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Last Christmas deserves to be remembered as one of Britain’s greatest Christmas movies

There’s a concert at the end of Last Christmas – isn’t there always a concert? – but for some reason this one feels special. It feels unique in the way the cast are all there, united in the front row. It feels particularly powerful in the way Emilia Clarke comes on and talks about the value of being alive and trying to help others. Then when she sings the titular song, with the assistance of a chorus of London’s rough sleepers, draped in Christmas lights while her Yugoslavian parents dance in the front, it all gets a bit much. It doesn’t feel like it’s a big production piece, or a show-stopping number, or anything like that. It just feels like a real display of the power of kindness, generosity and human tenacity in the face of a very bleak world.

In fact, Last Christmas truly is a bit of a bleak midwinter: loaded with medical conditions, traumas, the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Brexit , family strife, homophobia, homelessness , crime, death... it’s a movie that manages to keep slapping you round the face with all the reasons a cosy Christmas with a nice message and a warm hug shouldn’t be possible. But Last Christmas – which seems to have been widely panned by people who expected Emma Thompson to turn out another Sense And Sensibility – is a movie about the good we achieve in the face of unwavering cruelty. It’s a movie that warms your cockles and, almost in tandem, teaches you a valuable lesson about the power of socialism. It might just be my favourite Christmas movie of the 21st century.

A brief summary: Kate, played with so much warmth by Emilia Clarke you could cook an egg on her, is an incompetent millennial struggling in the aftermath of a heart condition and subsequent transplant. She is disconnected from her family, working all year round in a naff Christmas trinkets shop in Covent Garden , and struggling to return to her dream of singing. A modern-day George Bailey, she drinks too much and crashes on friends’ sofas to try to avoid her cold yet overbearing mother (Thompson). Then, at a real nadir in her life, she encounters Tom (Henry Golding), an elusive and charming man with a strong moral compass.

Everything you think is going to follow on from that description happens exactly as you predict it will. Even the movie’s most crucial twists and turns have been pretty widely and accurately predicted from the moment the movie was teased. But Last Christmas is not a movie that is trying to exist on the merit of its plot alone, and therefore this doesn’t really matter. After all, this a movie cowritten by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings, who in their own ways are absolute masters of the character study.

Without ever being in the room, it’s safe to say both writers bring their best to the script: Thompson brings structural nous and cinematic know-how, while Kimmings seems to have filled the script with a muscular, complex understanding of trauma and deft examples of the multiplicity of modern womanhood. This is a film laden with exceptional female performances, given by exceptional women, with a script that gives them chances to shine: Ingrid Oliver and Laura Evelyn as a genuinely funny police double act; one of Britain’s most undersung actors, Rebecca Root, gets a chance to bring real empathy to the small role of Kate’s doctor; Patti LuPone makes a brief stopover, presumably in between performances of Company , to be a delightfully naive shop customer.

Perhaps the biggest success story is the dynamic between Clarke’s Kate and her boss, “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh), who provide the film with its most natural and delightful heart, aided by the film’s most natural dialogue. I would watch an entire series of these two women learning to love and support each other while also selling naff knick-knacks to great female character actors.

Critics have accused Last Christmas of a lot of things: of lacking in romance, of lacking in laughs. Last Christmas contains both – though some of the opening scenes between Clarke and Golding accelerate through familiarity at a breakneck speed it isn’t always entitled to – but it’s also reliant on some far more important traditions of the festive film: it is oddly bleak, unafraid to look at how bad the world is at a time of charity that has been co-opted to be a time of hoarded plenty. At the end of the film tiny but significant changes have been made, families reunited, old prejudices shattered. What could be better?

Does Last Christmas spread itself too thin? Of course it does! Christmas movies are supposed to be structurally brittle, stuffed with more cameos, gags and plotlines than an ill-advised turducken. Does it have some incredibly ham-fisted gags about modern dating, including a poorly named Tinder parody, which feels grafted on as a result of a last-minute lawsuit? Oh, absolutely! It is often trite, overly simplistic and falls back on trope after trope. But you know what? So are mummers plays, school nativities and nearly every Christmas movie ever made since. I will watch this movie for many, many holidays to come; a reminder that sometimes small acts of kindness can make patches of the world a bit more bearable.

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Film Review: ‘Last Christmas’

Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding are the appealing stars of a fairy-tale London romantic comedy that's too precious and contrived to take wing.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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In recent years, the romantic comedy has taken a sabbatical, at least from the big screen (it seems to have adopted temporary legal-resident status on Netflix). Yet it’s clear that one can point to the occasional exception: the puckishly delightful and moving 2017 indie hit “The Big Sick,” or last year’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” which was such an immersive cross-cultural fairy tale of love, class, and global sci-fi-surreal decor that the shimmering romance at its center was just one of its many entrancements. Even in their success, though, you couldn’t say that either of those movies exactly re-opened the floodgates of romantic comedy. So what are love-starved moviegoers to do?

On paper, “ Last Christmas ” would seem to be just what the holiday rom-com doctor ordered. It’s got two terrific stars: Emilia Clarke , from “Game of Thrones,” a wild card of an actress who plays the likably slovenly and messed-up Kate, one of those characters who can squeeze a moment-to-moment ragged exuberance out of how little they have their life together; and Henry Golding , the elegantly charismatic co-star of “Crazy Rich Asians,” who plays Tom, a mysterious stranger who is sweet and gentle and perfect in every way — and is therefore somewhat less perfect than he appears, though we spend much of the film wondering how, exactly, that will turn out to be true.

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“Last Christmas” was directed by Paul Feig, who also directed “Bridesmaids” (the finest romantic comedy of the century so far), and it was co-written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings (from a story by Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise), so it would seem to have the potential to be the kind of witty sparkling bauble we prize the genre for. In theory, the film has a number of things going for it — a spun-sugar atmosphere of confectionary longing, and the fact that it’s built around the songs of George Michael, an artist who should really be the subject of a jukebox musical (instead of “Jersey Boys,” you could call it “East End Boy,” and it could play for years), because his songs, even if you already love them, have a way of growing with time. “Last Christmas” opens in Yugoslavia in 1999, where Kate (or, as she was known then, Katarina) is singing the lead on Michael’s “Heal the Pain” in a church choir performance, and it’s gorgeous.

The other dimension of “Last Christmas” that feels promising is the fact that it unfolds in a rambunctious Yuletide version of London. In the three decades since the rom-com came roaring back, with the one-two-three punch of “When Harry Met Sally,” “Pretty Woman,” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” the genre, as it went through its ups and downs, was often saved by an injection of British sauciness. It happened in 1994, with “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” and in 1999, with “Notting Hill,” and in 2001, with “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” Sure, Hugh Grant starred in all those films, but it was about more than him — it was about the way that Andie MacDowell, Julia Roberts, and Renée Zellweger found stylish new ways of jousting, playing off that English blend of reticence and acidity, serving up the sentiment with a bittersweet edge.

And yet…as much as we go into “Last Christmas” eager to see a nicely wrapped package of acerbic fun, the film falls short of that. It’s not so much clever, toasty, and affectionate as it is the faux version of those things. It’s twee, it’s precious, it’s forced. And it’s light on true romance, maybe because the movie itself is a little too in love with itself.

Kate, who emigrated to England with her family from Yugoslavia to escape the terrible war there, now works as a clerk in one of those year-round Christmas boutiques. Her boss, played by Michelle Yeoh, calls herself Santa and drops quirky obscenities that the movie presents way too winkingly. Kate is the aggravating and adorable screw-up, who treats the customers like crap and keeps doing things like forgetting to lock the door at night, which allows a burglar to come in and trash the place. (That’s her karma.) But when she spies Tom outside the shop, gazing into the sky (it turns out he’s looking at a bird), she has found someone who can set her straight.

Tom is a dapper dude, so old-fashioned in spirit that he seems to dance when he walks. The two keep running into each other, and he turns out to be the kind of free-spirited, low-maintenance knight — he doesn’t carry a cell phone! he volunteers in a homeless shelter! — who’s like a parody of rom-com gallantry. But as much as I hate to say it, the whole movie plays like an unintentional parody of romantic comedy — it seems caught between flakiness and an out-of-date sort of whimsical sincerity.

Kate and Tom’s relationship consists of hanging out. And talking. And saying goodnight. And doing it all over again. There’s no conflict, no momentum, no dramatic-comedic spark plug. (But there’s a trick the film’s going to spring on you.) One of the ironies of the Wham! song “Last Christmas,” which obviously figures majorly in this movie, is that it became a Yuletide radio perennial even though it’s not really a Christmas song; it just sounds like one. (It’s a George Michael broken-heart song.) “Last Christmas” extends the irony by taking the lyrics so literally that when the movie does its big reveal, you’re not sure whether to swoon or collapse into vaguely annoyed giggles.

Kate, we learn, is such a scattered personality because she can’t stand her family, especially her mother, one of those noodgy Slavic matriarchs who speaks in an accent as thick as goulash and guilt-trips her children the way most of us breathe. Her name is Petra, and she’s played by Emma Thompson, who’s supposed to be so lugubrious she’s hilarious, but the only real joke is that we know, under the trappings, that it’s her. For a movie that comes on like it’s tweaking stereotypes, “Last Christmas” has a distinct tendency to stumble into them — like, for instance, the way it exploits the Michelle Yeoh character’s broken English, or treats Kate’s decision to volunteer at the homeless shelter as a signifier of her enlightenment (how 1980s!). Even a rom-com should have room for a wild feeling or two, but “Last Christmas” is an example of a romantic comedy that just about connects the dots, if not the sutures, to put its heart in the right place.

