Written by Emma Thompson, directed by Paul Feig of Bridesmaids, soundtracked by George Michael – and panned by critics. Why are audiences flocking to see it?
Last Christmas, this year’s festive schlockfest, is bad. Oh, it’s bad. It looked OK on paper: a
Christmas romcom written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings, directed by Paul Feig of Bridesmaids, a catchy George Michael soundtrack, a festive Covent Garden setting, Michelle Yeoh – what’s not to love? But it is bad. It is not only one of the worst films of the year, it’s possibly one of the worst films ... ever?
But despite being objectively terrible, it is one of those interesting cinematic phenomena where audience opinions differ greatly from those of critics. Its user score on Rotten Tomatoes is currently 81% (against a 48% critics’ score). In its first week of release, it has knocked Joker, the first film in a decade to hold the No 1 spot for six weeks, off the top spot at the
UK box office. Predictably, given its twee
London setting and cute
British cast, Americans are cosying up to it, too; Last Christmas has grossed $22m at the US box office.