If you want an escape from the HBS bubble, the film Last Holiday is an excellent option. This movie is a “feel good” comedy, as described by one of my sectionmates. It is ironic that I saw Last Holiday this past weekend while escaping to Cape Cod with friends to get off campus.
In the film, Queen Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, a sales associate at a department store. Georgia, who grills like a master chef, works in the cookware department. Neighbors and store customers benefit from Georgia’s skills, although Georgia secretly desires to work with chefs such as Emeril Lagasse and share her cuisine with millions.
After Georgia learns she has only a few weeks to live, she makes some major changes beginning with quitting her job and withdrawing all of her savings. This film shows viewers what happens when an “ordinary” woman, who has always lived life by the rules, starts making her own rules and living out her lifelong dreams.
Surprisingly, the plot deviates from the predictable storyline one might imagine and finds Georgia in the Grandhotel Pupp in a central European resort village for most of the movie. The film is very heartfelt in addition to entertaining because you find yourself empathizing with Georgia and wanting her to capture all her fantasies, including love interests with her co-worker Sean Matthews (played by LL Cool J).
I definitely think this film is worth viewing. For both RCs and ECs it reminds us that life is too short to live doing something either professionally or personally unrewarding. This message is timely as ECs finish up recruiting and RCs prepare for Hell Week.
