Last Holiday

Imagine you are told you only have three weeks left to live.

Do you cry? Do you scream? Do you spend your last days grieving? Certainly you are going to slump around feeling like the most unlucky person in the world, no?

Well, actually, in wonderful movie world you go out in style, smiling and laughing all the way.

Georgia Byrd, effortlessly played by the naturally loveable Queen Latifa, is a shy and earnest woman with small ambitions. She enjoys learning culinary skills from television shows, loves to sing in the local choir and dreams wistfully of marrying the similarly warm-natured Sean Matthews, a sympathetic LL Cool J. But when Georgia is shown to have a deadly disease living inside her brain, she decides to completely swing round her life.

First thing on the list is, naturally, to tell the boss what a twat he is. Second must do - ask God why, why me? And then for the main show - blow all the cash doing everything you've ever wanted.

Anyone will admit that Last Holiday's storyline is not the Sherlock Holmes of plots, but the great thing about this pleasantly surprising rom com is that it is not trying to be clever or original, it has just taken a fairly mediocre story and decorated it in glittering tinsel and deliciously sweet candy floss. And, anyone will admit, it has all been done in a very attractive way.

This film could have turned out terribly. Take away Queen Latifa, the bubbly heart of the show, and the charm and warmth of the film has gone. But, thankfully, Queen Latifa is in the movie, and the script has been tailor-made for her, and the supporting cast are talented, thus transforming what could have been a dull watch into a heartwarming viewing.

The outcome of the film is predictable. But even though every person in the audience knows exactly what will happen in scene finito from the start, the film is still wonderfully enjoyable.

Everyone has something to take away from Last Holiday, as the ever optimistic Georgia Byrd tells us: "Next time you do things different ... You just won't be so afraid". That is what this film is about - optimism and living life to the full . It is an uplifting tale that has been made into what is, for once, a genuinely great romantic comedy that is nowhere near as forgettable as others.