Reviewed at Bryant Park Screening Room, New York, Oct. 30, 2019. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 102 MIN.

• Production: A Universal Pictures release of a Perfect World Pictures, Feigco Entertainment production. Producers: Erik Baiers, Jessie Henderson, David Livingstone, Emma Thompson. Executive producer: Sarah Bradshaw.
• Crew: Director: Paul Feig. Screenplay: Emma Thompson, Bryony Kimmings. Camera (color, widescreen): John Schwartzman. Editor: Brent White. Music: Theodore Shapiro.
• With: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Root, Lydia Leonard, Patti LuPone, Madison Ingoldsby, Ingrid Oliver, Rob Delaney, Peter Serafinowicz.

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Last Christmas review: Emilia Clarke romantic comedy plays like an expensive Hallmark film

The film’s crowbarred subplot about post-brexit xenophobia initially feels like a queasy attempt to stay relevant, article bookmarked.

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Dir: Paul Feig. Starring: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson, Rebecca Root, Lydia Leonard. 12A cert, 103 mins

Christmas is inherently trashy. There’s the garish, spiky strands of tinsel and the itchy novelty jumpers; the sloppy, drunken corporate get-togethers and the feigned niceties shared between people who absolutely despise each other. So shouldn’t a good Christmas film be a little trashy, too? That seems to be the logic behind Last Christmas , a star-studded romcom that plays like an expensive Hallmark film. It’s also meant to be, as the title suggests, inspired by the songs of George Michael. They appear on the soundtrack, but the musician’s presence is barely felt.

You’ll be able to guess the entirety of the film’s plot from the moment Tom ( Henry Golding ) bounds on to the scene like a labrador puppy. He’s developed a habit of crossing paths with Kate ( Emilia Clarke ) at random, only to conveniently slip away the moment she has a chance to ask him what his deal is.

Who is this man? Why is he so carefree? How does he have the time to volunteer at a homeless shelter? Why does he keep dancing around like a little Victorian chimney sweep? All of these questions frustrate Kate as much they intrigue her, as if his perfection were mocking her. She can barely keep her life on track: her dreams of becoming a West End star have gone down the drain, she’s couch surfing because she’s too stubborn to move back home, and has lost all enthusiasm for her job at the Christmas shop in Covent Garden. Her family all rallied around her when she was ill – very ill – last year, but now their patience is starting to wear thin.

The 20 best Christmas films - ranked

That’s until Tom starts her on the path to personal redemption and mental recuperation. A connects to B, everyone has a good time, and it all ends in a big singalong. Last Christmas is not a film for those seeking dramatic intrigue, but simply exists for anyone wanting to marinate in something deeply pleasant for an hour and a half. The script – based on a story by Emma Thompson and her husband Greg Wise, but written by Thompson and Bryony Kimmings – keeps the humour light and fluffy. What feels refreshing, however, is that everyone gets their chance to shine. The film’s director, Paul Feig, lets us see completely new sides to these performers (in much the same way Feig’s last film, A Simple Favor , featured a revelatory turn from Blake Lively).

Clarke has spent years frowning and bellowing about dragons; here we finally get to see the person we’re so used to off camera. She’s funny, self-effacing, and in possession of a set of eyebrows so expressive, they deserve their own tiny Academy Award. Golding, too, has already proven he’s skilled at listening intently and supportively to a woman’s problems. Here, he gets to do that – and also run around like a complete goofball (there’s a Bond impression in there that will almost certainly have the internet’s rumour mill working overtime for the next few weeks). Even Michelle Yeoh – as Kate’s cutting, but ultimately supportive boss – gets her share of one-liners.

The film’s crowbarred subplot about post-Brexit xenophobia does initially feel like a queasy attempt to stay relevant. Kate and her family came to the UK as refugees from former Yugoslavia. Her mother (Thompson) now cowers in her home, watching news reports of right-wing demonstrations. The idea never really goes anywhere.

But there’s a subplot within a subplot here that feels like it should have been worthy of greater investigation. Kate’s full name is Katarina, but she refuses to be called by it, spending much of the film constantly reasserting her own Britishness. You never really find out why, but by the end, she’s reclaimed her heritage and no longer seems to be hiding from that part of herself.

A better film might have had more to say on the matter, but Last Christmas ’s ambitions are much more humble. If it’s made you feel festive, it’s done its job.

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Last christmas, common sense media reviewers.

Musically inspired romcom has big heart; language, innuendo.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The key to happiness is helping others. Unplug and

Tom is a positive force in Kate's and others' live

A fish is unintentionally electrocuted. An acciden

Kate is sexually assertive and has casual sex with

"S--t" used frequently. Also, sexual terms like "d

Setting is at an actual touristy outdoor shopping

Kate is a heavy drinker, and several scenes take p

Parents need to know that Last Christmas is a holiday romcom that centers on Kate ( Game of Thrones ' Emilia Clarke), who survived a life-threatening illness and now shows signs of depression. She engages in reckless behavior -- drinking too much, acting irresponsibly, and hooking up for casual sex …

Positive Messages

The key to happiness is helping others. Unplug and engage. Appreciate life. Addresses anti-immigrant sentiment (hate, xenophobia).

Positive Role Models

Tom is a positive force in Kate's and others' lives, helping them get through their daily struggles. London is a diverse city, and the movie reflects that, with characters representing a range of ethnicities, sexual orientations, disabilities, and nonstereotypical gender roles. Kate and her parents were refugees who immigrated to England. Homeless people are portrayed humanely.

Violence & Scariness

A fish is unintentionally electrocuted. An accident results in a trip to the hospital. Immigrants are hatefully told to "go back to where you came from."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Kate is sexually assertive and has casual sex with men she meets in bars or via dating apps; one scene has her waking up in a man's bed, apparently naked under the covers. Mention of a woman who runs a brothel.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"S--t" used frequently. Also, sexual terms like "d--k," "penis," "shag," "snog," "wanker." Plus variations of "hell," "damn," "crap," "bollocks," "tosser," "Jesus Christ" (as an exclamation), and "oh my God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Setting is at an actual touristy outdoor shopping mall in London. Stores seen in the background include Coach, Stuart Weitzman, and Simpsons.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Kate is a heavy drinker, and several scenes take place in a bar. A mother and her adult daughter bond by doing shots.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Last Christmas is a holiday romcom that centers on Kate ( Game of Thrones ' Emilia Clarke ), who survived a life-threatening illness and now shows signs of depression. She engages in reckless behavior -- drinking too much, acting irresponsibly, and hooking up for casual sex (nudity is implied in at least one scene) -- and is on the verge of being homeless. Her parents fled to England during Yugoslavia's civil war, and the movie addresses anti-immigrant sentiment. The film is quite diverse; characters represent a range of ethnicities, sexual orientations, disabilities, and nonstereotypical gender roles. There are also positive representations of a same-sex couple (a subplot involves them being forced out of the closet) and residents of a homeless shelter. The benefits of doing service work and unplugging to engage with the world around you are some of the film's messages. Swearing is mostly "s--t" and British sexual slang ("wanker," "shag," "snog"). Henry Golding ( Crazy Rich Asians ) and Emma Thompson co-star, and the film heavily features music from George Michael and Wham! To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (11)
• Kids say (21)

Based on 11 parent reviews

Good movie but some language issues to be aware of

It's a shame for emma thompson to accept a role like this., what's the story.

In LAST CHRISTMAS, we meet unlucky Londoner/aspiring singer Kate ( Emilia Clarke ), who's made many poor decisions, including taking a job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Her overbearing Yugoslavian immigrant mother, Petra ( Emma Thompson ), and her friends are worried about her, especially after a life-threatening illness. As the true Christmas season approaches, Kate keeps running into Tom ( Henry Golding ), a big-hearted volunteer who seems to inspire her to turn her life around. But she worries that he might be too good to be true.

Is It Any Good?

British holiday romcoms are expected to deliver a little naughty and a whole lot of nice; Thompson's latest screenwriting effort does both, but the film doesn't twinkle as much as she does. Thompson came up with the story and wrote the script based around the music of her friend, the late George Michael. Thompson's voice is prominent; in fact, Kate's dialogue sizzles if you picture Thompson saying the lines rather than Clarke. Golding proves that he could easily play romantic heroes for the rest of his life, especially when he's channeling Cary Grant, as it seems he intentionally does here. Last Christmas is cute enough and delivers some surprises, but the scene stealer is unquestionably Thompson. She plays Petra with witty conviction, whether she's trying to understand the English translation of a dirty joke or singing Christmas dirges.

What's disappointing is that the film is based on a Captain Obvious-level pun. Happiness and sentimentality are delivered on a platter, along with rousing songs and a happy ending, but when the twist is revealed, tears will be shed -- and eyeballs will roll. You may not see it coming, but in the end it feels like the idea of the film came from two giggling teens. Entire TV networks are dedicated to churning out Christmas movies during the holidays, and cheese and corn are always the first two ingredients. But somehow it feels like one of the grand dames of British cinema should have offered something a little meatier.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can discuss the connection between gratitude and happiness. Do people feel happier when they're helping others? Why?

