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Packing bagfuls of charisma, Queen Latifah is still looking for her place in the sun. Sadly Wayne Wang's remake of the Alec Guinness vehicle Last Holiday (1950) proves to be another dead end. Latifah's last film Beauty Shop was at least a clear attempt at comedy, but this tale of a woman throwing caution to the wind after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, is neither very funny nor convincingly dramatic. At best it's a bumpy ride through predictable territory.

Hunky sales clerk Sean (LL Cool J) represents the height of many romantic aspirations that have gone unfulfilled in Georgia's life, but their relationship comes across like an afterthought. Georgia spends most of her time living it up in a swanky Alpine resort where Timothy Hutton is introduced as the archetypal rich, white villain of the piece. Unfortunately his threats to reveal Georgia's working class roots are futile because she's clearly past caring what people think

"GAPING CRACKS IN THE SCRIPT"

Indeed, more dastardly than anything Hutton can devise is the fact that Georgia leaves her young son (Jascha Washington) home alone during her European jaunt. This, on top of her fixation with Sean, completely undermines the character and her reassessment of life's priorities. Latifah's big smile, though infectious, just isn't enough to cover so many gaping cracks in the script. Meanwhile the comedic talents of G茅rard Depardieu are wasted in the role of a temperamental chef who dishes out more saccharine platitudes than hot dinners. In the final analysis, it's just boring, like watching your neighbours' holiday slideshow.