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The most incredible thing about this movie is the fact that it's a remake. There are two types of remakes, the faithful and the altered, and Last Holiday is the best altered remake ever. The original was made in 1950 and starred Alec Guinness. With no humor, a tragic romance, and an extremely depressing story, it was a terrible film. Fifty-six years later, the character George Byrd was changed to Georgia Byrd, and Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman wrote a delightful script! So we have two main characters here, the sisters Jenna and Fran. A few years ago, Jenna took a wellness retreat on the Maltese island of Gozo and committed suicide under mysterious circumstances. Her mother cannot understand what happened to her ideal daughter and forces her much older sister, the rebellious Fran, to attend another retreat and find answers to the questions that haunt her.
I got to the 60% point of this book and can no longer waste my time on this book. The people are ridiculous, the entire book is ridiculous. Why would a mother send her other daughter, actually why would said daughter agree, to go to a retreat where her sister Jenna was possibly murdered????? Kate is more than just Tom's assistant. Much more. SoulShrink was her idea, her baby, Tom the person she chose to front it. She is focused on success, complete with all the trappings, and God help anyone who gets in her way. As her HMO plan does not cover the high cost of an operation, Georgia resigns herself to having only a few weeks to live. She quits her job, liquidates her assets, and sets off on a dream vacation at the deluxe Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic's spa city of Karlovy Vary. THE AUTHOR: Cally Taylor was born in Worcester and spent her early years living in various army camps in the UK and Germany. She studied Psychology at the University of Northumbria and went on forge a career in instructional design and e-Learning before leaving to write full time in 2014. She lives in Bristol with her partner and son. I have a couple of C. L. Taylor's books on my TBR and I'm still gonna read them. This one just wasn't for me.
Fran Fitzgerald is a teacher with attitude and Tom Wade from SoulShrink was the last person to see her much younger sister Jenna alive! Jenna went missing at a SoulShrink retreat that took place in Gozo, Malta. Jenna Fitzgerald disappeared from a mindfulness retreat on the island of Gozo in Malta 3 years ago. Two other people died at the retreat. It all came to a head on the night of the sweat lodge rebirthing ceremony. The ‘wellness guru’, Tom Wade spent 18 months in jail for, presumably, negligence over the deaths. They were certainly accidental deaths. Jenna’s disappearance was ruled a suicide by the local police after some bloodstains and her flip flops were found at the top of a steep cliff. The body was never recovered.
Now, Tom is out of jail and his wife Kate, who does all the admin and marketing for the retreats, has organised the first retreat since the disastrous one of three years ago. Tom is not keen but Kate is adamant they need the money. This time it will be held in Wales. Jenna’s mother, a strange and very annoying woman, bullies her much older other daughter to attend and see what she can learn about Jenna’s disappearance. Already I am thinking - why would the mother send another daughter into potential danger? If she’s so keen why doesn’t she go herself? The detailed description of the mutilated bird on the patio and the ensuing throwing of stones at a passing cat was awful. With Tom and Kate restarting the retreats Fran who is Jenna’s sister enrols herself. Desperate to discover what actually happened to her sibling. But by uncovering the truth is she putting her life in danger. The supporting cast is delightful, and the eclectic hotel staff alone will make any audience member want to book a vacation. Also staying at the hotel are a congressman, a senator, the head of the fictional department store chain, and his "secretary". Giancarlo Esposito, Michael Nouri, Timothy Hutton, and Alicia Witt, respectively, are all essential and three-dimensional. At times they're superficial, at times they're cynical, at times they're friendly, and all of them are potentially willing to change if a phenomenal woman shows them the way. There's a fine line between making a saccharine-sweet movie about one character who changes a village, and making a realistic, moving movie about one person's influence on a host of different people. Obviously, this movie belongs in the latter category. If all you've seen is the trailer that shows Queen Latifah and Timothy Hutton ski racing, you're in for a very pleasant surprise. Tom Wade who runs the wellness retreats has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for killing two people but he has never let on what happened to the third victim. Jenna.
