Pardon me for starting this off in a cryptic way, but on the off-chance you somehow avoided the widespread online speculation that occurred when the trailer for Last Christmas first hit the web, then congratulations, you have a life. And for the sake of keeping any surprises hidden, I’ll avoid spoilers for this review, but in case you’re someone who – like me – couldn’t help but ponder if the trailer did unwittingly give away everything, the answer is yes. Chances are, what you assumed from the trailer is in fact what happens in the film.
But here’s the thing. So, you predicted what was going to happen in Last Christmas…great, good for you, you figured out the plot to a Christmas rom-com, you don’t need bend over backwards patting yourself on the back for that. Sure, even if you go into Last Christmas having not seen the trailer, you’ll still see everything coming from a mile away within the first ten minutes. But the thing is, I don’t even remotely care about that. At least, not when it comes to films of this particular genre. As long as a rom-com is pleasant and likable, I’m satisfied, and that more or less applies to the new film from Paul Feig.
Written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings, Last Christmas follows Katarina (Emilia Clarke) or “Kate,” which she prefers to go by. Kate is a mess of a young woman, bouncing from couch to couch trying to make it as a stage performer while trying to make ends meet working at an all-year Christmas shop owned by a woman who inexplicably goes by Santa (Michelle Yeoh). Just when it seems like her luck is getting at its worst, she bumps into Tom (Henry Golding), a dashing young man who takes a liking to Kate. A friendship begins to blossom leading to Emilia’s life takes an unexpected turn for the better.
As defensive as I started this whole thing off, I should say, first off, that while I think Last Christmas is a good movie, I don’t necessarily think it’s a great one. It’s predictability doesn’t really factor in as much as some of the clumsiness in its script. There are certain elements that feel very underdeveloped. I wish there were more scenes to give context to the shaky relationship between Kate and her mother, Petra (Emma Thompson), instead of having it awkwardly told to us. I would also liked to have seen more explored with Kate’s sister, Marta (Lydia Leonard), who has a secret of her own that she’s hiding from her mother. Then there’s the Brexit element, which I mean almost literally because it is the subject of literally two-and-a-half scenes that could easily be cut out of the film because they don’t factor into anything else, thematically or otherwise. It’s so awkwardly placed in here that I would have a hard time believing it wasn’t a last minute addition to the screenplay.
So, yes, no one is going to claim Last Christmas is essential, but I do think that it gets the things right that it absolutely needed to. It’s a very pleasant and effortlessly likable film. Paul Feig knows how to create an affable atmosphere, and while he’s far from a visual stylist, he has the nuts-and-bolts down. However, it really is with the leads where Last Christmas really works. Henry Golding and Emilia Clarke are absolutely delightful to watch. Clarke’s smile shines brighter than the light of a thousand suns, and Golding…I mean, if his mere presence can’t be proof of a divine creator then nothing can be. He radiates charisma like a nuclear bomb, and his chemistry with Clarke is palpable.
It’s in their relationship that I found myself invested in the story. Even if I knew how the story was going to go, I was still curious in how it was going to get their, and how it was going to affect the characters. It’s a story about self-care, about learning to appreciate the little things, the people around you, and taking into consideration how your actions affect others. Basic Christmas stuff, definitely, but it’s effective, and the big story element that I’m not giving away here also serves to make it fall in line with how a lot of traditional Christmas stories were told, though I’m not entirely sure if that was an intentional move on the filmmakers’ part.
When it comes to these kinds of movies, I’m pretty easy to please. Last Christmas isn’t Paul Feig’s best by any stretch, especially after coming off something as great as A Simple Favor, but it’s still a lovely, charming, and amusing rom-com that is also a fairly solid Christmas movie in its own right. Granted, most of the film’s effectiveness lies squarely on the shoulders of its leads, but the work put in by Henry Golding and Emilia Clarke do go a long way. It’s just too earnest of a film to feel any anger or even disappointment in its bizarre and silly choices. I think despite its many stumbles, despite its many contrivances, somewhere within the performances, there is at least a sliver of something meaningful in there for anyone out there who might feel like they have nothing going for them, and as we enter the holiday season, I see no harm in the way the film delivers its message. Plus, it’s got a soundtrack full of George Michael classics, what’s not to like about that?