Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow

Summary: In LAST HOLIDAY, Queen Latifah stars as Georgia Byrd, a reserved plus-sized woman who lives a dreary, ordinary life in pre-Katrina New Orleans, where she dreams of an elegant existence filled with fancy food, stylish clothing, and high-society parties.<BR><BR>In SLIDING DOORS a PR assistant is sacked from her job and returns home early. Sliding Doors looks at two possible scenarios on her return.<BR><BR>In FAILURE TO LAUNCH, Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Paula who has a highly unusual job in this at times cartoonish romantic comedy: she's an interventionist. What this means is that parents of young men who are still living at home well into adulthood can hire her to date their sons, which lends the often troubled men the fortitude to strike out on their own.

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Last Holiday

Queen Latifah demonstrates her loose, easy charm in Last Holiday, a remake of the 1950 comedy with Alec Guinness. Though at first glance it's hard to imagine anyone less like Alec Guinness than Queen Latifah, they both communicate a world of inner thought with nothing more than a sly sideways glance. Georgia Byrd (Latifah), a department store employee, leads a life of frustrated desires--particularly for a bashful salesman from the outdoor furnishings department (LL Cool J, Deep Blue Sea). But when she learns she only has a few weeks left to live, Georgia gathers her money, quits her job, and flies to a swank European resort she's always dreamed of visiting. Naturally, her new carelessness with money and fearless candor lead everyone around her--including her senator (Giancarlo Esposito, Do The Right Thing) and her former boss (Timothy Hutton, Ordinary People)--to think she's a mover and shaker. Last Holiday unfolds the way you expect it to (dozens of movies and TV shows have similar plots), but Latifah and the capable cast keep it alive. Also featuring Alicia Witt (The Upside of Anger), Jane Adams (Happiness), and the ever-dependable Gerard Depardieu (Cyrano de Bergerac) as a passionate chef. --Bret Fetzer

Sliding Doors

Nice concept, shaky execution--that about sums up the mixed blessings of British actor Peter Howitt's intelligent but forgivably flawed debut as a writer-director. It's got more emotional depth than most frothy romantic comedies, and its central idea--the parallel tracking of two possible destinies for a young London professional played by Gwyneth Paltrow--is full of involving possibilities. It's essentially a what-if scenario with Helen (Paltrow) at the centre of two slightly but significantly different romantic trajectories, one involving her two-timing boyfriend (John Lynch) and the other with an amiable chap (John Hannah) who represents a happier outcome. That's the film's basic problem, however: The two scenarios are so romantically imbalanced (one guy's a total cad, the other charmingly sincere) that Helen inadvertently comes off looking foolish and needlessly confused. Still, this remains a pleasant experiment, and Howitt's dialogue is witty enough to keep things entertaining. It's also a treat for Paltrow fans; not only does the svelte actress handle a British accent without embarrassing herself, but she gets to play two subtle variations of the same character, sporting different wardrobes and hairstyles in a role that plays into her glamourous off-screen persona. --Jeff Shannon

Failure to Launch

The plot of Failure to Launch is utterly implausible, yet the movie is thoroughly fun. Tripp (laid-back Matthew McConaughey, Sahara, Dazed and Confused) is a 35-year-old man who still lives with his parents (Kathy Bates, Misery, and ex-quarterback Terry Bradshaw)--and they aren't happy about it. Eager to get him out of the nest, they hire Paula (Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker), a professional motivator who feigns relationships with boy-men so that their improved self-esteem will lead them to leave the nest. But Tripp's not the usual insecure shut-in Paula's used to, and as sparks fly, Paula finds herself losing her professional distance. This sort of set-up drove classic screwball comedies of the 1930s and 40s; once you embrace the absurdity, the movie zips along with a surprising balance of humour and bittersweet shadings. Failure to Launch gets a huge boost from the supporting performance of Zooey Deschanel (Elf) as Paula's housemate Kit--part sourpuss, part tomboy, and entirely sexy and winning. McConaughey and Parker have enjoyable chemistry and carry the movie well, but Deschanel is an oddball romantic-heroine-in-waiting. Also featuring Bradley Cooper (Alias) and Justin Bartha (National Treasure). --Bret Fetzer

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Year:	1997
Release Date:	October 6, 2008
Runtime:	295 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	P H E 9643
Keywords:	Last, English, Comedy, Holiday, Doors, Romantic, Drama, Sliding, Failure, Launch
Genre:	Comedy