How does Tom act with integrity and compassion ? Why do you think he inspires Kate to be a better person and to appreciate life?

Discuss the romantic comedy genre: How does this film stack up? Why do you think audiences are drawn to these kinds of films? What does Last Christmas tell us about love compared with other romcoms?

Talk about the diversity in the film: Do you think it's an accurate take on what you'd see in a major city? Why is representation in the media important?

The film was written around the music of George Michael. How does it compare with movies made using the music of other artists (like Blinded by the Light, Yesterday , Mamma Mia! , etc.)?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 8, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : February 4, 2020
• Cast : Emilia Clarke , Henry Golding , Emma Thompson
• Director : Paul Feig
• Inclusion Information : Female actors, Asian actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Romance
• Topics : Holidays , Music and Sing-Along
• Run time : 102 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : language and sexual content
• Last updated : January 15, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘last christmas’: film review.

THR review: Emilia Clarke plays a woman getting unsolicited life lessons from a handsome stranger (Henry Golding) in Paul Feig's holiday-themed romance 'Last Christmas.'

By John DeFore

John DeFore

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It’s at the point when two mutually infatuated strangers break into an empty skating rink, gliding gracefully around while the rink’s sound system magically plays something appropriate, that a movie lover of a certain age and background might realize that Paul Feig ‘s Last Christmas isn’t a strangely off-target Yuletide romance: It’s a gender-flipped remake of 1980’s Olivia Newton-John vehicle Xanadu .

Emilia Clarke plays the troubled artist who has lost touch with her own gifts; Henry Golding is the mysterious, inspirational dreamboat who, instead of giving our heroine his phone number, simply shows up whenever he’s most needed; and the late George Michael, unable to compose a suite of new pop songs as Electric Light Orchestra did, has provided an entire back catalog for the filmmakers to choose from.

Release date: Nov 08, 2019

The similarities may or may not end there. Last Christmas is not as radiantly, lovably bad as Xanadu , though there may be some impressionable young viewers (especially those with serious crushes on Clarke and/or Golding) who will remember it fondly four decades from now. It’s a misfire by just about any measure, but it earns some warm feelings for its determination not to be like anything else currently in circulation. Sure, it concludes with the obligatory British rom-com singalong; but that’s the most ordinary thing in this peculiar, heartfelt romance about learning to move past trauma and finding meaning in helping others.

Opening credits inform us that Last Christmas , written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings, is inspired by the Michael holiday classic of the same name. Linger on that tidbit at your peril: Midway through the film, as you’re still wondering what doomed romance Clarke’s Kate is supposed to be getting over here (there isn’t one), you may suddenly understand the bad-pun liberties the script has taken with Michael’s lovesick lyrics; and if you do, you’ll likely guess things the pic doesn’t yet want you to know. Consider taking things at face value — or looking for more Xanadu parallels — instead.

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Kate is a between-apartments Londoner who has burned nearly every bridge in her life — careless with others’ trust, she’s couch surfing with the few remaining friends who’ll put her up while going on auditions for singing gigs she’s not prepared to get. She works in a year-round Christmas store, wearing an elf costume and hawking tacky ornaments for the boss (Michelle Yeoh) she knows only as “Santa.”

To her horror, she may soon have to move back in with her family, finally answering the countless messages left by her suffocating mother Petra (Thompson). Petra is an immigrant who fled Yugoslav wars around 1999, and is still haunted by those memories. Her effect on her daughter is summed up by the ringtone the latter has assigned to her phone calls: Fine Young Cannibals’ 1989 hit “She Drives Me Crazy.”

One day at work, Kate notices a handsome man standing in front of the shop. She goes out to meet Golding’s Tom, who’s staring up at a rare bird on a ledge. Quickly put off by his ostentatious sense of wonder, she shoots him down when he asks her to go for a walk: “I’m busy, you’re weird, bye.”

But Tom keeps showing up, swinging by on his bike until she goes wandering with him. Behavior Feig and Golding seemingly intend to be charming may come off to some viewers as weirdly condescending: Tom keeps insisting that Kate “look up” to see the things she walks by every day — a mildly amusing bit of street art, say, or the narrowest alley in London. (Clearly, the city’s tourist bureau had no input into the script.) He chides her about the lousy food she eats, tells her she should ditch her distracting phone as he has, and twirls around when she might rather have him stare meaningfully into her eyes. He doesn’t tell her to smile more, but he might as well.

Now and then, he ghosts her, forcing her to hunt for him at the homeless shelter where he volunteers. (Well, of course he feeds the hungry when he’s not making people feel guilty about under-appreciating their hometown.)

Kate does wind up, after some especially careless drunken misbehavior, having to move back home. Mom isn’t nearly as bad as everyone makes her out to be, but she is something of a one-note downer, fond of breaking into dirge-like folk songs from the old country and worrying that Brexit signals a return to hard times. (The script takes a couple of opportunities to show sympathy for the targets of anti-immigrant anger.) The high-energy domestic angst will amuse some viewers, but it’s a distraction from the more credibly screwed-up aspects of Clarke’s performance: Kate’s a wreck for her own reasons, and even when the character is feigning obliviousness about the havoc she wreaks, the actress takes her lost-ness seriously.

Kate is puzzled by Tom’s take-it-slow approach to their budding romance, and is perhaps sublimating some desires when she starts volunteering at the shelter when he’s not around — busking in her elf costume to raise money for the charity’s Christmas pageant. At least she has Michael’s songs to comfort her. Though it pegs her as a fan in opening scenes, the movie does little to explain the ubiquity of his music here; given how well the songs suit most (if not all) of the places they’re used, perhaps there’s no need to explain. The Hugh Grant/Drew Barrymore film Music and Lyrics is more interesting for viewers fascinated with the phenomenon of Michael’s pop stardom (even if it creates a fictional stand-in for the singer), but Last Christmas does justice to many of the songs themselves, and not in an overbearing, Mamma Mia! kind of way.

Little can be said about the final act without stealing the film’s thunder. But a viewer who hasn’t been put off by one thing or another in the pic’s first hour may well go along with its last left turn. Those who do will be rewarded with Clarke’s vaguely Amy Winehouse-ish rendition of the title track — horn section, elf costume and all.

Production companies: Calamity Films, Feigco Entertainment Distributor: Universal Cast: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson Director: Paul Feig Screenwriters: Emma Thompson, Bryony Kimmings Producers: Erik Baiers, Jessie Henderson, David Livingstone, Emma Thompson Executive producers: Sarah Bradshaw Director of photography: John Schwartzman Production designer: Gary Freeman Costume designer: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus Editor: Brent White Composer: Theodore Shapiro Casting directors: Alice Searby, Fiona Weir

Rated PG-13, 102 minutes

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With her creamy wardrobe of tasteful neutrals and dreamy mansion in the Paris suburbs, Léa Drucker ’s Anne has created an impenetrable exterior for herself in “ Last Summer .” At least, that’s how it looks from the outside.  

But Anne doesn’t know she’s the main character in a Catherine Breillat movie, and so she – and we – are up for some upheaval. The provocative French auteur is back with her first feature in more than a decade, and at nearly 76, remains as curious and clear-eyed as ever in her depiction of women’s sexuality. There’s no judgment in her portrayal of Anne’s torrid, taboo affair; her downfall will occur regardless of what we think of her. Breillat’s approach is technically intimate yet tonally detached -- languid as a summer’s day, sometimes unbearably so, and often uncomfortably warm. 

When we first meet Anne, though, she’s coolly in command. A lawyer who works on behalf of teenage sexual assault victims and other young people in peril, she’s doing meaningful work that also means something to her. She’s compassionate yet firm as she questions her latest client, preparing this young woman for the interrogation she’ll surely endure in court. Anne is efficient and capable but also impossibly chic, and Drucker makes her wholly captivating from the start. 

But that façade begins to crumble when her wealthy, older husband, Pierre ( Olivier Rabourdin ), announces that his 17-year-old son from his first marriage has screwed up again, and he’d like to have him move in with them for a while. Pierre and Anne already have adorable, adopted daughters who bring youthful cheer to the home. Inviting this young troublemaker is an unwelcome disruption. 

Once the shameless (and frequently shirtless) Théo arrives, we can feel a bristling tension between him and Anne from the start. With his shaggy hair and lanky limbs,  Samuel Kircher makes Théo the picture of teenage rebellion. And yet, we also catch glimpses of a goofy, gooey interior when he plays with his younger sisters, who worship him. In time, an unlikely conspiratorial bond forms between Anne and Théo, which turns to furtive scooter rides and afternoon drinks, which turns to more once Pierre conveniently leaves town on business. Breillat holds her camera in long takes, letting us linger in the moment as they smoke and drink in the backyard, their body language growing a little too familiar. The constant wine consumption serves as a lubricant over these long, lazy days.  

So when Anne and Théo finally give in to their attraction, it simply feels like a given. Of course, this was going to happen. Breillat once again shoots these scenes with unbroken simplicity, holding the shot long after the act is over, giving us time to interpret the look on Anne’s face. This is unsexy sex, but it’s clearly transformative. 