They're not all likeable characters but I found them to be good characters and that was my favourite thing about this book 🙂 Fran’s sister Jenna went missing two years ago while she was on a wellness retreat at Gozo, the police told them she may have committed suicide but her mother wants answers and pushes Fran to go to Wales on a wellness retreat. I went to this trip with my wife. We went by train. There was my first visit of Tbilisi but my wife was there a year before. So she knew all interesting places and sightseeings and showed me the city. I thought Fran was mad, going on a holiday run by the man she felt killed her sister. But I did understand why she needed to find out for sure. Keeler, Janet (January 12, 2006). "Saving the best for last". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on August 6, 2007 . Retrieved January 6, 2013.
Told in alternating timelines, then and now, from both Jenna's and Fran's point of view, plus one of the wellness guru's perspective, this is a fast paced thriller. I always love alternate timelines and different perspectives. There are some real, heart stopping moments in this book- not wanted to spoil the story- I’ll say no more. Although I usually enjoy C.L. Taylor's novels, this is not one of her best or one I'm likely to find memorable. 2.5★ Before 5 years, my sister and I went in a Euro trip. It was our first international trip together and we're beyond happy that it went well. The writing is terrible, it flip flops all over the place and there is so much detailed chatter it's driving me bonkers.You keep asking yourself as you observe several counseling sessions of these health gurus: are they conmen or are they really talented soul shakers who help the people get through their mental problems? Wayne Wang, the director of this film has always delivered well crafted pictures that are entertaining. This is a film loosely based on the English film of the same title that was a vehicle for Alec Guinnes and J.B. Pristley, the original writer is given credit. The adaptation for this version works out well because it's never meant to be anything more than a light comedy, a bit predictable, perhaps, but it satisfy none the less. I reviewed this book by an audiobook. The narrator brought the characters to life for me and made the swapping between timelines so easy. If you want a summer audiobook or beach read. Then this is it. I cannot praise C.L. Taylor enough. That’s the question her sister Fran is desperate to answer! Jenna vanished from a retreat two years ago. Blood was found on the edge of the cliff. But her body was never discovered. Fran is determined to get answers and solve the mystery behind her sisters disappearance. It’s got a good pace. We are told the story from Fran’s point of view in the present and Jenna is in the past at the time of her retreat stay. There’s some input too from Kate in both past and present. She is the organiser of the retreat and secret wife of Tom.
And that,' Caroline says, 'is why I'm not going to let them drive me away. They might have found a way to cover up your sister's murder but they're not going to intimidate me into letting this drop.' If you are like me, and prefer a well crafted mystery with clues to follow, and revelations that you can buy into, then this may NOT be the book for you. Some overlap but I still had one or two '𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵.... 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯?' moments. Making notes would have helped ✒📒🙈 This is my first book by this author, but I will certainly read her other books. I recommend this story, especially to those who like discovering family secrets from years ago and complicated family relations. Jessica Reaves of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three out of four stars and described Queen Latifah as "soft, bold and very funny, infusing this otherwise predictable movie with a contagious charm." She added, "While this is not exactly a profound film, and the message is hardly new, it's testament to this movie's joyous energy that it doesn't matter in the least. We may know exactly where we're going, but the journey is so much fun, all but the most peevish audience members will find it impossible to complain." [6]A woman wants to discover the truth about her sister's mysterious death in a group retreat two years ago... Who's lying? Who's telling the truth? Two years ago, Jenna went to a retreat in Malta organized by Tom Wade, the man behind SoulShrink. But she didn’t come home. She disappeared and the local authorities judged that she had committed suicide jumping from a cliff. Last Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Wayne Wang and written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. The film is loosely based on the 1950 British film of the same name by J. B. Priestley. The film stars Queen Latifah as Georgia, a humble department store assistant who is told that she has a rare brain condition and only has a few weeks to live. She promptly decides to spend her remaining funds on a luxury holiday in Europe before she dies. Two years ago, Jenna went missing at a wellness retreat run by Tom, the charismatic man behind the Soul Shrink retreats. He has just been released from prison after serving time for the deaths of two individuals who attended the same retreat where Jenna went disappeared. Is Jenna just missing or is she dead? By the end, I was ambivalent and a little let down. Was it me or was it the book? I am not entirely sure. I have enjoyed other books by this author more. I am putting this in the liked but did not love category.
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