*Opens Christmas Movie Recipe*
- Classic Christmas tunes (Preferably sung by cast members)
- Romance
- Quirky characters obsessed with the spirit of Christmas
- An initially cynical lead who is charmed by their festive
surroundings
- Likability
- Overt (and sometimes obvious) life lessons
- Heart (elusive but necessary)
- Poverty (optional)
*Returns Recipe to Hallmark*
I have always had a soft spot for
Christmas movies. If anything, they are an excuse to indulge in the comfortable
and cheery tunes that mark the holiday season. Right around my birthday, I turn
on the movies I’ve seen countless times – Holiday Inn, White
Christmas, and It’s a Wonderful Life – the movies that created the formula
that we have now become ultra-familiar with.
Last Christmas is a highly
engineered attempt to capture the elements audiences expect from the genre and
offer a mild twist. Even with talented (or at least prominent) individuals on
board, I came into the movie with low expectations – these sorts of things are
often imitations of classics and having high expectations is masochistic. Still,
I left the theater having been let down. The movie doesn’t have the cheer to
make up for its massive shortcomings.
The largest humbug is the story.
Emma Thompson can write. Her screenplay of Sense and Sensibility is
fantastic. Creating a formulaic yet pleasant enough story seems like a reasonable
expectation. It never quite gets there. Emilia Clarke’s character is ailing in
body and soul when we first meet her, and following a few chance encounters
with a guardian angel-like Henry Golding – can someone please get this guy a
more than one-note role? He has all the makings of a star – she’s having a
holly jolly Christmas. The twist ending falls flat.
That, however, is not the worst
part of the story. It is everything around them. The Christmas emporium run by
Michelle Yeoh (this is a Crazy Rich Asians reunion) has the right quirk,
but scenes depicting her as a giddy schoolgirl at heart come across empty and
lack the humor they were going for. The last part is especially prescient, as
there isn’t even enough humor in the story to bring a half-smile across your
face, let alone laughter.
Without the humor, the little
moments in the movie meant to elevate it beyond simple Christmas fare don’t
have the punch they need. The film is very apparent in its lack of sympathy for
Brexit yet the film’s politics seem shoehorned in, and it’s not just the
nonexistent laughs. The story relies heavily on immigrant stereotypes. They are
poor, isolated, and speak with an accent and sing songs from the old country,
and they are meant to be pitied. Some things, even in a Christmas movie, cannot
be oversimplified.
Because there are so many
problems in the story and how the characters are conceived, passing judgement
on the acting is difficult. Clarke soldiers on, trying to make the most of it,
and trying to make it seem like her transformation is earned. Golding and Yeoh
also do their best, while the rest are little more than window dressing.
I also want to take issue with
the title. If the creatives behind the film weren’t so invested in an all too
literal interpretation of the titular song’s opening line, then they should’ve
named it Change of Heart. Alas, a missed opportunity.
