A lot of the discussion surrounding Last Christmas has been about how bad or contrived or ridiculous (in a bad way) or stupid it is. And while Last Christmas is far from a perfect movie, I think it’s safe to say all these people have a large lump of coal stuck up their you-know-what.
Last Christmas follows the story of Kate (Emilia Clarke). She’s hit a rough patch in life. She’s approximately a year out from recovering from an undisclosed but serious illness. As would be understandable after going through something like that, Kate is not yet back to her usual self. She doesn’t have her own place to live, so she goes from friend to friend, each time allowing her selfishness to result in her quickly overstaying her welcome. Kate refuses to move back in with her parents, as her mom is over-bearing and constantly guilt-trips her. She’s lost all joy in her job at a year-round Christmas store (yes, really). She is barely keeping it all together. But then she meets Tom (Henry Golding).
Tom sees through Kate’s messy exterior to the bright, joyful person she was, and still is. Through a series of meet-cutes, the two form a close bond, and Kate just might have stumbled upon a way out of the hole she’s found herself in.
Being a romantic comedy, and especially one set during the Christmas season, there are certain tropes that you can expect to see, which is all well and good. The romantic comedy genre pretty much is what is at this point. You know what to expect, and you know when to expect it, at least for the major beats. So the question becomes, “Does Last Christmas have anything that sets it apart?”
And the answer is yes, a couple things. One is great. The other, well, we’ll get to that.
A-List talent
In addition to Clarke and Golding, Last Christmas also features Emma Thompson and Michelle Yeoh, as Kate’s mother Petra and boss, Santa (again, yes, really), respectively. With as many flaws as there are, it’s this dynamic cast that carries the weight of the movie.
Clarke especially is great here. You don’t always get to see true, rounded acting performances in romantic comedies. But the Kate character has some serious depth, and Clarke nails the surprisingly wide range of emotions needed for this role.
Golding is predictably charming, and his chemistry with Clarke helps make Last Christmas a fun, breezy watch. There’s nothing particularly special or great about Thompson or Yeoh’s characters, but these two elite actresses get everything they can out of Petra and Santa.
Big, dumb twist (no spoilers)
So here we are. This is what’s been generating all the buzz. I’m not going to get into specifics, but it’s completely clear from the trailer that there’s just something off with everything here. That much should be clear to everybody. And if you’re paying attention to the movie at all, it’s not hard to figure it out well ahead of the reveal.
And yes, as the majority of critics seem to think, it is a preposterous twist. But so what? It’s obvious, so viewers shouldn’t feel cheated or like director Paul Feig was trying to pull one over on us. Now don’t be mistaken, this is not a defense of the twist. But it’s a Christmas rom-com; you should know what to expect.
No real direction
This is the biggest problem with Last Christmas. As charming as Clarke and Golding are, they can only do so much for the movie by themselves. But aside from the big reveal, it doesn’t try to do anything to separate itself from every other rom-com ever made. Once you get the general set up, you can pretty much map out every character’s arc from beginning to end.
The movie just kind of floats along, banking on the ultimate reveal to elevate it to new heights. And in case you couldn’t already tell, that doesn’t happen. But Clarke and Golding are good enough to make Last Christmas worth its 103 minute run time. And hey, if nothing else, there are enough unintentionally funny moments to be a great movie to watch and talk about with friends. Give it a shot.
The Verdict: 6.2/10
Last Christmas is now playing in theaters everywhere.