Price and Seaman wanted John Candy for the main role but, after Candy's death, Latifah's agent suggested a new version starring her. Produced by Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers, the film was released by Paramount Pictures on January 13, 2006. The film underperformed at the box office, having grossed $43.3 million against a budget of $45 million and received mixed reviews from critics, though Latifah's performance was universally praised for her charm and humor.
Plot
Georgia Byrd is a shy, unassuming salesperson in the cookware department at Kragen's Department Store in New Orleans and a Baptist choir singer who longs to cook professionally. She privately records her dreams of a better life in a scrapbook labeled "Possibilities" and enjoys replicating TV chef Emeril Lagasse's gourmet recipes, serving her creations to a neighbor while denying herself the pleasure of eating them.
During the Christmas season, while flirting with handsome co-worker Sean Williams, whom she has secretly featured in her scrapbook as her dream husband, Georgia bumps her head. Taken to the store's health center for a CT scan, she is told by the company physician that she has several brain tumors resulting from a rare terminal neurological disorder called Lampington's disease.
As her HMO plan does not cover the high cost of an operation, Georgia resigns herself to having only a few weeks to live. She quits her job, liquidates her assets, and sets off on a dream vacation at the deluxe Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic's spa city of Karlovy Vary.
Free of inhibitions and determined to enjoy the final weeks of her life, Georgia checks into the Presidential Suite and buys a designer wardrobe in expensive boutiques. She then also makes extensive use of the hotel's spa facilities, attempts snowboarding and BASE jumping, enjoys succulent meals prepared by world-renowned Chef Didier, and wins a small fortune playing roulette in the casino.
Georgia impresses the hotel's staff, with the exception of the cantankerous guest services manager Ms. Gunther, with her naive manner and forthright kindness. She also mingles with some of the other guests, including Matthew Kragen, an arrogant self-help guru and the owner of the department store where she worked; Kragen's assistant/mistress Ms. Burns; and Louisiana power brokers Senator Dillings and Congressman Stewart. Kragen is wary of Georgia and suspects her of trying to sabotage his business, but the rest are charmed by her free spirit.
When Kragen bribes Ms. Gunther to dig up information about Georgia's background, she goes through her hotel suite. She finds a letter Georgia has written providing instructions for the disposal of her remains after her death. Moved by the letter and realizing Georgia's self-confidence and sunny optimism have touched everyone who has met her since her arrival, Ms. Gunther confesses to Georgia she snooped through her belongings and found the letter. She urges her to return home and spend her last days with those she loves.
Taking Ms. Gunther's advice, Georgia heads for the airport but discovers an avalanche has blocked the road. Unbeknownst to her, Sean, having learned of Georgia's diagnosis and ready to acknowledge his long-standing feelings for her, has flown to Europe and is in a taxi on the other side of the snowdrift, blocked from reaching her at the hotel.
Georgia returns to the hotel, and Sean leaves his taxi to hike across the snow on foot. Chef Didier invites her to assist him in the hotel's kitchen that night preparing an extravagant New Year's Eve feast and thanks her publicly at the party. Later, seated at dinner and incensed by the accolades and affection Georgia has received, Kragen tries to humiliate her to his companions by exposing her as a saleswoman in one of his stores, but Georgia confirms this and reveals her terminal illness.
Kragen's companions, disgusted by his insensitivity, embrace her and abandon him. Dejected and embarrassed, Kragen goes to an upper floor of the hotel and sits on the ledge, contemplating suicide. Georgia tries to dissuade this, suggesting if he were nicer and less driven by greed, he would be a happier person.
Sean arrives at the hotel just in time and joins Georgia on the ledge, confessing his affection for her and admitting he'd seen her scrapbook. In the lobby, Ms. Gunther finds a fax for Georgia stating she was misdiagnosed due to a faulty CT scanner and does not have Lampington's disease. Ms. Gunther rushes up to the ledge to announce the good news.
Georgia and Sean return to New Orleans as a couple where they open a restaurant, Georgia's Joint, which is visited by Chef Didier and Emeril Lagasse.
Cast
Queen Latifah as Georgia Byrd: The main protagonist, a shy cookware saleswoman at a retail department store with big dreams and aspirations of becoming a chef and owning her own restaurant. The untimely event learning that she seemingly diagnosed with a terminal illness encourages Georgia to quit her unfulfilling job, go on a dream vacation at the Grand Hotel Pupp and venture out of her comfort zone. She keeps a "Book of Possibilities" scrapbook, which contains everything her heart desires, from places she wants to go, foods she wants to try, people she wants to meet, and a better life.
LL Cool J as Sean Williams: Georgia's love interest who also works at the retail store. He genuinely reciprocates Georgia's feelings, though he never had the courage to admit it out loud, partly due the latter being shy and the former unsure if she feels the same way too. After Georgia receives her diagnosis, quits her job and disappears to the Czech Republic dream vacation, Sean quits his job and tracks her down (asking the clinic's physician and Georgia's neighbor) - having realized that "without [Georgia] there [at the store], [Sean] doesn't have a reason to be there." During the search he comes across Georgia's possibilities book and realizes that she does love him. In the end, he finds Georgia and proclaims his love for her.
Timothy Hutton as Matthew Kragen: The main antagonist is the arrogant, demanding and greedy owner of the retail store Georgia used to work and a self-help business magnate/guru. He feels threatened by Georgia's optimistic and wholesome personality - believing it to be an act to steer his associates and business backers away from him and makes multiple, unsuccessful attempts to humiliate her. Eventually, his insensitive behavior drives everyone away from him and causes him to hit an emotional rock bottom. In the end, the near-suicidal Kragan realizes the error of his ways through Georgia's advice to be less greedy and unhappy.
