A festive romantic comedy set in London. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, Last Christmas, directed by Paul Feig and co-written by Emma Thompson and Bryonny Kimmings, is not a patch on Love Actually – in the romantic or comedy departments.

The main problem being that the lead character Kate (Emilia Clarke), an aspiring singer on the slide, is far too pretty, healthy, upbeat and self-assured to convince as a sleep-deprived couch-surfer with a dodgy ticker who survives on a diet of burgers and beers.

How she is described and how she comes across are as far apart as George Michael and Glen Michael. “Done in”, “like a dead person, “like a skeleton”, “severely distressed”? You’re having a carafe!

Furthermore, her self-centredness and verbal diarrhoea which provokes a volunteer at a homeless shelter to dismiss her as “a bit up herself, I thought” alienates the audience from empathising with her plight.

Which, as we eventually learn, hinges on the fear of having her healed heart broken by Tom Webster (Henry Golding), an equally charming and easy-on-the-eye courier who, as the bishop said to the actress, makes her feel “solid”.

It’s all very glossy and care-free and inclusive with an admirable and under-eggnogged central message of “helping others, in fact, is what makes us happy”. Emma Thompson as Kate’s cranky Yugoslavian mother Petra delivers a couple of rib-tickling one-liners. The highlight being a punchline about a “lesbian pudding”. And the George Michael soundtrack which includes the newly-released This Is How (We Want To Get High) is subtly woven into the fabric of the plot.

But, ultimately, Last Christmas is as colourful and disposable as wrapping paper. Which is no bad thing in these Brexit-bedraggled days!

Director: Paul Feig
Writers: Emma Thompson (story by), Greg Wise (story by)
Stars: Madison Ingoldsby, Emma Thompson, Boris Isakovic
Peter Callaghan
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