“Last Summer” is a remake of the 2019 Danish film “ Queen of Hearts ,” but Breillat makes the material her own in her signature, uncompromising manner. Once this incest-adjacent affair is on the verge of being exposed, the tension changes; the slow buildup of whether they’ll get caught shifts to the intensity of the potential damage to come. And yet, Breillat maintains a matter-of-fact tone throughout, allowing the power to come instead from Drucker’s masterful performance. We watch as she morphs seamlessly from showing the defenses of a caged animal to becoming the predator herself, gaslighting her accusers. The hypocrisy of Anne’s acts , given the kind of law she practices, is obvious, but Breillat is experienced enough to know she doesn’t need to spell that out for us. Quite the contrary – we see Anne harness all those expert interrogation techniques to turn the tables on anyone who dares come for her.  

Oddly, you might find yourself rooting for her to get away with it all – and then realize you feel uncomfortable about the fact that you’re rooting for her to get away with it all. Such is the complicated sorcery of a Catherine Breillat film.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Last Summer (2024)

104 minutes

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Last Christmas review ★★★★ ★

Bridesmaids director paul feig and emma thompson team up for the rom-com with a cast plucked straight from our christmas wish-list including emilia clarke and henry golding.

By Ella Kemp on 13/11/2019

The film finds a simple starting point in its namesake. In 1986, Wham! released a song called Last Christmas , since covered into oblivion. It’s with this material that Dame Emma Thompson wrote a script, passed it over to playwright du jour Bryony Kimmings, and sent it off to director Paul Feig to bring it to life. It’s a somewhat puzzling origin, but the resulting film is light on its feet and goes down as easily as a cup of warm (never too hot) and sweet (but never sickly) mulled wine.

Kate is a chaotic 20-something who’s having career troubles, family troubles, friend troubles, and heart troubles – her love life isn’t the best, sure, but she’s also recovering from major heart surgery from the year before.

No single element of Kate’s life is excessively prodded or exploited. She’s imperfect in many ways, but her character resists annoying clichés by keeping dialogue sharp and her performance kind. She, refreshingly, has a rich personality – fears, loves, resentments, wants.

She fears loneliness, loves George Michael, resents her family and wants to be a singer. Clarke looks right at home, with a smile wide enough to knock out every Christmas light on Oxford Street, and eyes that emote painfully and comically with ease.

She, of course, meets a boy – but there’s something different about Tom Webster. She’s spiky, he’s smooth, there’s balance between them from the first chance meeting. It’s perfect casting here, too – Golding made his major debut with Crazy Rich Asians , playing an impossibly wealthy and handsome love interest. Money isn’t the issue now, but Golding’s Ken-doll good looks, almost disarming in their lack of flaws, actually serve the narrative and shape his intrigue effectively.

The story, as with Feig’s previous features, finds a brain-expanding or mind-numbing twist, depending on how you slice it. But the strength of Last Christmas is that even if you think you’ve guessed the big reveal, there’s ample material to enjoy in the journey leading up to it.

Here is a charming, mellow Christmas rom-com, but also a hamper full of razor-sharp observations on modern-day dysfunction, both introspective and societal, symptomatic of 2019 Britain. The script boldly tackles precarious seasonal employment, homelessness, depression, immigration… and there’s even a Brexit moment.

But these themes aren’t addressed through wry winks or blasé in-jokes. The film is committed to the truth of the country these people live in – however much artificial snow might be dusted over it during the festive season.

And yet, somewhat ingeniously, this serious edge also melts when needed. There’s an earnest, enormous heart to the film, pumped by selfless and generous kindness, led by Clarke’s panoramic warmth. It feels impossible to stay frosty against it.

Emilia Clarke

Henry golding, emma thompson.

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'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' trailer: Lauren Graham, Judy Greer, and Pete Holmes star in holiday movie

First look at the book turned film, from director dallas jenkins.

It's Christmas in July this week, with the first look at the upcoming holiday movie The Best Christmas Pageant Ever . The film, directed by Dallas Jenkins ( The Chosen ), features stars Lauren Graham, Judy Greer, and Pete Holmes.

The new trailer for the film, being released November 8, teases a "Christmas miracle." It starts when Greer's character Grace is responsible for her town's 75th annual Christmas pageant.

"It's going to be the best Christmas pageant ever," she tells her family, including her husband Bob (Holmes).

But when a group of six children, The Herdmans, with a reputation of being some poorly behaved kids, show up to be part of the church show, Grace is facing pressure to kick them out.

"We'll be missing the whole point of the story if we turn them away," Grace says in the trailer.

Based on the book by Barbara Robinson, Graham will play the film's narrator, who is still expected to have an on-screen moment.

Jenkins has been on a 15-year journey to try to get the rights to the novel "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" , to make this film.

"Fifteen years ago my wife and I brought home the book, 'The Best Christmas Pageant Ever' and read it to our kids for the first time, and cried like babies," Jenkins says in a video posted online . "I laughed out loud, I cried out loud, I couldn't read, I was crying so hard."

"I said, when I finished reading, I have to make this movie. Unfortunately the rights were somewhere else. ... I kept getting told no, that I couldn't make it. ... I would prepare things, I would write things, I had notes in the book, I pictured what the movie would look like, what it would feel like. And then finally a few years ago I checked in on the rights again, they told me that the studio had forgotten to extend it, and that the mom of one of the rights holders was a big fan of The Chosen and told him, 'You've got to work with this guy.' ... This is a dream come true for me."

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Official Discussion: Last Christmas [SPOILERS]

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Kate harumphs around London, a bundle of bad decisions accompanied by the jangle of bells on her shoes, another irritating consequence from her job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Tom seems too good to be true when he walks into her life and starts to see through so many of Kate’s barriers. As London transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, nothing should work for these two. But sometimes, you gotta let the snow fall where it may, you gotta listen to your heart.

screenplay by Emma Thompson, Bryony Kimmings

story by Emma Thompson, Greg Wise

Emilia Clarke as Kate

Madison Ingoldsby as Young Kate

Henry Golding as Tom

Michelle Yeoh as "Santa"

Emma Thompson as Adelia

Rebecca Root as Dr. Addis

Lydia Leonard as Marta

Lucy Miller as Young Marta

Patti LuPone as Joyce

Ingrid Oliver as Police Woman Crowley

Rob Delaney as Theater Director

Peter Serafinowicz as Theater Producer

Peter Mygind as The Dane

Rotten Tomatoes: 40%

Metacritic: 50/100

After Credits Scene? No

A Very Merry Spoiler-Filled Review of "Last Christmas"

Consider yourself warned.

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‘Last Christmas’ Review: When Holiday Movies Go Very, Very Wrong

By David Fear

Kate ( Emilia Clarke ) is in a rut. Long ago, as a girl growing up in Yugoslavia circa 1999, she was a songbird who could turn George Michael’s “Heal the Pain” into a transcendental choral experience. Decades later, she’s a young woman who drinks away her pain in London’s pubs and manages to alienate her most loyal friends. Don’t get her started about her family: Dad ( Boris Isakovic) was a former lawyer who now drives a cab; Mom (co-writer Emma Thompson ) browbeats everyone; her sister (Lydia Leonard) isn’t speaking to her. Occasionally, she auditions for roles in musical theater productions like an ice-skating version of Frozen. Mostly, Kate half-heartedly works at a year-round Christmas decorations store. She is a lovable, quirky fuck-up, U.K. Toxic-Twee division.

But soft, what light through yonder retail shop’s window breaks? His name is Tom ( Crazy Rich Asians’ Henry Golding). He’s so very handsome but also so very annoying, Kate thinks, what with his constant bike-riding and unimpeachable optimism and endless requests that she “look up.” Because that’s how you see the wonders of the everyday world that are above you and all around you, if only you took the time to notice them! Kate mocks his sunny disposition. Tom forces her to be nicer to people, and to herself. Except the manic J. Crew dream hunk has a habit of taking off at inopportune moments — the guy “works nights,” you see — or disappearing altogether, and then mysteriously reappearing when our heroine is at her lowest. But in the meantime, she starts volunteering at the local homeless shelter, and acts as a matchmaker for her boss (Michelle Yeoh) and a distinguished Dutch customer (Peter Mygind) who the older woman likes and calls “Boy,” which … just … never mind.

Even if you haven’t paid attention to the slight internet chatter around Last Christmas, you can sense some sort of big reveal is looming on the horizon. In fact, you can probably identify exactly what said climactic curveball is if you’re paying a smidgen of attention, especially when talk of some vague past illness Kate has suffered begins to surface. When your worst fears are confirmed — and then doubled down on — it doesn’t cause your heart to go pitter-patter so much as make your blood boil with rage. The are-you-serious turn that the film treats as deep is admittedly on-brand, however. This is the kind of movie that also mistakes obvious and cloying for clever, ham-fisted for subtle, and merely stringing together George Michael tunes as some sort of homage.

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Right, the Michael factor: The title takes its name from Wham’s melancholy 1986 ditty, which took on a new level of poignancy when the singer passed away on December 25th, 2016. (Remember this date.) After Thompson was approached with an offer to pen a script based on the song, the British screen icon, her collaborator/husband Greg Wise and her cowriter Bryony Kimmings instead conceived a Christmas movie that borrowed heavily from his music. And while the end result never goes full Mamma Mia with the idea, it does mean that, for example, a scene of Kate waking up will be accompanied by a video of Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.” When she sings a lullaby to heal her pain, it turns into “Heal the Pain” on the soundtrack. A montage of the couple experiencing a rush of blissful freedom is set to the strains of “Freedom ’90.” The fact that Kate’s increasingly smitten glances at this enigmatic beau do not cue up “I Want Your Sex” feels like a missed opportunity, but if you’re like us, you will feel a nostalgic pang upon hearing Michael’s songs again. Cherish that feeling of good will. It is in very short supply here.

