Normally, I give myself a set of rules for the annual movie advent calendar. They usually include something like “Initial airing must occur on or after December 1.” A lot of the networks nowadays like showing Christmas movies in October and I’m not down with that. So I try to limit my Christmas viewing to, you know, the actual Christmas season. Last Christmas breaks that rule since the movie came out in theaters on November 8. We’ll just pretend it came out this weekend, agreed?
The movie stars Emilia Clarke as Kate, a selfish party girl that can’t get her life together. One day, she meets the mysterious Tom (played by Henry Golding). She begins to fall in love with him, which begins her quest to fix her terrible ways.
So, yeah, without giving away any spoilers, that is pretty much the plot of the movie. You can’t expect anything too deep with a movie based on a Christmas song. Yes, this is based on Wham’s “Last Christmas.” And now that song is stuck in your head. You’re welcome.
Both my husband and I have low opinions on Christmas movies so we weren’t expecting a lot when we entered the theater. I did expect the showing to have a low turnout since the movie has been out for almost a month. Surprisingly, quite a few people were there. The fact that the closest theater still showing it only had one time for it might have helped.
As for the movie itself, my husband and I agreed that the movie wasn’t awful. None of the actors were bad. I think our favorite was Michelle Yeoh as “Santa.” The plot was boring but that was kinda expected. I think my only real issue with the movie was that both Kate and her sister, Marta, had very British accents despite the fact that their entire family was from Yugoslavia. (Yes, the movie even shoehorned in some Brexit references.)
For some references, in the United States, Last Christmas came in fourth in the box office its opening weekend. Considering I only recognized the title of one of the movies that placed higher (Doctor Sleep, Midway, and Playing with Fire), I would consider that a win for a holiday themed romcom. Do I recommend you see it? Not really. But I suppose there could be worst ways to spend your time.