Queen Latifah takes "a bumpy ride through predictable territory" in Last Holiday. Wayne Wang directs this remake of the 1950 Ealing comedy in which Alec Guinness starred as a lonely soul who throws caution to the wind after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Although critics agree that Latifah boasts a lot of onscreen charm, this was another disappointing vehicle for her.
Outbound
One of two deleted scenes set this reviewer straight concerning a plot point - Jascha Washington doesn't play Latifah's onscreen son (as originally thought), but a neighbourhood kid who hangs around her house all day, eats his meals there and worries about her personal problems. That said, the criticism that her character deserts him to spend her last days living it up in Europe still stands. If only the bit where she hands the boy the keys to her car had been included in the final film then we could have avoided this confusion - it otherwise serves no purpose. Meanwhile the second scene finds LL Cool J (as Sean) getting into a European cab and struggling with the language barrier. At least 'cliché' is one word in the French language the writers should be familiar with.
Packing Light is the standard studio slick featurette, which sets up the premise of the film and packs in a lot of waffle about the casting. There is a smattering of behind-the-scenes footage from the Austrian Alps, but director Wayne Wang doesn't say much about that except that it was so cold he couldn't bear it. Latifah mentions that, "I learned how to snowboard just for this movie", but unfortunately we don't get to see her on the practice run.
Long Haul
Costumes and production design come under brief discussion in Last Look. We're told that the New Orleans set was deliberately "claustrophobic" with "muddy" colours and "low ceilings" to contrast with the grandeur of Europe. Similarly, Latifah makes the transition from a grubby cardigan to a bold and flashy wardrobe to reflect her character's growth. Frankly, if this were any more obvious, it would be written in sequins and stitched onto her ball gown.
The only featurette that comes close to an edifying glimpse behind-the-scenes is 23 Years In the Making. The film's producers, along with writers Jeffrey Price and Peter S Seaman, talk about the long and winding road to getting the film greenlit. "After a while, it practically wrote itself", jokes Price. In the early 80s it was set to go into production with the late great John Candy, but the deal fell through. Producer Jack Rapke explains that the original draft was quite "cynical" with its humour, but when Latifah asked for the project to be rewritten for her, it became a much softer, sweeter, and Price admits, "more sentimental" film.
Garnishing this little smorgasbord of extras are two recipes featured in the film (Poulet Tchoupitoulas and Bananas Foster). It's just unfortunate that the bonus menu doesn't offer much else to sink your teeth into.
EXTRA FEATURES
Last Holiday is released on DVD on Monday 3rd July
