Last Holiday (2006)

Upon learning of a terminal illness, a shy woman decides to sell off all her possessions and live it up at a posh European hotel.

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
Michel 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:

fatal disease | department store | businessman | hotel | chef | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual reference

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

13 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vacances sur ordonnance

Filming Locations:

Pupp Hotel, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,508,779, 15 January 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,360,195, 5 March 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 Georgia is trying on clothes in the boutiques, she already has tweezed eyebrows although in the previous scenes her brows are still thick. She will only have her makeover done (her brows being tweezed, among others) several scenes later.

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Quotes

Gunther: Please don't die, Miss Byrd, I read your note.
Georgia Byrd: You went through my stuff?
Gunther: Oh yeah, I go through everyone's stuff, I apologize.

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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

Referenced in The Hour: Episode #7.44 (2010)

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Soundtracks

The Nearness of You
Written by Ned Washington & Hoagy Carmichael
Performed by Ann Hampton Callaway
Produced by George Fenton
Ann Hampton Callaway performs courtesy of Shanachie Entertainment Corp.

User Reviews

An Optimistic movie.

I thought this movie to be highly enjoyable. It had all the right ingredients (pun intended) of a classic "feel good" movie. In a generation full of hectic rush and non stop "mean-ness," this movie was a little ounce of what we need more in the world; optimism. "Live life to the fullest." Unfortunately that theme isn't common nowadays. There doesn't seem to be one part of this movie that isn't enjoyable. There's just the right amount of humor that allows Queen Latifa to shine as a comedian as well as heart in her performance which makes you care for and relate to this character. I hope this movie receives a lot of credit and praise despite the timing of its release. I applaud the actors and the especially the writers for making such a happy movie.