Which brings us to the genuine spoiler here: Last Christmas is bad. Incredibly, shockingly, monumentally bad. The kind of bad that falls somewhere between finding a lump of coal in your stocking and discovering one painfully lodged in your rectum. The kind of bad that you get when you bring together people of enormous talent and then are forced to watch them flail around, lost and flop-sweat desperate, attempting to make a romantic comedy that is mind-bogglingly short of both elements. The kind of bad where you might literally hear the tolerance messaging — same-sex unions, homelessness, anti-immigrant prejudice, Brexit — being ticked off a checklist were it not drowned out by the sound of everyone patting themselves on the back. The kind of bad that you get when you aim for that Richard Curtis sweet-spot à la Love Actually and actually land, face-first, into a pile of garbage just like your lead character. Yes, Clarke’s Kate is a mess. She can’t begin to compete with the movie she is in. You pray for a trio of dragons to swoop from the sky and burn the whole thing to the ground, incinerating prints of the film as an added bonus. (We’re kidding, of course. Films are no longer shown in multiplexes via prints.)

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How this managed to devolve into such a tainted-tinsel disaster is, frankly, a more intriguing mystery than the one at the center of the story. Clarke has all the makings of a screwball comedian. Golding has screen presence and charisma to burn. On paper, the notion of Thompson telling dick jokes in a thick Eastern European accent sounds hilarious; we’re also talking about the woman who wrote the screenplay for Sense and Sensibility, the gold standard for how to do modern lit-classic adaptations correctly. Paul Feig directed Bridesmaids, Spy and numerous key episodes of NBC’s The Office. Even if you don’t dig the tune that gives the movie its name, George Michael’s back catalogue is emotionally resonant and eminently ripe for the full-soundtrack treatment. Who couldn’t use a story doused in the milk of human kindness?

Individually, the ingredients seem foolproof. Add it all together, paced like a slowly leaking faucet and cut together in a way that makes you wonder whether the editors were being chased by the police, and what you get is a flavorless mishmash. It makes sense that Last Christmas isn’t coming out at the end of December but right on the cusp of Thanksgiving. It’s a bona fide holiday-movie turkey.

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‘It makes me cry with laughter!’: readers recommend 15 fabulous Christmas films

Festive movies have never been more popular – and there’s nothing like a classic. Here are some to enjoy now, from Scrooged to Paddington to You’ve Got Mail

Scrooge (1951)

The original Ebenezer is, of course, Alastair Sim. Ideally, I like to watch this on an old videotape with the early 1980s BBC logo and announcer before the film starts. Every Christmas , we would watch Mr Sim transform from a hard, cold, pastry-faced man into a very huggable uncle. Just thinking about it makes my eyes well. I sit down with my kids to watch Scrooge as often as I can get away with it, and I’m always moved by this wonderful film. Cait Hurley , trainee Alexander technique teacher and domiciliary carer, Mitcham

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

I first fell in love with this film age 14, while staying at my cousin’s house for the Christmas holidays. One scene that comes to mind is Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) decorating the Christmas tree in the window of her bookstore and mentioning the Joni Mitchell song, River. I watch You’ve Got Mail every year, but it was only last Christmas, in the furrows of heartbreak and missing a loved one deeply, that I listened to what Kathleen actually says in this scene, as she talks of how she “misses her mother so much she almost can’t breathe”. I paused the film to listen to River, as tears streamed down my face. It soothed my heart through Christmas and well into the new year. Mustafa Ahmed , web designer, Manchester

Pelišky (Cosy Dens, 1999)

This is a Czech film about families living in a flat in 1967 in Prague. It is set around the Christmas holidays and presents generational conflicts with both humour and sadness. I watch it every year with my mother, who is originally from Slovakia. We are the only family members who live in the United States, and it helps to connect us to our culture every Christmas. Maya Kavulicova , student, North Carolina, US

Serendipity (2001)

For my wife and I, this film starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale is the one that heralds the festive season. It’s a hugely underrated film with a big heart, brilliant soundtrack and sparky dialogue. We watch it every year during the last weekend in November and our bottom lips always tremble when Nick Drake’s exquisite Northern Sky begins to play over the film’s final moments. It was also the music we chose to play when we walked down the aisle. James Tuck , Thirsk

Bernard and the Genie (1991)

Bernard and the Genie is a BBC movie from the 90s. My mum taped it off the TV and my brothers and I just loved it. Lenny Henry plays a genie (who was friends with Jesus). He discovers the modern world and how enjoyable Christmas is. Rowan Atkinson plays the bad guy, and Alan Cumming is a man who’s down on his luck before finding the lamp. It’s full of Christmas cheer – everybody should watch it at this time of year . Angelo Virciglio, assistant operations manager at a GP practice, Waltham Cross

A Christmas Story (1983)

I have a weakness for A Christmas Story. It was filmed in Toronto, and although it’s set in the 40s in Cleveland, it reminds me of home. In some scenes, you can see the old Red Rocket streetcars that I used to take to university in the 80s. The film’s snow and night sky look just like what we experience in Canada. I can also relate to getting bundled up by your mum before braving the cold outside – the scene where Randy can’t lower his arms is accurate. Adrienne Matte , artist, North Vancouver BC Canada

The Snowman (1982)

The Snowman always brings a tear to my eye. I watch it with my mum every Christmas Eve without fail, followed by The Bear (1998) – at which point she goes off to wrap presents while I continue to watch, like a child. The scene where the little boy and the snowman turn to hug each other and say their final goodbyes gets me every time. A beautiful Christmas classic. Anna Edgell , graphic designer and illustrator, Leeds

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

To me, a Christmas film is the kind of movie you can watch whenever it happens to be on – no matter if it’s just beginning, halfway through, or nearing the end. In that sense, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a great Christmas movie: it’s one of the best films starring the great John Candy; it is very funny and touching; and it never gets old. That the movie is actually about Thanksgiving is no problem for non-Americans – it’s still about time spent with family. Aris Tekelenburg , the Netherlands

Remember the Night (1940)

This is a film that rarely makes Christmas film lists – but it should. It was written by Preston Sturges and was the film that convinced him that directing his own work was the way forward – leading to some of the great screwball comedies, such as The Lady Eve (1941) and Sullivan’s Travels (1941). But Remember the Night is a brilliant, and brilliantly melancholic piece of Hollywood studio-era counter-holiday programming. It’s the first, and best, of the four films pairing Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. If saccharine holiday movies set your teeth on edge, give Remember the Night a go: it captures the sorrows and joys of Christmas in equal measure – and how family can be both a blessing and a curse. Tim Palmer , university professor, Wilmington, North Carolina, US

Trading Places (1983)

I love Trading Places, because craziness on screen gives us permission to be wacky, and original in real life too. I love that, when the rich character played by Dan Aykroyd loses his money, he becomes just as desperate as we can all become on a bad day; the scene where he drunkenly eats smoked salmon on a bus while dressed as Santa is etched into my mind. Each of the actors is brilliant, every character is believable, and the moral of the tale is great – but most importantly, it is very funny. Magali Fradet, acupuncturist, Javea , Spain

Scrooged (1988)

I saw Scrooged at the cinema with my dad in 1988 and I’ve watched it most Christmases since. It’s Bill Murray’s snidest performance. He’s perfect as Frank Cross, a TV exec who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve, during a live broadcast. I laugh every time I see it. It features the best comedy fall on film (when Frank slips leaving the restaurant), Karen Allen’s sweetest performance, and a lot of heart. True, it gets cheesy towards the end, but thanks to all the laughs, this film gets away with it. James Keaton , west London

Paddington (2014)

When Paddington was released, I had been working in Australia. A hold-up at the immigration department delayed my return home, meaning I wasn’t sure I would make it back to Blighty for a family reunion. Thankfully, my visa came through and I made it back in time for a trip to the cinema to see Paddington. As we watched, my brother and I relived our youth, when we first listened to the Paddington stories on a very old, battered tape, narrated by Bernard Cribbins. We had also been big fans of the Paddington board game. There was much laughter and nostalgia – and when we got home, we made marmalade sandwiches. Helen, secondary school teacher, Manchester

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

This is a great film at any time of year, but at Christmas it has an extra piquancy. It deals with fate, memory, age, abandoned dreams and thwarted desires. It’s about the value of life. It is anchored by a range of excellent performances and, having seen it at an early age, it was so long until I saw it again that I began to think I’d dreamed it. I only had to abandon it once: it was just after my father, who passed on his love of films to me, had died. I sat down to watch it, but kept bursting into tears, so I had to stop. Adam Kimmel , retired, London

My wife and I love the slapstick, frenetic pace and gentle send-up of the Christmas tradition in this film. We also appreciate the acting, from Will Ferrell’s totally over-the-top characterisation to James Caan’s impeccably straight portrayal of the long-lost father. Bob Newhart also plays a deadpan elf, giving the film a slightly hallucinatory feel. When Buddy gets super excited about Father Christmas coming to Gimbel’s, we cry laughing. It ticks all the Christmas film boxes: humour, sentiment, snow, elves and a nicely characterised Father Christmas. As they grow older, my daughters appreciate different jokes in the film too – it will always be a family favourite. Peter , architect, London

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

My dad took me to see this at the cinema when it first came out. We have watched it together every year since, so we both now know the entire script by heart. As a child, I loved Cindy and absolutely wanted to be her friend, but as I’ve got older, the Grinch is becoming increasingly relatable. He has some classic quotes that I use daily, to the frustration of my family. The humour is very much my taste – sometimes silly, sometimes dark, lots of jokes with hidden meanings. It is hilarious and timeless. Anonymous, Blackburn

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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Official Trailer

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a drama fantasy adventure film based on the book entitled The Best Christmas Pageant Ever written by Barbara Robinson and distributed by Lionsgate.

