ontheedgeofeverything

I don’t consider myself to be someone who typically likes Christmas movies. I’m a bit of a Grinch that way. I’m not really sure why, but there are only a handful of Christmas movies I actually enjoy watching, and none of them are romantic comedies.

You can likely imagine my surprise, then, when I went to theatres to see Last Christmas and actually quite liked it.

Starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding, Last Christmas is a 2019 British romantic comedy, says the movie’s Wikipedia page. Written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson and directed by Paul Feig, this movie tells the story of a young woman named Kate, played by Clarke, and how her somewhat pessimistic outlook on life is preventing her from experiencing genuine happiness. Kate works at a year-round Christmas store in the film, though her passion is singing. Between last-minute auditions and frantically scrambling to find a friend’s couch to spend the night on (she keeps a firm distance from her family who came to London from Yugoslavia), Kate unexpectedly meets a gentleman named Tom, played by Golding, who allows her to see things from a different perspective.

Sounds like a typical rom-com, I know. But it really is so much more than just that, regardless of what critics are saying about it.

This movie is warming, emotional, hilarious, and contains an overwhelmingly positive message about the need to help one another in such a selfish world. I had written it off before even seeing it based on some of the reviews I’ve read, but I’m glad I went to see it as it’s a wonderful example of a feel-good movie, just in time for the Holidays. Clarke is fantastic in her role as Kate, and I find her character to be one that many of us can likely relate to.

Give Last Christmas a chance and ignore the reviews. I never thought I would be saying this, but this is one Christmas rom-com worth seeing.

Image from https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/8/20952034/last-christmas-review-paul-feig-emilia-clarke-henry-golding