Last Holiday

Seriously, what is it about Queen Latifah that makes her so damn likable? It honestly seems near-impossible to dislike her movies (Taxi probably being an exception), because every time she is on screen I just can't help but smile. It makes complete sense then, when all the other characters save but a few enjoy her presence as well, because to do otherwise just seems idiotic. It would be like hating sunshine.

Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) works as a cookware sales clerk at a Crate and Barrel type store, where she secretly harbors a crush on LL Cool J, or more specifically his character, Sean Matthews--a coworker in outdoor sales. She is of course too shy to talk to Sean despite the urgings of another coworker, who constantly tries to convince Georgia to wear sexier clothes and flirt with Sean. Instead, Georgia goes home every night, cooks delicious recipes by Emeril and then feeds them to her young neighbor, Darius (Jascha Washington), while she eats Lean Cuisine and pores over her "Possibilities" book--a collection of places, food, and people that she wants to visit/eat/meet someday. And oh yeah, she cuts out pictures of her head and pastes them onto bridal pictures, with coworker Sean as the groom--which is totally not creepy in any way. As it happens, Sean seems to have a crush on her as well, but just when it seems that he is going to ask her out, Georgia hits her head and has to go in for CAT scans, which reveal that she has a terminal illness and just three weeks left to live. HAHAHAHA! Oh it's so goofy and funny. Anyway, her HMO won't cover the $340,000 operation, so she decides to liquidate her retirement funds and dash off to a ski resort in the Czech Republic, where she checks in to the $4,000/night presidential suite at the Grand Hotel Pupp. She intends to live out her remaining weeks to their fullest, with spa treatments, snowboarding lessons, base jumping, and by tasting everything on a menu prepared by world-famous chef, Didier (Gérard Depardieu).

As it happens, Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton), the owner of the Crate and Barrel type store where Georgia just quit, and his mistress are also at the resort, along with Louisiana Senator Dillings (Giancarlo Esposito) and Congressman Stewart (Michael Nouri) to work out a deal that will save Kragen's failing business. When they see the hotel staff eagerly tending to Georgia's every need, they assume that she is someone extremely rich and important, and make efforts to ingratiate themselves to her. While Georgia simply wants to relax and do some of the things she has always dreamed of trying, everyone else desperately attempts to figure out who she is. With the exception of Kragen, they all soon find themselves quite taken with her good natured and devil-may-care attitude toward life. As for Georgia herself, she learns a valuable lesson about living life to its fullest, teaching herself as well as everyone around her to make each day count. I'm sure you get the idea.

The plot itself is nothing special, but what makes the movie interesting and worthwhile is Queen Latifah herself. As with all the characters in the story, the viewer too wants to spend more time with Georgia and hopes the best for her in the end. There were a few laughs here and there, but mostly I just smiled throughout. Basically the whole movie felt like a great big warm hug with a few home-baked cookies on your way out. Good cookies too, not burned at all.

This is the perfect movie to see if you want a picker-upper, and I can't stress enough how curiously enigmatic Queen Latifah is as the star. But I still won't go see Taxi. Women will probably be more into this than men, but it's nice and pleasant enough such that it won't bother you if your girl drags you along.