Queen Latifah has the Alec Guinness role as a quietly desperate type with a terminal prognosis in this remake of the 1950 romantic comedy. When she gets the bad news, Latifah tells off her peevish boss, empties her savings account, and heads to a ritzy European chalet, where she does all the things she hasn't done before: skiing, pampering herself, and eating all the rich foods her idol, Chef Didier (Gérard Depardieu), can churn out. She also charms a few senators and sets right an avaricious egomaniac (Timothy Hutton). Back home, of course, there’s the unrequited love interest (LL Cool J) and the dwindling clock. Life lessons and predictable revelations ensue. Director Wayne Wang (a long way from Smoke and Blue in the Face) squeezes humanity from the pre-packaged material, but Latifah’s radiant buoyancy and the colorful oddballs are what make this Holiday worth taking.
