This movie was surprisingly not all that bad. Definitely better than The Holiday, which is only one word off, but drastically inferior in every way.
Last Holiday plays like many other movies you've seen or imagined. You have the mousy woman, played by Queen Latifah, who has never really lived. After an accidental blow to the head at work while being wooed by the man of her dreams, LL Cool J, she is taken off to her second-rate HMO doctor to be completely checked out.
Her check-up finds her with several inoperable tumors and only weeks to live. Faced with her impending doom, she quits her job, takes her life savings, and leaves the country to live her dream life for her last few weeks.
So she's off to humorous adventures of mistaken identity as she lives the posh life in a European ski resort and indulges in the cooking of her favorite chef, showing him her skills and even joining in as his associate. She finally starts toward her dream of being a chef as her life supposedly draws to a close.
Of course, this being a comedy, we know that it's not going to just end like that. And it manages to avoid many cliches in getting there. For example, the dream man isn't wooed and just suddenly notices the woman that's been in front of his eyes for so long. Instead, the dream man comes after her, as he finally works up the courage to act on his desires.
The supporting cast manages to be interesting and amusing, with Gerard Depardieu as the resort's famous chef, Timothy Hutton as a scummy industrialist, Alicia Witt as his put-upon belle du jour, and Giancarlo Esposito as a Senator. They're all impressed and confused by Queen's well-dressed, high-living character, believing her to be rich, then a spy there to interfere with their business.
Of course, everything works out, everyone is happy, and everyone's life is bettered. It's an unrealistic and overly happy ending, but it's all in good fun and it's a fairly lively and enjoyable comedy.