The film centers on the Herdmans – absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. But this Christmas, they’re taking over their local church Pageant – and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever stars Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Elizabeth Tabish, Lauren Graham, Kirk B.R. Woller, Vanessa Benavente, and more. The film is directed by Dallas Jenkins and the screenplay was developed by Darin McDaniel & Platte Clark, and Ryan Swanson and Dallas Jenkins.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will be in theaters nationwide on November 8.

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Last Christmas: The Reviews Are In, And Critics Are Tearing Apart The Film Based On Wham!'s Song

Entertainment Editor, HuffPost UK

“Brutally unfunny”, “forced” and “a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift that’s filled with rotten turkey leftovers” – these are just some of the ways critics have described the new festive film Last Christmas .

The movie had been much-hyped given the fact it’s based on Wham! ’s beloved Christmas song of the same name, but first reviews have suggested it’s not actually a welcome gift this festive season.

The project had some big names involved, as not only does it star Game Of Thrones favourite Emilia Clarke and Crazy Rich Asians star Henry Golding, it was written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson , and directed by Bridesmaids’ Paul Feig.

What’s more, it’s also soundtracked by George Michael , featuring many of his hits with Wham! and as a solo artist.

However, none of these ingredients seem to have been enough to impress the critics, who’ve had a lukewarm-at-best – and completely-savage-at-worst – response to the film...

“What did George Michael do to deserve this? Why should the singer-songwriter and former Wham! frontman be associated with a brutally unfunny and contrived romantic comedy when he’s no longer around to object?”

The Guardian (2/5)

“It might look the part, with the director Paul Feig successfully capturing the glossy, tourist-friendly London one would crave from such a film, but the script feels like a rejected first draft with unfunny filler one-liners and a scrappy, ill-thought through narrative. It’s a beautifully wrapped Christmas gift that’s filled with rotten turkey leftovers.”

“As much as we go into Last Christmas eager to see a nicely wrapped package of acerbic fun, the film falls short of that. It’s not so much clever, toasty, and affectionate as it is the faux version of those things. It’s twee, it’s precious, it’s forced. And it’s light on true romance, maybe because the movie itself is a little too in love with itself.”

The Hollywood Reporter

“It’s a misfire by just about any measure, but it earns some warm feelings for its determination not to be like anything else currently in circulation.

“Little can be said about the final act without stealing the film’s thunder. But a viewer who hasn’t been put off by one thing or another in the film’s first hour may well go along with its last left turn.”

Empire (3/5)

“The damp chemistry between Golding and Clarke takes some time to light, but eventually does so in the hands of a sweet, smart, funny script by Emma Thompson (who also plays Kate’s difficult mother), Greg Wise and Bryony Kimmings...

“While it won’t be remembered as one of the great Christmas films, Last Christmas delivers enough moments of heart and humour to keep the festive spirit alive.”

Digital Spy (3/5)

“It doesn’t all quite come together for a true Christmas classic, even if it wears its tinsel firmly on its sleeve. There’s plenty of festive feels in Last Christmas, but it’s hard to imagine you returning to it year after year.”

Emma Thompson previously revealed she’d had George Michael’s blessing to write the screenplay to the film prior to his death on Christmas Day in 2016.

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon back in October, Emma said she had met with George to discuss getting the project off the ground.

“He was just the loveliest guy you could imagine,” she said. ”[He loved] all of these themes in the movie; he was passionate about homelessness, and he had this great social conscience.

“I wish he was here because I know he’d love it, because the film’s like being hugged.”

She added of his music in the film: “Heal The Pain, which is my favourite of his songs, it’s like it was written for the movie. He said that.”

Last Christmas is also set to feature a new posthumous track from George Michael , This Is How, after his estate gave permission for it to be used.

The song received its first play on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show on Wednesday morning.

Last Christmas is released in UK cinemas on 15 November.

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‘Last Summer’ Review: A Shocking Affair to Remember

Few directors get as deeply under the skin as Catherine Breillat, a longtime provocateur who tests the limits of what the world thinks women should do and say and be.

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By Manohla Dargis

When Anne, the elegant, enigmatic protagonist in Catherine Breillat’s “Last Summer,” walks in a room, she holds your gaze as formidably as she holds those of everyone in this startling, perverse French movie. A lawyer, wife, mother and sister, Anne likes sheath dresses and high heels, tasteful antiques and a sense of order. She’s serenely self-possessed, and everything in her life is just so, which suggests that she’s either invincible or waiting to break. Both are in play when she abandons herself in a shocking, recklessly consuming affair.

Few directors get as deeply under the skin as Breillat, a longtime, reliably interesting provocateur who tests the limits of what the world thinks women should do and say and be. Breillat is interested in complexity, not orthodoxy (feminist or otherwise), in autonomy and subjugation, and in all the ways that pleasure and desire can take violent hold of minds and bodies. She was in her 20s when she directed her first feature, “ A Real Young Girl ” (1976), about a teenager’s sexual coming-of-age. It’s a messy, jolting movie; there aren’t many filmmakers who shock you like Breillat does and with such supremely natural ease.

Anne, played by a superb Léa Drucker, seems wholly satisfied in her world. She and her loving, attentive husband, Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin), have two sweet girls, and live in a large, handsome suburban home. She’s close to her sister, Mina (Clotilde Courau), and Anne’s work seems satisfying and perhaps even important: She advocates for victims of sexual abuse and in cases involving parental custodianship. Outwardly, her life looks ideal, if maybe overly comfortable, and its frictionless surfaces — especially in a French movie about upper-class people — seem primed for disruption. Even so, nothing about her suggests that she will soon lose herself in an affair with her 17-year-old stepson, Théo (Samuel Kircher).

When “Last Summer" opens, Théo is living with his mother and has just been arrested. Pierre has decided to bring his son back home with him, a decision he explains to Anne while the couple are in their bedroom, an intimate setting that is as meaningful as it is banal. As Pierre hurriedly packs his bag, Breillat discreetly pushes the camera closer to him as he and an offscreen Anne talk. The scene is brief, and seemingly purely informational. Yet right after Pierre says that Théo punched a teacher, Breillat cuts to Anne who’s busily changing her clothes. Her dress is hiked over her face, exposing her trim body and pretty bra.

Within minutes, Breillat has introduced both her characters and their world with brisk narrative economy and a sly, telegraphing conflation of sex and violence: the bedroom, the couple, the son, the punch, the lingerie. The movie has scarcely begun yet everything, including the complacency and first stirrings of trouble, is in place. These stirrings abruptly turn into klaxons when Théo arrives shortly thereafter, and Anne goes to speak to him. The moment that he appears onscreen — he’s on the bed in his room, his messy dark curls cascading over his face — it’s clear that he is this movie’s version of Chekhov’s gun.

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Everything you need to know about the big reveal in 'Last Christmas,' which was obvious from the first trailer

• The new holiday rom-com "Last Christmas" has a twist ending that many people guessed based on the very first trailer .
• Here you'll find a full explanation of how the ending unfolds. 
• The movie is still really enjoyable , even if you know spoilers about the story. 
• Though it does leave us with some questions about the logistics of Kate and Tom's relationship.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

"Last Christmas" is a standard holiday rom-com, or at least that's what director Paul Feig wanted audiences to believe . But the movie actually ends with a bleak twist — one people saw coming from the moment the first trailer was released. 

Now that "Last Christmas" is in theaters, let's talk about that ending. If you want a non-spoiler peek at the movie, read Insider's review here.

Warning: Spoilers for "Last Christmas" ahead.

'Last Christmas' ends with the reveal that Kate's love interest, Tom, is actually dead. He literally gave her his heart the year before in a transplant surgery.

Emilia Clarke stars in the movie as Kate, a woman in her mid-20s who underwent a traumatic hospital experience the year before "Last Christmas" takes place. At the movie's start, Kate is spiraling. She doesn't have a consistent place to live, is dangerously close to losing her job, and has been alienating friends and family. 

Enter Tom (played by Henry Golding). He's a charming and aggressively optimistic stranger who starts visiting Kate at work. He tells Kate that he's a bike courier who volunteers at a nearby homeless shelter, and that he has stashed his cell phone in a cupboard, choosing to unplug from technology and instead live his life engaged with his surroundings. 

Throughout the movie, Tom is often the one in control of when he and Kate see each other. He pops up, usually right when Kate is upset or in need of a pick-me-up. When she tries to find him at places like the homeless shelter, no one seems to know about the guy. 

Eventually, Kate tries to pin Tom down during one of their talks. She mentions that the way she feels about him seems like a good indicator that they're in a relationship. Tom does not return the sentiment.

Tom tells her, as gently as possible, that she can't depend on him. Kate is hurt and upset, and leaves.

After this, Kate seems to set about a sort of mea culpa tour. She makes overdue apologies to the people she's hurt and pushed away. She throws herself into a project (a fundraising concert at the homeless shelter). 

