Warning: This review contains spoilers.

For weeks, I have seen the trailers for Last Christmas and have wanted to jump into the holiday spirit by seeing this movie. All of the advertising that I had seen for Last Christmas had led me to believe that this movie would be a pretty standard rom-com with a Christmas theme. After seeing that the film had done fairly well on its opening weekend, I decided to buy a ticket to Last Christmas.

Last Christmas revolves around Kate, an employee at a year-round Christmas store with quite a case of bad luck. On top of Kate’s bad luck, Kate is also struggling with maintaining a relationship with her family. The previous Christmas, Kate had received a heart transplant that caused Kate to feel like her mother was too overbearing and controlling. Things seem to start looking up for Kate, though, after she meets Tom, a puzzling man who inspires Kate to be a better person.

The movie was going great until it was revealed that Tom had been Kate’s heart donor and was a ghost that had actually died a year ago around Christmas. Confusion and sadness could be felt everywhere in the theater, but the movie still continued. 

Shortly after Kate met Tom, Kate began to spend more of her time with her family and began to volunteer at a local homeless shelter, all the while focusing on becoming a happier and healthier person.

When the credits began to roll, I felt sad and, if we’re being honest, a little angry at the writers of Last Christmas. Even though the movie inspired such strong emotions, I think the messages of kindness, acceptance, and healing that Last Christmas showcased are very valuable lessons that can cause others to want to do more good in the world.