January 2, 2009

What if you were told that you only had a short time to live? What would you do? What would you wish you had done differently? What would you look back upon and really treasure? Well that is what Georgia Byrd was told after she hit her head on a cabinet door. She looked at this terminal illness as a blessing in disguise and changed her whole outlook on life.

You open up the movie, The Last Holiday, to see what Georgia Byrd loves to do then what she really does instead, cook gourmet meals but eat healthy, and that she works in a department store in Louisiana with little interaction in the cooking section. You find out that there is a hunk that really likes Georgia, his name is Sean Matthews. Right away you notice there is some crazy tension between the two and you could tell that each one of them is waiting for the other to ask them out. When they finally start to really talk, Georgia hits her head on a cabinet door that was open. She goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with a terminal disease.

Being the shy woman that she is, you would think she would just continue life the way she has gone about it so far until she dies. That is not the case at all. She rethinks her life and decides to quit her job, drop everything and everyone in her life, and take every ounce of money she has to take a trip to Europe and not think about how much money anything she does cost.

Here is where she really starts to enjoy her life. She decides to lodge in the Pupp Grand Hotel. Here she meets Senator Dillings of Louisiana, and some of his other associates. She has a great idea of trying to help her people (of Louisiana) by talking with the Senator and taking advantage of her assumed new rich identity. Senator Dillings shows a liking to Georgia and invites her to all sorts of events with him. Most of all of these events she has never done; skiing, base diving, gambling, and eating at gourmet events. It is at this time; nearing the end of her life that she realizes how she should have really lived her life. So sit back and relax as you watch a shy woman become the bell of the ball and see how you are suppose to live life.

Filmmaking: 7
There is nothing really special about the acting just solid and quality performances. Each actor really pulls you into the story a little more from there angle of the film. I am not a big fan of Queen Latifah, but she does manage to pull off an above average and charming performance. You can clearly see tensions rising weather it is because of love or envy. You will not be disappointed but don’t expect Oscar caliber material.

Visuals: 8
This is a movie that you will not be wowed by. It is not filled with amazing special effects. It is filled with real-time stunts, with the skiing, and you have most of the actors doing them themselves. The 1080p, 2.35:1 transfer does reveal some incredible detail, but it adds nothing to the movie.

Sound: 8
You are going to get the typical experience in 5.1 audio with this film. You are going to hear the wind fly past your face, you will hear the scratching of the skies on the snow, and you get the true feeling of being in a casino. The only problem you could have is that it is a Blu-ray only putting out 5.1 audio instead of 7.1 like it should be, and there are a couple of lines where you really have to listen hard to get every word.

Value: 7
You have a couple of extras but they are good ones. You get to see this remake and how it took 20 years to get it to the big screen. You get to see all the problems they had with getting the right cast and having the right surroundings. There are some deleted scenes and the “making of” like any other movie. Nothing is offered in HD other than the trailer.

Overall: 7.5
You are not going to be disappointed at all with Last Holiday. It is a chick flick that guys can get into because you constantly find yourself laughing. You have great scenes that remind you of vacations you have taken and/or would like to take. You can’t help but rethink your life and want to do something better with it after watching this delightfully uplifting movie.