{"id":28417,"date":"2019-12-04T20:47:20","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T19:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/?p=28417"},"modified":"2025-12-04T22:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T21:30:00","slug":"last-but-not-least-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leregardlibre.com\/en\/cinema\/films\/last-but-not-least-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00abLast (but not least?) Christmas\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

Les mercredis du cin\u00e9ma - Kelly Lambiel<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the stores have been advertising it since October, every December I indulge in one of my favorite guilty pleasures: wool socks, hot chocolate, cinnamon cookies and a Christmas movie. Cliche, you say? Totally. But I can live with that. Which is why, when the trailer for Last Christmas<\/em> was released, I said to myself: if there's anyone in the section who needs to have this song stuck in their head until the 24th, it's me! The tune will stay, but the images?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Somewhere between M6 and Bridget Jones<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If, like me, you\u2019re a big fan of Christmas TV movies, rest assured: even though the screenplay\u2014co-written by Emma Thompson\u2014has a few surprises in store, that feeling of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu is definitely there. No, this isn\u2019t the story of the young woman who\u2019s made a career for herself in the big city, comes home to spend the holidays in her backwater hometown, and falls back into the arms of her first love. Nor is it the story of the hapless elf sent to Earth to prove himself. As you\u2019ve probably guessed, it\u2019s the other one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we don\u2019t find that out until the end, because Paul Feig tries to breathe new life (just a tiny bit) into the genre by featuring an unconventional heroine (Emilia Clarke) whose life is nothing but a series of disasters. A possessive and overprotective mother played by the brilliant Emma Thompson (whom we unfortunately don\u2019t see enough of), complicated relationships with her sister and friends, a job that no longer excites her, copious amounts of junk food, plenty of alcohol, numerous one-night stands, and a heavy dose of cynicism\u2014that\u2019s her daily life. That is, until Tom (Henry Golding) comes along\u2014the stereotype of the ideal son-in-law, or almost. You can see where this is going\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visit kitsch<\/em> at its peak <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So why go see it, the uninitiated might ask? Because that\u2019s exactly what you\u2019d expect from a good Christmas movie\u2014humor and an incredible soundtrack to (re)discover, to boot. Isn\u2019t this, after all, the most cheesy\u2026 uh, magical time of the year? The one that brings back into fashion everything that\u2019s totally unpalatable during the months leading up to it\u2014like the combination of red and green, glitter everywhere, foie gras, and the cream-filled Yule log?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Christmas<\/em> falls into this category. Yes, you\u2019ll see that love, as always, makes people better, solves the problems of dysfunctional families in the blink of an eye, and makes us turn our attention to the homeless\u2014who are invisible the rest of the year. Yes, the dialogue is incredibly shallow, the situations are grotesque, Emilia Clarke\u2019s costume is ridiculous, and the items sold in the shop where she works are just as implausible as the reactions of Santa, the owner. In June, we would have found it unbearable; in December, it\u2019s exactly what we need!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook told me last week that some very serious studies show that watching Christmas movies makes you happy, so why not indulge? We'll just have to be a little shameless mea culpa <\/em>Once the holidays are over, we'll start dieting on January 1\u2014I promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I almost forgot the closing remark\u2026 Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, and the very next day, you gave it away\u2026<\/em> Don't thank me\u2014I didn't want to be left alone with Wham! and George Michael on my mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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