Film

Last Christmas

Name: Last Christmas
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 2019
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Emma Thompson, Lydia Leonard

Romantic comedy
Light-hearted

A bittersweet romantic comedy about a drifting young woman working as a department store elf who finds unexpected connection and purpose. It's charming and gently melancholic, balancing humour with real emotional stakes. For anyone who likes their Christmas films with genuine heart alongside the festive gloss.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a warm, slightly scruffy Christmas romance where the jokes come from characters being messy rather than from set-piece gags, and you don't mind a sentimental pull.

Skip it if you find festive films cloying by default, since this one leans fully into sentiment and its romance follows a familiar, predictable rhythm.

What it asks of you: It runs about an hour and forty minutes at an easy, unhurried pace, asking you to settle in for character moments more than plot turns.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

About Time2013

A romance that cares as much about family, mortality, and what makes life meaningful as it does about the love story. Warm, funny, and devastatingly human in ways that creep up on you.

But It's sentimental, and the sci-fi time-travel mechanic feels underexplored compared to the emotional core—some find that frustrating.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.2011

Ensemble romance that juggles multiple love stories without losing sight of what actually matters: connection, vulnerability, and second chances. Genuinely smart about relationships.

But The tone shifts between broad comedy and real heartbreak, and that tonal whiplash doesn't always land cleanly.

Love Actually2003

Multiple intertwined Christmas love stories that somehow balance comedy, romance, and genuine emotion. A masterclass in ensemble storytelling during the holidays.

But At 135 minutes and with so many threads, it can feel scattered. Some storylines are thin compared to others.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Last Christmas

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Woman in Gold2015

Both centre on trauma quietly reshaping identity, and Yeoh brings that same warmth and strength to both; both believe that kindness and second chances are radical acts.

Michelle Yeoh plays a woman reclaiming her identity and agency after loss. Like Last Christmas, it's about finding yourself and dignity through unexpected kindness, but it grounds that in real historical trauma and what survival costs.

But It's a courtroom drama about art restitution—considerably heavier and slower than a light romantic comedy. Some find it didactic.

Four Rooms1995

Dark, weird ensemble comedy where strangers collide on New Year's Eve. It has that same feeling of people adrift, finding unexpected connections in confined spaces.

But It's deliberately chaotic and absurdist—nothing resolves neatly, and the humour is genuinely strange.

Notting Hill1999

A romance about ordinary life interrupting celebrity, built on dialogue that crackles and characters who feel real. It knows how to be funny without undermining sincerity.

But It's a very 90s romantic comedy, which means some politics and assumptions have aged. The class dynamics are also never interrogated.

Holidate2020

Another recent romantic comedy about two people finding their way together through family chaos and awkward social obligations. Similar energy, different packaging.

But It's considerably lighter on substance than Last Christmas, leaning more into jokes than character. Many find it forgettable.

The Holiday2006

Two women swap homes and find themselves—not just romantically, but emotionally. It understands the specific loneliness of the holiday season and treats it seriously.

But Nearly two and a half hours of fairly standard romantic tropes. The pacing is leisurely, and some of the characterisation is thin.

Bridget Jones's Diary2001

A comedy about a woman trying to improve herself and finding unexpected love. The humour is warm, the romance is earned, and the supporting characters feel lived-in.

But It's very much of its era, and the fat-shaming jokes land differently now. Some find the rom-com formula tired.

Love Hard2021

A Christmas rom-com about disappointment and second looks. It has that same gentleness mixed with real vulnerability, and genuine laughs.

But The plot mechanics feel well-worn, and the emotional beats are predictable if you've seen many romantic comedies.

Dead of Winter1987

Both films understand that Christmas is a construct that reveals rather than hides the truth about people; both use the holiday setting to expose character.

A tense, surreal Christmas-set thriller about a woman isolated in a grand house, forced to question everything. Eerie and claustrophobic, it uses the season's supposed warmth as a weapon—entirely different genre and tone, but it shares Last Christmas's interest in what hidden beneath festive surfaces.

But It's a horror film with genuine menace and body horror. The pacing is slow and the mood unrelenting—nothing comforting about it.