By: Isabella Schneider
The Christmas season is in full swing despite the fact Thanksgiving still has not happened. A classic tradition for this season is Hallmark-esque movies, complete with romance, snow, Santa, and heartfelt life lessons.
On November 8, Last Christmas hit theaters and joined the library of Christmas classics. The film follows a budding romance in London between Kate (Emilia Clarke) and Tom (Henry Golding) and as the title suggests is accompanied by songs by the late George Michael.
I absolutely adored Golding in Crazy Rich Asians and expected an equally amazing performance by him in this movie. However, his skillset falls flat at times since his character puts on a “holier-than-thou” act that can be a bit unlikeable. While he is trying to help Kate, it was aggravating seeing him consistently tell her to “lookup” and boast about how he doesn’t use his cellphone anymore.
Additionally, while the romance between Tom and Kate is very inspiring and endearing, I couldn’t really see sparks flying between the two characters. Their romance seemed forced at times, and I found it difficult to believe that Kate could fall for Tom just because he stalked her at work a couple of times.
The movie stayed true to form as a Christmas love story and fell into some of the classic tropes as a result. For example, Kate starts off as selfish but through the power of Christmas magic, she manages to become a better person.
The film managed to add a touch of modernism and political commentary to the plot by highlighting the issues of Brexit, gay marriage, and immigration. Yet, I found that this commentary was unnecessary and drew away from the main plot of Kate and Tom.
Despite its flaws, I would still recommend this movie. While Kate’s character development is a bit cheesy, it’s still inspiring to see how during difficult times we can influence and impact those around us for the better. She’s also in no way perfect and is thus a very relatable character.
The movie also manages to bring you on a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s a rom-com with some really funny scenes, but the sad twist ending is refreshing and very unexpected.
Overall, whether it be the George Michael soundtrack, the romantic flare, the magic of Christmas, or the comedy, this movie has something for everyone.
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