Sometimes it takes a single moment to change your life. It’s easy to fall into the routine of going to work, procrastinating the things you really want to do and waiting for a day that will never come … until something happens to wake you up and make you start living. That’s the plot behind one of my favorite not-quite-holiday movies.
Last Holiday is a 2006 romantic comedy-drama starring Queen Latifah as a department store clerk who is told she has a rare brain condition that will kill her in a few weeks. She decides on a fabulous vacation as a way to say goodbye, and heads to Europe to spend her savings on the luxuries she’s always dreamed of.
Set during Christmas and New Year’s, Last Holiday isn’t the usual seasonal fare. There are no elves, decorations or gifts, simply the story of a woman who receives terrible news and decides to live the last weeks of her life to the fullest.
After getting cracked on the head at work, Georgia finds out she has multiple lesions on her brain from Lampingdon’s Disease. Without treatment her condition is fatal, but her insurance denies her the necessary surgery.
Instead of laying down to die, Georgia decides to travel to Europe, blow her savings and go out with a bang. After spending her life savings for a future she now thinks she’s never going to see, she decides to eat the best food, sleep in the best hotel and enjoy the things she’d been putting off for too long. She quits her job, cashes out her IRA and decides to live to the absolute fullest.
Once on her flight, things start to change. Georgia upgrades to first class, takes a helicopter to her hotel and upgrades to the presidential suite. Georgia’s extravagant spending and mysterious presence pique the interest of the hotel’s VIPs — self-help guru Kragen, his assistant, and Louisiana power brokers Senator Dillings and Congressman Stewart. They all think she’s rich like them, but Georgia is simply trying to enjoy her final days.
When Georgia’s fortunes change, she’s left wondering why this is happening now.
Back in Louisiana, Georgia’s crush and former co-worker Sean Williams (played by LL Cool J ) wonders where she is and what’s happened. He learns Georgia is dying and takes off after her, following a lead from a neighbor.
Georgia continues with all of the things she was too scared or frugal to indulge in before — snowboarding, base jumping and more. Kragen becomes suspicious, convinced Georgia is at the hotel to mess with his business. He pays the staff to find out who she “really” is.
Ms. Gunther, the guest services manager, finds a farewell letter Georgia has written to her loved ones. After Georgia returns from a charity fundraiser (where she winds up winning $100,000 and wonders why her life has suddenly gotten so much better), Gunther admits that she went snooping and found the truth.
Gunther convinces Georgia that rather than dying alone in a hotel, she should return home. At the same time, Sean is flying to find her and ensure she isn’t alone in her “last” days. Deciding to return home, she finds an avalanche has blocked the road to the airport, making it impossible to return to the US.
I won’t spoil the ending, but I will share that Georgia finds what she’s looking for, while Kragen outs her to the group of well-to-do new friends, Sean treks over a lot of snow and surprising news from the States changes everything.
Even though there are no explicit Christmas moments, Last Holiday remains — after almost 20 years — one of my favorite movies set during the holidays for its heart, which is evident in every frame. Queen Latifah delivers an excellent performance, and the message that people should chase the things they love has always spoken to me.
