Henry Golding and Emilia Clarke star in the trailer for Paul Feig’s romantic comedy, Last Christmas. Rom-coms have begun to make a comeback in the last couple years, largely thanks to Netflix producing original streaming hits like Set It Up, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Always Be My Maybe. However, they’ve also started to enjoy a resurgence on the big screen, with the success of 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians paving the way for similar films like Last Christmas.
Clarke stars here as Kate, a young British woman who has a habit of making bad life choices - like, most recently, working as a Santa elf at a department store - when she meets Tom (Golding), a charming bloke who seems too good to be true. Golding, of course, starred alongside Constance Wu in Crazy Rich Asians before appearing in Feig’s noir comedy A Simple Favor last year. Last Christmas itself was written by playwright Bryony Kimmings and Oscar-winner Emma Thompson, whom Feig was initially set to direct in this year’s talk show comedy, Late Night, before he dropped out over a scheduling conflict. Clearly, though, the pair have been itching to work together.
Universal released the Last Christmas trailer online today, ahead of its arrival on the big screen. You can check it out in the space below.
In addition to taking its name from the famous Wham! song, Last Christmas received the blessing of the band’s late co-member, George Michael, and features some of his unreleased material, while also diving into social issues (namely, homeless) that were especially important to the singer-songwriter. Fittingly, the movie’s first trailer will arrive in theaters with another pop music-inspired project, Gurinda Chadha’s Blinded by the Light, this weekend. In an interview with EW last month, Feig described his film as a “dramatic romantic comedy” and explained that although it deals with romance, it focuses on a family that’s falling apart and “what it takes to put [them] back together”. He also said Last Christmas is his love letter to London and he shot on location in England’s capital during the three weeks before Christmas last year, including Covenent Garden, the location of Yuletide Wonderful (aka. the all-year-round Christmas shop where Kate works).
The trailer sheds some light on Feig’s comments about Last Christmas, revealing that Kate (in a plot point that mirrors Clarke’s real-life) suffered a nearly-fatal illness that’s since affected her relationships with not only her family (including her mother, who’s played by Thompson), but also her boss (Golding’s Crazy Rich Asians costar Michelle Yeoh) and, of course, herself. Feig’s movies have typically combined broad comedy with dramatic subject matter - whether it’s Bridemaids tapping into post-2007 economic recession anxieties or Spy reflecting on sexism in the modern workplace - and that will remain the case here, by the look of it. Beyond that, the trailer does a nice job of leaving viewers wanting to know more about the film in general (including, whether Tom is what he appears… or even real at all).
Source: EW, Universal Pictures
- Last Christmas Release Date: 2019-11-08