And eventually, she goes to what she thinks is Tom's apartment in order to patch things up.

But a different man is inside, and Kate is confused. She had once spent the night in this apartment with Tom, though he refused to lay down with her in the bed and do anything beyond sing a George Michael song and kiss her goodnight. 

The guy inside the apartment is a broker or real estate agent — he's there to show the apartment to people interested in renting or buying it. Kate is overjoyed to find a cell phone in the kitchen cupboard. It must be Tom's, right?

But then the realtor mentions that the previous owner of this apartment died. 

His name was Tom.

The movie then cuts quickly between flashbacks to a hospital and Kate having a dreaded realization inside this apartment. Tom had been biking in the city last Christmas when a car struck him and killed him. He was brought to the hospital around the same time Kate was being wheeled inside. She needed an emergency heart transplant, and Tom was an organ donor. 

She literally has his heart. 

This twist ending was predicted by many people who saw the movie's first trailer, and connected the dots to George Michael's song

The movie was written by Emma Thompson, Bryony Kimmings, and Greg Wise, who took their inspiration from the discography of pop icon George Michael (but mainly the song lyrics for "Last Christmas").

Between the literal interpretation of the lyrics, "last Christmas I gave you my heart," and the trailer showing Kate lamenting about Tom "disappearing" all the time, it wasn't that hard to deduce. 

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But director Paul Feig was surprised to see such rampant speculation.

"I was very shocked by it," Feig told Business Insider's Jason Guerassio . "I didn't expect putting a trailer out for a rom-com would result in this 'Matrix'-like speculation."

He also tried to put an end to the theorizing.

"Anything anybody thinks they know about this movie is not correct," Feig told RadioTimes in September . "It's just a lovely Christmas movie!"

Emilia Clarke told IndieWire it was "bloody annoying" that people seemed to be spoiling the movie online. She says Thompson wrote several iterations of the script, working to try and make sure people would be surprised. 

"It was only ready when their friends didn't see the twist coming and couldn't guess until it happens, so that's where it comes from," Clarke said. "It's just frustrating."

But that plan clearly didn't work. The twist is fairly easy to see coming, especially after so much online theory-swapping. 

Knowing the twist doesn't ruin the movie — it's still a sweet and fun Christmas rom-com

The movie isn't  really a love story. It's the story of Kate's struggle recovering from heart surgery and figuring out how to feel OK in the world again. The ghost (angel?) of Tom appeared to her and helps her get back on a track towards happiness and away from the clear spiral she was in. 

Like many rom-coms, and especially the holiday subgenre, "Last Christmas" is a bit hammy and a relatively shallow movie. But it's still surprisingly emotional, and carries a heartwarming message.

The twist reveal with Tom might have been better executed if the movie went on to reveal that he was appearing to Kate thanks to special Christmas magic or something. "Last Christmas" is close to the narrative of "It's a Wonderful Life," but without the clear explanation that an angel has been sent to help a person in need. 

Instead, Kate wanders teary-eyed through the city as she thinks back to all the times she and Tom were together. Now we see the scenes as they really happened, where Kate was alone, and talking to herself. 

Kate walks to a park where she and "Tom" had sat on a bench and kissed and talked. We're see that the bench has a plaque on it dedicated to Tom.

"Take care of my heart," the Ghost-Tom tells Kate. "It was always going to be yours, one way or another."

Then the movie jumps forward two weeks to Kate's Christmas concert fundraiser. She is in cheery spirits, and speaks to the crowd about the importance of kindness. Kate says that helping each other is what makes people happy.

Then they sing George Michael's "Last Christmas," and we see Kate later spending time with her family for a holiday dinner. 

The final scene of the movie is set later that spring. Kate, looking generally happier and at peace, sits on Tom's bench and writes in a journal. She looks up at the blue sky and smiles. 

Even if you saw the twist coming a mile away, the overall experience of seeing Kate find her way back to a happier life is rewarding and heartfelt (all the more because Clarke herself recently revealed her personal experience of life-threatening surgery thanks to two brain aneurysms).

The movie never answers a few logistical questions about Kate's experiences with 'Tom'

In general, the viewing experience of "Last Christmas" is best left at the surface level. There are simply too many logistical questions that appear when you start trying to really figure out how a ghost visited Tom.

But there are some mysteries we couldn't help pondering as the credits rolled. 

What was that random phone doing inside the cupboard of Tom's old apartment? The realtor was confused by its presence, and it's awfully coincidental that Tom's excuse for never giving Kate a way of contacting him was actually there in real life. 

The movie also never explains how Kate got inside the apartment on the first go-around. Ghost-Tom brought here there late one night, but how did Kate get past the locked front door of the apartment building? When Kate returns, she has to be buzzed up by the realtor. 

As for Kate's love life, the movie implies that she may have found a real man to date. As she volunteers at the shelter, Kate befriends one of the staff workers there. He's extremely cute, and sends some signals to Kate that he might enjoy a date with her sometime. 

We don't see him again after Kate's realization about Ghost-Tom. It would have been nice to know for certain that Kate had opened herself up to a relationship with a real fella, but instead "Last Christmas" leaves this to the imagination. 

"Last Christmas" is in theaters now. For more on the movie, read our review here .

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Review: In ‘Last Summer,’ an illicit relationship takes root in all its messy provocation

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There’s no defending what Anne, a successful lawyer and mother, does when she begins an affair with her 17-year-old stepson, Théo, in the incandescent French drama “Last Summer.” And the director, Catherine Breillat , does not try to defend her, nor condemn her. That’s because her bracing new film is above all a study of human behavior, when the follies of desire knock even the most settled life off its axis.

Taboo French dramas can still conjure up the image of old-school art-house cinema promising forbidden pleasures. But Breillat is a sharp-eyed veteran of provocation with a purpose. She’s spent decades revamping how the movies portray sex, love and the power dynamics and complicated attractions between men and women. “Last Summer” shows us Anne (an incredibly nuanced, frankly Oscar-worthy performance from Léa Drucker) and gives us not highbrow titillation but one woman in full.

The film opens audaciously with Anne at her law office, prepping a tearful teenager for testifying about a sexual assault. She warns her client about how she may be judged. Then Anne drives home to a life of sun-kissed bourgeois comfort: two adorable little daughters, a hardworking and sincere husband, a tree-shaded house. Maybe she’s bored by dinner parties, but Anne chops it up with her scrappy sister and loves her family.

Théo (newcomer Samuel Kircher) moves back home in the wake of problems at school and concerns from his dad, Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin), Anne’s husband. The kid looks the part of a summer crush, but there’s a coltishness and a petulance to him, which neither Kircher nor Breillat plays as cool. The unruffled Anne probably regards Théo as a household problem to be managed, more Pierre’s project anyway.

The days pass in indifferent cohabitation, until we start noticing Anne’s flicker of interest, which first manifests itself in her going AWOL to join Théo at a tavern. The believability of the ensuing mess depends on the supreme talents of star and director: Drucker, in showing how an otherwise civilized person glides clear-eyed straight into disaster; and Breillat in nailing all the nitty-gritty craft of finely tuned camerawork and blocking that doesn’t get nearly enough credit but creates an emotional reality.

The unpredictable buildup around their first kiss exemplifies Breillat’s mastery, happening while Pierre is away on business as the two look at something on a cellphone. When Anne and Théo do have sex, she says it must never happen again, but of course it does. Without centering sex scenes or seduction, the narrative makes it clear that the affair continues, while Anne almost absurdly tries to conceal it from her husband. There’s nearly a “don’t go into the basement!” quality to witnessing Anne’s helpless fascination and the pair’s libido-addled decision-making.

One of the film’s three sex scenes lingers on Anne’s orgasmic pleasure, in a shot that Breillat says she modeled on a Caravaggio painting. We witness her fulfillment as a sexual being but within a wildly inappropriate relationship. She is unmistakably jazzed; at one point she’s shown cruising in her car to a demonically catchy Sonic Youth song.

Uncomfortable stories have been Breillat’s passion since her debut feature, 1976’s “A Real Young Girl,” about a teenager exploring her sensuality with no heed for propriety. That film was held back from release for decades, more because its protagonist’s freewheeling desire was all about her, not the audience looking at her. (In a recent press interview for “Last Summer,” Breillat casually observed, “Eroticism is men gazing at women as consumer goods.”)

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Nov. 22, 2023

Since then, Breillat has gone on to create one of the world’s foremost oeuvres chronicling how women and girls experience sex and understand their sexuality (comparable in some ways to the films of Jane Campion). The standouts range from 2001’s “Fat Girl,” about a 12-year-old’s sexual awakening alongside her older sister on vacation, to the crushing game of sexual succession in her Asia Argento-starring period drama “The Last Mistress.”

Throughout her career and in “Last Summer,” Breillat has zeroed in on unequal and even harmful dynamics, because she recognizes both the realities of oppressive gender relations and the fact that self-discovery often involves transgression, whether society approves or not — which it mostly does not, she argues, when it comes to female sexuality.

If anything, “Last Summer” is more commercial-looking and less shocking than much of Breillat’s previous work, but her eye and her insights are sharp as ever. Her own story bespeaks an iron-willed mind that won’t quit: Now 75, Breillat soldiered on after a stroke in 2004 that left her partly paralyzed and contributed to the 10-year gap since her last project.

