Trailer
Plot summary
At Kragen's Department Store in New Orleans, Georgia Byrd works the cookware counter and sings in a Baptist choir, though she longs to cook professionally. She fills a scrapbook called Possibilities with the future she imagines, prepares Emeril Lagasse's recipes for a neighbor, and quietly admires her co-worker Sean. During the Christmas season she bumps her head and is sent to the store health center, where a CT scan finds brain tumors caused by a rare terminal disorder called Lampington's disease. Her insurance will not cover the operation, and she is told she has only weeks to live. Georgia quits her job, turns her savings and possessions into cash, and leaves New Orleans for a dream vacation at the Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech spa city of Karlovy Vary.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Last Holiday (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Doc Hollywood fame, updated the original 1950 film for John Candy with Carl Reiner directing, but the project was shelved after the actor's death in 1994; years later Queen Latifah's agent read their script and suggested revising it for her.
- The gourmet cuisine seen throughout the film was prepared by chefs from the Food Network, and recipes for many of the dishes, including Lobster Salad in Potato Leek Nests, Spiced Lamb Shanks with Blood Orange Relish and Bananas Foster, were available on the network's website.
- In one scene Georgia watches footage from Emeril Live to help her prepare a chicken, and as part of the film's promotion Queen Latifah appeared as a guest on Lagasse's own show.
- The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $43.3 million against a budget of $45 million and drawing mixed reviews, though Latifah's performance was universally praised for her charm and humor.
- Queen Latifah was nominated for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her work in the film.
