| Last Holiday | |
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Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Wayne Wang |
| Produced by | Laurence Mark Jack Rapke Robert Zemeckis |
| Written by | Jeffrey Price Peter S. Seaman |
| Starring | Queen Latifah LL Cool J Timothy Hutton Giancarlo Esposito |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Simpson |
| Editing by | Deirdre Slevin |
| Studio | ImageMovers |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 13, 2006 |
| Running time | 112 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $45 million |
| Box office | $43,343,248 (Worldwide) [1] |
Last Holiday is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Wayne Wang and starring Queen Latifah. The screenplay by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman is an updated, gender-reversed adaptation of the 1950 film of the same name written by J. B. Priestley.
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In the original 1950 film, the leading character of George Bird was played by Alec Guinness. Screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman updated the story for John Candy, but the project was shelved after the actor's death. Years later, Queen Latifah's agent read their script and suggested they revise it for her.
The gourmet cuisine seen throughout the film was prepared by chefs from the Food Network, and recipes for many of the dishes, including Lobster Salad in Potato Leek Nests, Duck Hash on Toasted Baguette, Spiced Lamb Shanks with Blood Orange Relish, Roasted Quail with Brioche and Chorizo Stuffing, Risotto Barolo with Roasted Vegetables, Bananas Foster, and Poulet Tchoupitoulas, were available on the network's website. In one scene, Georgia watches footage from Emeril Live to help her prepare a chicken. As part of the film's promotion, Queen Latifah appeared as a guest on Lagasse's show.
The film opened on 2,514 screens in the US, earning $12,806,188 and ranking #2 in its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $38,399,961 in the US and $4,943,287 in foreign markets for a worldwide box office total of $43,343,248.[1]
Queen Latifah was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "takes advantage of the great good nature and warmth of Queen Latifah, and uses it to transform a creaky old formula into a comedy that is just plain lovable. To describe the plot is to miss the point, because this plot could have been made into countless movies not as funny and charming as this one ... All depends on the Queen, who has been known to go over the top on occasion, but in this film finds all the right notes and dances to them delightfully. It is good to attend to important cinema like Syriana and Munich, but on occasion we must be open to movies that have more modest ambitions: They only want to amuse us, warm us, and make us feel good. Last Holiday plays like a hug." [2]
Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "Latifah's latest vehicle inexorably marches toward an ending you can see coming from the first reel ... This harmless bit of fluff lacks the element of surprise but is not without random charming moments supplied by its incandescent star." [3]
Jessica Reaves of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three out of four stars and described Queen Latifah as "soft, bold and very funny, infusing this otherwise predictable movie with a contagious charm." She added, "While this is not exactly a profound film, and the message is hardly new, it's testament to this movie's joyous energy that it doesn't matter in the least. We may know exactly where we're going, but the journey is so much fun, all but the most peevish audience members will find it impossible to complain." [4]
Janet K. Keeler of the St. Petersburg Times graded the film B- and commented, "Strong performances by Latifah, LL Cool J and Depardieu, who is strangely but perfectly cast, save Last Holiday from irrelevance. Latifah is more than the funny girl with attitude we've seen in Bringing Down the House, Taxi and Beauty Shop. She's got the goods to play the leading lady, and a sexy one at that. Latifah's performance here isn't as good as her Oscar-nominated turn in Chicago, but it shows off more range and a subtler touch than subsequent movies." [5]
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