Giancarlo Esposito as Senator Dillings: a visiting Senator and one of Kragen's business associates/ backer who is attracted to Georgia.
Alicia Witt as Ms. Allison Burns: Kragen's young mistress/assistant. Her interactions with Georgia cause Ms. Burns to recognize the unfulfilling futility of her romantic relationship with Kragen and ultimately abandons him as his assistant and lover and goes back to school to finish her business degree.
Gérard Depardieu as Chef Didier: A world-famous chef who prepares the meals at the Grand Hotel Pupp and one of Georgia's culinary heroes. He detests Kragen's demands for substitutions but admires Georgia's admiration of good cuisine and becomes her mentor.
Jane Adams as Rochelle: Georgia's co-worker and friend.
Susan Kellermann as Ms. Gunther: The cantankerous, sour-faced guest services manager at the Grand Hotel Pupp. She is initially suspicious of Georgia and is more than willing to expose her when Kragen bribes her to look through Georgia's hotel suite. However, she reforms after reading Georgia's note detailing instructions for her burial and softens towards Georgia. In the end, she receives Dr. Gupta's fax of Georgia's misdiagnosis due to a faulty scanner and is overjoyed by the news and quickly tells Georgia the good news. The end credits reveal that she became a private detective.
Ranjit Chowdhry as Dr. Rabindranath Gupta: The mild-mannered physician at the store's clinic. He is so shocked and troubled by Georgia's terminal diagnosis that he becomes flustered and jittery, succumbing himself to extended periods of meditation. Eventually, he discovers that the scanner is faulty and that Georgia's illness was a misdiagnosis. In the end, he quits his job and becomes a monk in the Himalayas.
Michael Nouri as Congressman Stewart: A visiting US Congressman who notices Georgia, admiring her sense of honesty. He is accompanied by his wife, Margaret whose only line is "asshole" in regards to Kragen's behavior towards Georgia - a sentiment the Congressman agrees.
Jascha Washington as Darius: Georgia's nosy but goodhearted teenage neighbor who enjoys her cooking.
Matt Ross as Mr. Adamian: Georgia's inconsiderate boss who is almost always engaged with his flip cellphone and is borderline obsessed with Kragen's business guru advice. Georgia stands up to his bullying by smashing his phone and breaking one of his Kragen business instructional CDs. The end credits reveal that he was hit by a bus while carelessly talking on his cellphone while crossing the street.
In the original 1950 film, the leading character of George Bird was played by Alec Guinness. Screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Doc Hollywood fame) updated the story for John Candy, with Carl Reiner directing,[2] but the project was shelved after the actor's death in 1994. Years later, Queen Latifah's agent read their script and suggested they revise it for her.
The gourmet cuisine seen throughout the film was prepared by chefs from the Food Network, and recipes for many of the dishes, including Lobster Salad in Potato Leek Nests, Duck Hash on Toasted Baguette, Spiced Lamb Shanks with Blood Orange Relish, Roasted Quail with Brioche and Chorizo Stuffing, Risotto Barolo with Roasted Vegetables, Bananas Foster and Poulet Tchoupitoulas, were available on the network's website. In one scene, Georgia watches footage from Emeril Live to help her prepare a chicken. As part of the film's promotion, Queen Latifah appeared as a guest on Lagasse's show.
The film opened on 2,514 screens in the US, earning $12,806,188 and ranking number two in its opening weekend. It eventually grossed $38,399,961 in the US and $4,943,287 in foreign markets for a worldwide box office total of $43,343,248.[1]
The aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 55% based on 123 reviews, and an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Although Queen Latifah's bountiful life-affirming spirit permeates the film, director Wayne Wang is unable to revive this remake with any real flair."[3]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[4]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said the film "takes advantage of the great good nature and warmth of Queen Latifah, and uses it to transform a creaky old formula into a comedy that is just plain lovable. To describe the plot is to miss the point, because this plot could have been made into countless movies not as funny and charming as this one ... All depends on the Queen, who has been known to go over the top on occasion, but in this film finds all the right notes and dances to them delightfully. It is good to attend to important cinema like Syriana and Munich, but on occasion we must be open to movies that have more modest ambitions: They only want to amuse us, warm us, and make us feel good. Last Holiday plays like a hug."[5]
Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle stated, "Latifah's latest vehicle inexorably marches toward an ending you can see coming from the first reel ... This harmless bit of fluff lacks the element of surprise but is not without random charming moments supplied by its incandescent star."[6]
Jessica Reaves of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three out of four stars and described Queen Latifah as "soft, bold and very funny, infusing this otherwise predictable movie with a contagious charm." She added, "While this is not exactly a profound film, and the message is hardly new, it's testament to this movie's joyous energy that it doesn't matter in the least. We may know exactly where we're going, but the journey is so much fun, all but the most peevish audience members will find it impossible to complain."[7]
Janet K. Keeler of the St. Petersburg Times graded the film B− and commented, "Strong performances by Latifah, LL Cool J and Depardieu, who is strangely but perfectly cast, save Last Holiday from irrelevance. Latifah is more than the funny girl with attitude we've seen in Bringing Down the House, Taxi and Beauty Shop. She's got the goods to play the leading lady, and a sexy one at that. Latifah's performance here isn't as good as her Oscar-nominated turn in Chicago, but it shows off more range and a subtler touch than subsequent movies."[8]
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