Death takes ‘Last Holiday’

In “Last Holiday,� the title of the movie is also its plot: the dream vacation as last hurrah. Queen Latifah’s portrayal of Georgia, a working-class lady reacting to a dreadful challenge, combines the moxie of Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman� with the comedic antics of Lucille Ball in “I Love Lucy.�

Diagnosed with a terminal disease, Georgia cashes in her life savings and hops the next plane out of Louisiana, flying to a luxurious European health spa where the rich and famous play. Georgia plans on living out her dreams in her remaining days. She quickly adapts to her palatial surroundings. Her matronly look is traded in for a nouveau-riche style complete with a makeover of hair, beauty and clothes. She switches from Lean Cuisine to the chef’s gourmet specials.

Her opulent lifestyle becomes the source of gossip for the hired help and guests, especially one smug, obnoxious businessman (Timothy Hutton). His attempt to steal the spotlight from Georgia and put it on himself kicks the comedy into high gear during their snowboard and base-jumping adventures.

Latifah tones down her street-smart wise-cracking sassiness from previous films, such as “Beauty Shop,� to play Georgia with a heart of gold and the patience of a saint. LL Cool J, as her love interest, drops his usual tough-guy character for a shy, kind and gentle man with dreams of his own. Having the actors play against type helps take the audience’s mind off their one-dimensional happy personalities.

The villain, Timothy Hutton, however, comes across as a hastily drawn stick figure. His self-made millionaire character thinks the height of success is belittling and using people. He operates on two speeds: upset and mad. His character and the characters of some of his cronies are predictable throughout the story. This is the film’s weak spot.

Overall, “Last Holiday� is about following your dream with a whole lot of fantasy mixed in. This movie does make the audience feel good by the time the end credits roll, so the mental uplift alone is worth the price of admission.

* PEGGY J. ROGERS produces commercial videos and documentaries.

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