Last Christmas (2019) review

Aspiring actress Katarina (Emilia Clarke) works in London at an all-year Christmas store owned by "Santa" (Michelle Yeoh) in order to avoid her parents Petra (Emma Thompson) and Ivan (Boris Isaković), doesn't get along with her sister Marta (Lydia Leonard), deals with health issues and can't land an acting role, but one day a stranger named Tom (Henry Golding) visits her shop and tries to court her ... although he's somewhat peculiar.  Thompson, who came up with the story with her husband Greg Wise and co-wrote the script with Bryony Kimmings, based this on British pop duo Wham!'s song "Last Christmas" except they take the cheesy-cute track quite literally (you'll never hear it the same way again) and the entire setup is sappy: Tom is too pure to be real (he refuses to consummate their relationship) and Katarina's more of a ditz than a person who is "truly" selfish, so the process in which she's "taught a lesson" isn't necessary.  The screenplay also forces in moments of "tolerance": Kat defends immigrants (since she's from the former Yugoslavia), sings for the homeless and her and her folks "accept" Marta for her lesbianism.  But isn't that what the holidays are about?  Briefly convincing ourselves we're capable of being kind?  Or maybe we need more time spent with that emotion....