Let me start off by saying that I am in no way a fan of the gushy, mushy romance movies or the “perfect” life shown by in those family Christmas movies. When I walked in the theatre to watch Last Christmas, that’s exactly what I thought I was going to see — another mushy movie with a perfect love story that just didn’t seem appropriate to the real world.

And again, let me start off by saying that this assumption was straight-up wrong.

Last Christmas is hands-down the best romance-Christmas hybrid movie I’ve ever seen (although not many of those have touched the box office). It details the life of a cushy Christmas store salesman, Kate (Emilia Clark), donning an elf costume as she searches through London for love.

Kate finds her dysfunctional type of love in Tom (Henry Golding). Tom is, right off the bat, dysfunctional himself. He doesn’t own a phone, takes long strolls through random areas, and, in my opinion, shoots off a smile so creepy that I started shivering (and not from the cold). Despite this, he was the Prince Charming of the movie.

I know what’s running through your mind right now: How, exactly, is this different from any other romance movie? Well, the girl lives with her parents, had a heart transplant earlier in the year, and is obviously a bit dysfunctional family-wise and mentally. Throw in her Yugoslavian roots and you’ve got a brand new type of main character quirks.

The movie shows how Kate’s life slowly get better — better relationships with her family, volunteering at a homeless shelter, better “elfing.”

The one thing I felt was a little out of place was the use of one-liners and quips in the movie. The plot was becoming something that it wasn’t supposed to be — I mean, the movie was already so many different things. A romantic COMEDY Christmas movie? Too complex. Cut the jokes and the mildly insensitive Yugoslavian war “theme” and stick to the sappy stuff.

But all of this plot is overshadowed by one thing: THE SOUNDTRACK. The soundtrack is absolutely incredible.
If you aren’t in the Christmas mood, take half an hour to listen to the score in this movie. With traditional and modern Christmas songs, the soundtrack blew my mind and uprooted the primal Christmas spirit within me.

This movie was the perfect mix of Christmas-time and Romantic-time. The unheard of quirks and “heart-breaking” twist ending (watch the movie and you’ll get it) made a movie that will definitely stick out in my mind like a Spruce tree in the center of London.