Movie Reviews - Last Christmas

Director: Paul Feig
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Emma Thompson, Michelle Yeoh

Description: Kate (Emilia Clarke) is a 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 (Henry Golding) there. Her life takes a new turn. For Kate, it seems too good to be true.

Review: If there’s one genre that works perfectly with the holidays, it’s the romantic comedy. A good mix of laughs and tears, fortunate misunderstandings, delightful actors and predictable storylines. You are instantly in a better mood with a romcom. But there is a big difference between the disposable romcom that will waste your time and the romcom you will recommend to your friends.
The British film “Last Christmas”, by director Paul Feig, falls in that last category. Feig knows his way around a comedy. He directed the very successful “Bridesmaids” and was also the man behind “Spy”. This time, a little less jokes and a bit more romance. And the most funny moments come from leading character Kate, portrayed by Emilia Clarke.
At a young age, Kate fled Yugoslavia with her mother and sister. Later, she had to undergo a heart transplant and since then she has had a struggling relationship with her family. Kate lost all her ambitions, sleeps on couches of friends and works in a Christmas store in London. One day, she sees Tom and from that moment on Kate’s life takes a turn.
The film starts like any other romcom, with opposites and attraction. Kate isn’t really looking to take walks with Tom. But later she can’t wait to see him again.
At first, you feel like it’s going to be a sugar sweet film, filled with cheesy romance. But Feig keeps his characters realistic, by portraying Kate as both charming and egocentric.
There is a huge twist in the film, but somehow I saw it coming. The film has predictability and clichés, but they didn’t really bother me. Overall, “Last Christmas” is a joyful and easy watch. Due to the twist it’s different from most films in its genre.

Rating: 3/ 5