to blow every last cent I had.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits show us how everybody in the movie's futures turned out.

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Golden Getaway: Hidden Treasures (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Every Time I Feel the Spirit"
Traditional
Arranged by Shelby J. Wills
Performed by Queen Latifah & Ebenezer Baptist Church Radio Choir

User Reviews

Worth a Look

Queen Latifah play Georgina Byrd, a New Orleans saleswoman who learns that she only has a few weeks to live, so she decides to use her remaining time to take a dream vacation to a European resort. Once there, she starts taking on all sorts of risks and challenges because she really has nothing to lose.

Last Holiday is clearly not an Oscar worthy film but it is an enjoyable one and one that's hard to hate. The premise is pretty depressing yet optimistic at the same time. Georgia is a hardworking, quiet and hopeful girl. In the beginning of the movie, she lives a dull existence until she hits her head and finds out she is going to die in two weeks. After this, she decides to live life to the fullest. She doesn't want to be scared of the world anymore. For her final two weeks, she decides to fly to a fancy hotel in Prague she has always dream of going to. This raises the question if you need to have a lot of money to really live life to the fullest. It seems a little too much for me but everyone would want to spend their last two weeks differently. For those expecting a movie like the original, forget it. The original had an effective twist at the end and it was more social commentary than escapist humor. This version is more escapist humor but that doesn't mean it's a bad movie just not as effective as the original.

What really makes Last Holiday something is Queen Latifah. She offers a dazzling and enjoyable performance as Georgia. Her character is really hard to hate as well. LL Cool J plays Sean and he likes Georgia but he is kind of afraid to make a move. LL Cool J's performance is actually a little weak so it's a good thing that he didn't get a lot of screen time. Tim Hutton was pretty good as the bad guy. Alicia Witt was okay, a little bland though. There were some other supporting characters that were funny like Susan Kellerman as Gunther.

Despite the film's good nature and warm feelings, it was still too cheesy at times. Apparently, everyone at the hotel is living an uneventful life. However, just watching Queen Latifah have fun is enough for them to change their own lifestyles. I thought it was a little cheesy that she was able to touch everyone at the hotel. I also didn't like the fact that Wayne Wang kept the film too safe. His vanilla like directing prevented the movie from really breaking out. The screenplay was okay just not very original and kind of generic. In fact, if Queen Latifah were not present then the whole film would have been forgettable. Last Holiday proves she is an effective actress when given the right material. In the end, this warm, good spirited movie is worth checking out if you like Queen Latifah. Rating 6/10