Last Christmas hit theaters and quickly caught the Internet’s attention for about 10 days. Anymore, that’s enough to impress most people. When dealing with media saturation and the desire to be ahead of meme culture, you’re always looking for the next thing that makes everyone laugh. Sometimes, it turns out being a film that wasn’t meant to be a complete comedy.
Emilia Clarke is quite a beauty. I’m not sure if I’m fully onboard with her as an actress outside of Westeros. But, we’ll burn that bridge when we get there. Clarke plays the young Kate, who is trying to make her way in life. She’s a screw-up that many feel is wasting the second chance she got at life. That is until a mysterious stranger shows up in her life.
Henry Golding is great in the supporting romantic role. While I’ve yet to see a performance of his that truly floors me, he’s sliding into that Cary Elwes style role of being noticeable enough. For the average romantic comedy fan, that will cover them through most of the film. But, this really isn’t a comedy. It’s not really anything except for a slice of fiction trying to justify its twist.
Paul Feig is a director that gives me incredibly mixed feelings. Like many modern directors that started in TV, he seems to not understand different media delivery systems. I’d go so far as to blame him for popularizing the Line-o-Rama style of comedic fiction that puts way too much trust in actors to carry a narrative. Some can do it, while others fumble about and try to smirk for the camera.
Christmas movies don’t really gel with that kind of action, as they are formulaic. Much like the Holiday itself, certain things are supposed to happen as milestones that assure you experience the time. That doesn’t necessarily make for great movies until there is an attempt to break the formula. But even defying subgenre conceits leads to many wannabes stumbling over their feet to do something different.
The art of making a Christmas movie in the modern era requires so much now. Basically, you’re beating down a media obsessed and saturated audience with something new. But, your quest to make something new is dependent on how quick people can pick up on things. Even moreso, it hinges on what they’re willing to accept in the reality you present them.
Last Christmas was unfairly maligned for taking a chance and whiffing the results. But, damn…how do I love how a George Michael inspired Holiday outing could so brutally turn into the worst Hallmark Channel movie ever given theatrical distribution. At least, people knew Cats was going to be a turd on first sight. This little minx snuck up on you and took a dump in your shoe. I admire the sneak attack.
The Blu-ray comes with an alternate opening, deleted scenes, a different ending, blooper reel and a ton of things that make you question if there was ever a plan for this movie. The A/V Quality is pretty strong. Check out the screenshots to see that 1080p transfer and just imagine the powerful DTS-HD 7.1 master audio track. Most of you won’t, since you watch everything on your phones.
Last christmas is available feb 4th!
The dude was a ghost. He died, Khaleesi got his heart and they all learned to leave and live with the power of George Michael. Mind you that she spends the movie scaring the hell out of family and friends. That’s right, Last Christmas is a movie about a hallucinating heart trauma patient learning to be better at Christmas.
Comcast stock deserves the beating it took between this one and Cats.
