Last Holiday

What’s the Story?

In LAST HOLIDAY, Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) sings in her church choir and sells cookware at a department store. An aspiring chef, she also dreams of marrying a handsome coworker Sean (LL Cool J). It takes a dreadful misunderstanding to drive Georgia to act on her desires. Following a clunk on the head at work, a doctor tells her that she has only weeks to live. She quits the job and cleans out her savings for a trip to a European resort village where she stays at the Hotel Pupp and impresses the magnificent Chef Didier (Gérard Depardieu) with her grand appetite. She also affects various unhappy hotel guests and staff. Senator Dillings (Giancarlo Esposito) needs to get back in touch with his public mission. Ms. Burns (Alicia Witt) works for and sleeps with self-absorbed executive Kragen (Timothy Hutton), who believes Georgia is a business competitor. And imperious hotel valet Ms. Gunther (Susan Kellermann) first perceives Georgia as the enemy.

Is It Any Good?

Wayne Wang's remake of the 1950 Alec Guinness film is a mostly generic romantic comedy, buoyed by the amazing Queen Latifah. The film offers a rudimentary class critique in working-class Georgia's boisterous reeducation of the hoity-toity types. She does this by thoughtful listening and also by doing, enthusiastically taking up snowboarding, gambling, base jumping, and cooking with Chef Didier.

But this comfort-foodish film can't get out from under its burden of clichés. As she gains increased clout (maybe her new Hollywood star counts for something), perhaps the Queen can angle for work that's challenging and rewarding for all her subjects.