Rent Last Christmas (2019)

A Likeable Rom-Com - Last Christmas review by AB

This likeable romantic comedy is just the thing to cheer you up during these worrying times. Emilia Clarke plays Kate, a selfish, careless young woman who meets Tom, a kind, compassionate man. We discover the reason why she is so cynical later in the film. Tom is mysterious and appears to be hiding something. We thought we had that figured out, but we were wrong! Emma Thompson plays an East European matriarch, Kate's mother, to great effect. Light-hearted, easy to watch, we really enjoyed it.

Soppy, Slushy, Icky, Woke Seasonal Romcom, mainly for teen girls maybe - Last Christmas review by PV

Well what to say about this. Great music, yes - though one objection. In the credits DECK THE HALLS (sic) is credited to Thomas Oliphant 19th C musician. BUT the tune is traditional Welsh, as WIki says: "Deck the Halls" (originally titled "Deck the Hall") is a traditional Christmas carol. The melody is Welsh, dating back to the sixteenth century,[1] and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862.'

Anyway, this is really aimed square at women and teenage girls - it's a child's film really. One could call it 'emotional pornography' like Mills and Boon or romantic TV drama (Bridgerton et all). Romantic interest fantasy.

The plot is very slushy, icky and odd. I found the litterless London hilarious and the lack of crime too. And btw half of homeless people in London have homes - in Eastern Europe, and yet all homeless people here are stereotype tramps with trousers held up with string. It's panto time!

Clearly made to appeal to the Chinese market, though what these conservative viewers make of the irritating main character's behaviour, I do not know.

Dreadful script and too much PC wokeness - Last Christmas review by RS

I never forgave Paul Feig for mangling the Ghostbusters film and watching this was me giving him one more chance. I ended up turning it off. Utterly dreadful, clunky script. Fox's character really isn't likeable, she's the friend who always has drama and stress surrounding her that you end up just wanting out of your life. And good grief so much wokeness. Immigration, Brexit, homeless people in wheelchairs, and a gay couple who is also mixed race. Don't waste your time.