Her latest movie arrives in a filmgoing landscape where, until quite recently, people griped about the sexlessness of new releases. Well, Breillat’s been here the whole time, and with “Last Summer” she roars back once more.

‘Last Summer’

Not rated In French, with subtitles Running time: 1 hour, 44 minutes Playing: Starts June 28 at Landmark’s Nuart Theatre, West Los Angeles

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‘Last Christmas’ Review: A Forgettable Holiday Trifle

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It’s difficult to write this Last Christmas review because I saw the movie less than 12 hours ago and I’ve already largely forgotten it. Perhaps that’s the intent of this kind of disposable holiday fare—to make for a nice date night during the Christmas season and nothing more—and yet one would expect the film to leave a greater impact given the talent involved. It’s got Paul Feig ( Bridesmaids and A Simple Favor ) directing a script co-written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Emma Thompson . It’s got great actors in the lead roles. There’s nothing particularly offensive about Last Christmas , but it’s far less than the sum of its parts. It’s a nice movie, but one that fails to stick around the second the credits start to roll.

Kate ( Emilia Clarke ), a die-hard fan of George Michael ’s music, is a human trainwreck in London working in a year-round Christmas store for “Santa” ( Michelle Yeoh ), the shop’s demanding but good-hearted owner. Kate’s life has kind of gone off the rails since she got sick a couple years ago, and now she spends her days alienating her family and friends while pursuing her dream of becoming a singer. While working at the shop one day, Tom ( Henry Golding ) comes into her life and his saintly demeanor and effervescent charm not only start to win Kate over, but inspire her to take stock of her life and work to be a better person.

Last Christmas is the worst kind of movie to review because it’s not particularly good and it’s not particularly bad. It just kind of exists. There are some good one-liners, Clarke and Golding show again why they’re part of the next generation of movie stars with their effortless charm and comic timing, and Feig directs all of it with a nice holiday sheen that gets you in the mood for the holiday season. There’s nothing wrong Last Christmas that you can point to and say, “Aha! That’s why the movie doesn’t work!” or “This aspect really makes it stand out and shine!”

There’s nothing broken about the movie, but everything it does reminds you of how it was better utilized in another film or TV show. Fleabag casts a heavy shadow over Last Christmas because not only is Kate a young woman living in London whose life is a mess, she also has an overachieving sister whom she loves but their relationship is strained. It’s nice to weave in the music of George Michael throughout, but it almost feels like his song “Last Christmas” was the starting point and then the rest of his music was largely dumped in because who doesn’t like George Michael? And then there’s a plot development you can probably see a mile away if you’ve watched the trailer. I won’t say much about it other than it doesn’t really add anything other than making Last Christmas feel like an odd assortment of other stories without one of its own.

Holiday movies are admittedly tough. You have to work within a particular framework and usually have to be comforting in some sense. Comfort and familiarity go hand-in-hand, and Last Christmas is nothing is not familiar. That doesn’t make it a “bad” movie. It’s the kind of movie that will pop up on a streaming service in a year or so and people will give it a shot because Clarke and Golding will likely be even bigger stars than they are now, and folks will watch and be like, “That was nice.” The problem is there are a lot of other nice Christmas movies out there as well and they’re likely to find a place in your heart rather than just passing time.

• Emma Thompson

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Last Christmas

Reviewed by: Charity Bishop CONTRIBUTOR

Selfishness / self absorption / carelessly hurting other people / fall of mankind

Lying / deception

The self-destructiveness of sin

Heavily self-focused women who party frequently, drink too much , and sleep with multiple men (strangers)

Self-loathing

DEPRESSION —Are there biblical examples of depression and how to deal with it? Answer

What should a Christian do if overwhelmed with depression? Answer

What is SEXUAL IMMORALITY? Answer

SEXUAL LUST outside of marriage —Why does God strongly warn us about this? Answer

PURITY —Should I save sex for marriage? Answer

TRUE LOVE —What is true love and how do you know when you have found it? Answer

Compassionate and giving men

Selflessly helping others

For a follower of Christ, what is LOVE —a feeling, an emotion, or an action? Answer

Aspiring singers

Singing auditions

Music in the Bible

Mother and daughter conflicts

Lesbian sister / sister sister conflicts

What about Gays needs to change? Answer — It may not be what you think.

Read stories about those who have struggled with homosexuality

Christmas shows

POVERTY —What does the Bible say about the poor? Answer

About the POOR in the Bible

Homeless people / homelessness

Christian homeless shelter ministries

What is FAITH and why is it important? Answer

CHURCH —Why should Christians go to church? How important is it? Answer

Heart transplants / being a receiver of a donated heart

C hristmas is the time of good cheer, egg nog around the fire, decorating gingerbread houses… and watching sweet, romantic, feel-good holiday-themed movies with your loved ones. Though “Last Christmas” tries to jingle with the holiday spirit, it just doesn’t have enough of the right kind of magic .

Kate ( Emilia Clarke ) has a long history of bad decisions. One night stands? Been there, done that, still doing it given half the chance. Booted out of her flat for not paying the rent? Yup. Forgets to lock up at the store? Oh, yeah. Decked out as a cheerful green elf year-around hasn’t quite managed to keep her life on track, much to the distress of her boss, officially known as “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh). But at least it brings Tom (Henry Golding) into her booze-soaked hemisphere.

The cheerful, fun-loving young man does everything Kate doesn’t, including slowing down to smell the holly and take an interest in the people around him. He even volunteers at the homeless shelter several times a week. He encourages Kate to stop being so selfish, and look around her. Which, she has to admit when she’s forced to go home and face the humiliation of her mother knowing she’s failed yet again, doesn’t sound half bad. There are lots of things she can do to “fix” her life, right? But… to do it, she’s going to have to confront something she does not want to confront: the mistakes she has made, and the event that changed her life. And somehow, she has to figure out how Tom fits into it.

On paper, this movie sounds great. It’s about a selfish, confused young woman who matures into a better person. She, in a sense, finds the light… but, in true secular fashion, there’s no Jesus involved. There is, however, an interesting twist. I don’t want to spoil anyone for it, but some Christians might take issue with it, so I’ll include it as a spoiler paragraph at the end of this review. Kate is a likable heroine, despite her faults, and she has an abundance of them. She drinks, sleeps around, and brings a guy to her friends’ home, in the process breaking their house rules. But as she opens up, and learns to care, Kate becomes more selfless and giving. She starts volunteering at the homeless shelter, she learns to recognize the love her family gives her, and she decides to do something worthwhile with her life. And that’s great.

Less enjoyable are the abundant content issues, the jokes at Baby Jesus’ expense, and that the film tries too hard to be funny, leading to a few truly cringe-worthy moments . Since Emma Thompson helped write it, I had high hopes for it, but it’s just not that memorable, despite her hilarious performance as Kate’s paranoid immigrant mother. (This may be a jibe at anti-immigration laws.) Many scenes reference Kate’s promiscuity (she wakes up in a guy’s bed, uses his shower – no nudity – and is discovered by his girlfriend). Kate puts the moves on Tom, but he does not reciprocate (she is confused as to why he simply lays her down and tells her to rest, rather than wanting anything more). A family makes lesbian jokes; in a flashback, a girl makes eyes at another girl in the church choir.

The violence is minimal (a woman drops a hairdryer into a fish tank, electrocuting the fish and blowing all the power circuits in the house). We see events leading up to a person being killed in a bus accident. Lots of British slang, profanities, and other terms turn up, along with Christ’s name being abused a half dozen times; God’s name is misused ten times. A long conversation revolves around a part of a man’s anatomy and how to say it in a foreign language. Kate gets visibly drunk twice. A woman lies to the police to cover up a mistake. Kate and Tom break into an ice skating rink. When hearing immigrants speaking a different language, a man screams at them to go home. A bird dumps into a woman’s eye.

Each year, several family-friendly streaming and cable networks turn out a bunch of clean romantic Christmas movies. I couldn’t help wishing, as I watched this, that this had been one of them. More commitment to the twist in a miraculous or divine sense and a little less content would have made this a memorable annual tradition.

***SPOILER*** The audience learns Tom is not real, but either a ghost or a figment of Kate’s imagination, owing to her having his heart. He died in the accident that gave her a new lease on life. Since many people who have received heart transplants exhibit unusual behaviors (interests, likes/dislikes changing, or taking up something the donor loved to do), it’s not a huge leap, story-wise, to believe Kate is taking on some of Tom’s personality traits. But for a believer, a more meaningful twist would have been Tom’s confirmed presence (the film never explicitly tells us whether he came back to help her or not) or an angel, sent to help her realize the meaning of her life.

• Profane language: Heavy— • “ J*sus Chr*st ” • “J*sus” • “ Chr*st ” (2) • misuses of God’s name (13) • “ h*ll ” (6) • “ d*mn ”
• Sex: Heavy— • fornication (not explicit) • much vulgar sexual dialog
• Drugs/Alcohol: Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderately Heavy— • “d*ck” (8), including “I will nail you to my d*ck” • “w*nker” • “tosser” • “bollocks” (4) • “Being pushed up my v*g” • “Did you shag him?” • “sodding” • b*gger(s) • “bl**dy” • s-words (10) • “cr*p” (2) • “p*ss” • “spontaneously wee”
• Violence: Mild
• Nudity: Minor
• Occult: Minor

What is LOVE , for a follower of Christ? Answer

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.