Good Christmas movies are a rarity these days. It seems like every year we’re hit with one or two big studio Christmas films that fail to make much of an impact (last year’s The Grinch remake anyone?) and the only movies that really seem to do well with the holidays are ones that use it as a framing device for other raunchy antics (The Night Before) or horrifying events (Krampus). Enter Last Christmas, the latest from renowned comedy director Paul Fieg and featuring Hollywood heavy hitters both new and old in Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Emma Thompson and Michelle Yeoh. Named after the title of one of the greatest Christmas songs ever made and featuring a soundtrack composed entirely of George Michael and Wham! music, it has all the indicators of the next holiday classic. Except it really isn’t. Last Christmas is almost a complete mess from the get-go; full of bland, uninteresting characters, a virtually non-existent story and plenty of jokes that land with a thud rather than a roar. The only redeeming qualities that save it from being a complete disaster are the natural charm of its two leads, Emma Thompson’s hilarious performance and its killer soundtrack.
Kate’s (Emilia Clarke) life is a mess. Having recently undergone serious heart surgery she has decided to live her life independently from her overbearing mother Petra (Emma Thompson), who she believes used Kate’s illness as a way of receiving more attention from the local community. This hasn’t exactly worked out all too well for her as Kate spends her nights hopping between friend’s places and one-night stands in the hopes of having a bed to sleep in. Her singing career, which took a hit following her diagnosis, is also a non-starter, and she splits her time during the day between unsuccessfully auditioning for musicals and working as an “elf” for Christmas store owner Santa (Michelle Yeoh). Enter Tom (Henry Golding), the handsome, charming local man who spends his nights volunteering at homeless shelters and just happens to wander by Kate one fateful day. Their “relationship” (if you can call it that), blossoms from there as Kate gradually begins to drop her guard and open up her life to more meaningful connections and pursuits. Throw in your standard romantic comedy tropes and some not so expected plot twists, which don’t make a lick of sense, and you’ve got yourself a movie, albeit not a very good one.
The chief culprit here is the story, or lack thereof one. Last Christmas just doesn’t know what it wants to be and the narrative shifts constantly, picking up sub-plots and dropping some immediately whilst turning others into the main plot. It doesn’t work at all which is a shame given the potential on offer here. Emilia Clarke has spoken often in interviews about her connection to the project given her real life battle with a serious illness and you would think that this would be a gold mine and easy option for the dramatic heart of the movie. Alas it’s never really mentioned other than in passing and the film never seems to take a deep dive into any particular theme; there’s no attempt to examine the difficulties that can be imposed on relationships by illness or a commentary about the current state of Christmas and consumerism, which seems a likely avenue given Santa’s ridiculously overstuffed store full of gaudy Christmas ornaments. There’s even an attempt at a subplot about a character coming out to her strict, traditional parents which could have been a timely commentary on today’s society, and which is made out early to be a central conflict going forward, but instead is just never mentioned again. The film never rises above a surface level sheen of Christmas cheer and inoffensive humour, and instead of something resembling a story we’re given a full minute’s worth of bird poo jokes and an almost fully realized character in Kate, albeit not a very likeable one.
The selling point for the film is clearly Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding, both fresh off star turns in the final season of Game of Thrones and Crazy Rich Asians respectively. Clarke is clearly relishing the chance to play someone other than the dour, overcast Khaleesi that she is known for, beaming at least once in every single scene – not what you would expect from someone in as dire straits as her but we’ve already established that the film has no interest in exploring anything under the surface. She plays the character well, selling the fun loving and quirky girl who just wants to find her independence but is stopped at every turn, but it’s the more somber moments (few as they may be) where Clarke really gets to show a different side to Kate. Beneath the cheery exterior is a woman who has suffered some severe trauma and has clearly not healed properly by cutting off her family as she recovers. Clarke sells these scenes perfectly, clearly drawing on her own personal struggle and imbuing the character with them. Golding, in comparison, gets significantly less to work with and is all but relegated to playing the “handsome guy”, never really doing much other than shooting understanding looks while he listens to Kate’s stories or imploring her to reconcile with her family. It’s a somewhat thankless role but Golding makes it much more than it is through his natural charisma and the film takes on a new energy whenever he arrives.
Emma Thompson rounds out the core cast here and manages to outshine both leads, hamming it up as the mother of Kate: a loud, affectionate Yugoslavian woman who wants nothing except for her family to succeed, but who constantly causes trouble in her pursuit of this. Thompson is also credited as one of the writers of the film and has clearly written herself all the best jokes. She steals every scene and in a film filled with fake over-the-top cheer her character is a breath of fresh air, doling out biting criticisms disguised as tough love that offend everyone around her. A key selling point for Last Christmas was its use of the music of George Michael and Wham!; a trend which is becoming increasingly popular in today’s films. It works here better than in most of its contemporaries by not overpowering the story. These iconic songs are relegated to a soundtrack, with only the title track playing any sort of relevance to the story. It was the right choice to make and spotting one of your favourite tracks in the background is a joy and a welcome distraction from some of the nonsense it may be accompanying. A few of the bigger songs playing more of a significant role wouldn’t have gone astray to inject some life in proceedings at times but overall the blend of story and music works and is a win for the film.
Last Christmas had so much going for it: an A-list leading duo in Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding, the comedic forces of Emma Thompson and Paul Fieg both in front of and behind the camera and the catalogue of George Michael and Wham! to round out the whole package and make this a Christmas movie to remember. Whilst Emma Thompson and the music work, sadly almost everything else goes wrong and what we’re left with is a plodding, confusing, unfunny mess which will surely be forgotten long before Christmas rolls around.
Last Christmas stars Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Emma Thompson & Michelle Yeoh – In cinemas now.