By Jill Grinnell

This ridiculously cheesy holiday rom-com pays tribute to the late George Michael by taking an interesting spin off Wham’s classic “Last Christmas,” which the movie is titled after.

Emilia Clark stars as Kate, who works as a Christmas store retail worker pursuing singing on the side. Her life is one big mess, and throughout the duration of the movie she continues to make careless, selfish mistakes that affect everyone close to her. 

She spends most of the movie testing the patience of her friends, crashing on people’s couches, and finding random hookups at the pub. 

I found myself getting annoyed with Kate because it seemed like she didn’t want to learn from her mistakes, and that she simply accepted the fate of her shambled life. 

Just like any other romantic comedy, Kate’s life begins to change once the random handsome guy appears. Henry Golding plays Tom, the wholesome yet mysterious bike rider who opens Kate’s eyes to the hidden treasures of London, and of life. 

As expected, Kate begins to fall in love with Tom quickly, because he is like the saving grace she needed to pull herself out of her reality, filled with hardship. My favorite part of their relationship its playful, innocent nature. Tom brings out a goofy, warm side of Kate that is seen on their ice skating date and walks in the park.

Just as most relationships go, Tom and Kate experience a fair share of ups and downs, and I couldn’t help but pity Kate for crying over his random recurring disappearances, because I would definitely miss him too. 

Without spoiling the end of the movie, like Kate, I also learned a lesson about self love and appreciating the seemingly insignificant moments of life we often overlook. 

Last Christmas managed to capture the warm essence of the holiday season in an endearing mess of a movie that we can all appreciate during Christmas time.