Looking back at Queen Latifah’s Last Holiday 20 years later

The gays were seated for Last Holiday, the 2006 Queen Latifah-fronted rom-com, based on its tagline alone: “She always thought she was somebody… and she was.” Chills.

Of course, it helped that the film starred a charismatic and outspoken star like Latifah, who wore the hell out of that red dress on the poster.

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But in revisiting Last Holiday ahead of its 20th anniversary this January, it’s clear why the film continues to resonate with the gays: It’s a powerful reminder that you don’t have to wait for anyone to start living your best life.

Loosely based on a 1950 British film about a man named George Bird, Paramount Pictures’ Y2K update flipped the script and cast Latifah as a shy and unassuming salesperson named Georgia Byrd.

The then-closeted New Jersey native had already made a name for herself as both a groundbreaking female rapper and bankable Hollywood star in films like Chicago, Beauty Shop, and Bringing Down the House.

As Latifah told Black Film at the time, the film allowed her to branch out of the “typical African American female role” that actresses like her were typically limited to.

“[A woman has a right] to a man’s role,” she said. “I reserve the right to be creative and to re-conceptualize a lot of these movies. They need to be switched with a little flavor added to them or have a new twist on them that wasn’t there before.”

Unlike her IRL persona, Latifah’s character, Georgia, is resigned to a rather dull existence, refusing to advance her career and pursue a passion for cooking, speak up for herself, or make the move on her handsome co-worker, portrayed by the exceptionally dreamy LL Cool J.

Of course, it’s not that she doesn’t aspire for more; her dream life is fastidiously documented in a scrapbook she calls her “Possibilities Book.”

That all changes after an incident sends her to the doctor’s office, where she’s diagnosed with a rare disease and told she’s got three weeks to live.

So, Georgia quits her job, liquidates her assets, and jets off on a dream vacation in the Czech Republic, immersing herself in cuisine, luxury, romance, and giving herself the best, well, “last holiday.”

Spoiler alert: There’s a lot of commentary on race and class, some ridiculous snowboarding scenes, a ton of “will-they, won’t-they,” with LL Cool J, and, naturally, the revelation that it was a misdiagnosis.

Ultimately, the film made a modest showing at the box office — although esteemed critic Richard Roeper dubbed it “the Queen Latifah performance I’ve been waiting for ever since she broke into movies” — and it remains in heavy rotation on cable TV over the holidays.

Thanks to Latifah’s honest performance and her character’s “like like you’re dying” mantra, Last Holiday now plays like the definition of a feel-good film.

After all, who doesn’t want to splurge on hotel suites, a new wardrobe, and spa services, order the entire menu, and finally dare to say what’s on their mind?

Interestingly enough, Latifah’s life over the past two decades has, in a way, been a personal exploration of her own book of possibilities.

Ahead of Last Holiday‘s release, the actress told The Arizona Republic that her biggest dream was to become a parent.

“To me, that is the next natural progression in life,” she said in 2006. “I need something bigger than myself, and the only thing that can be would be a child, someone who would help me live even more selflessly.”

Flash forward to the 2021 BET Awards, the actress accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award and, for the first time, publicly thanked her longtime partner Eboni Nichols, and shouted out their young son, Rebel, whom they welcomed in 2019.

“Eboni, my love,” the Grammy Award-winner said in the speech. “Rebel, my love. Peace, happy Pride!”

It was a touching and validating moment for millions of Latifah’s LGBTQ+ fans, many of whom likely watched the Wayne Wang-helmed film 20 years ago or are revisiting it this season.

It was also a reminder that we could all learn a thing or two from Ms. Georgia Byrd, and her wild and crazy last holiday.

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