According to Film Quarterly, "how a song establishes rapport with the audience, makes it possible to break down the wall 'and connect the audience directly to a song'" (Rickey, 2015). Wham! 's "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" as Kate's alarm clock adds to the film's comical nature, making an audience more cognizant of the ironic literal interpretations of George Michael's songs. The audience continues to recognize the memoriam of George Michael's music as Kate's TV plays his live MTV performance of "Praying for Time" from 1996. Feig intentionally chose George Michael songs to conjure the unique theatrical elements a holiday film otherwise would have lacked (Dick, 2019).

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Many films that fall under the holiday genre are often produced in the musical genre, such as the famous Polar Express (2004) and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). These films are still considered to be part of the holiday genre because they follow the expectation of celebrating Christmas. Typically, the holiday genre "opposes individualism with family values"; however, Feig chose to depict a family that denies their own identity to prioritize their family (Rodriguez, 2021).

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In the opening scene, a dysfunctional family watches Kate sing "Heal the Pain" by George Michael. Petra, Kate's mother, is moved to tears by her daughter's performance. Ivan (Boris Isaković), Kate's father, seemingly prefers to be anywhere else, and Marta (Lucy Miller), Kate's sister, attempts to make fun of Kate, causing a quiet disruption in the audience. The film showcases the members of the Andrich family as leading separate lives, with no interaction between them. They are blind to each other's struggles. Kate's apparent illness temporarily brings the family together, but her recovery drives them apart again, back into their isolated worlds. With pressure coming from a helicopter immigrant mother, a slow start to her singing career, and difficulty becoming self-sufficient, Kate cannot heal herself from the mental and physical toll after a life-changing surgery. Petra is trapped, suffering from her internal struggle after fleeing Yugoslavia and her inability to create an identity for herself beyond taking care of Kate. Ivan, a former lawyer in Yugoslavia who was inept to afford retraining in the United Kingdom, now spends as much time away from his wife as possible as a taxicab driver. Moreover, Marta is a closeted lesbian constantly trying to prove her worth to the already blinded mother.

Rather than illustrate the familiar intangible Christmas spirit flooded across television, Feig shows how a slightly broken family can, despite all the trauma, find happiness through self-discovery and healing. Kate's personal and internal struggles to find her path toward acceptance act as the anchor for her family's reconnection. Last Christmas (2019) is not in the business of celebrating Christmas but instead celebrating the overcoming of individual struggles. A new spirit is brewing in the holiday genre: individualism.

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Last Christmas (2019) is a movie that takes place in a Christmas shop and features many elf costumes, but its story is not a typical Christmas movie. It doesn't follow the traditional tropes of a Christmas movie where the holiday spirit unites families and promotes selflessness over individualism. The film's protagonist, Kate, undergoes a personal transformation after a life-changing surgery, and Christmas plays an important role in her journey. Although Kate initially volunteers at a homeless shelter for selfish reasons, she soon starts to care about the people there and becomes passionate about helping them. Kate's volunteering leads her to organize a Christmas Eve talent show at the shelter, which allows her to sublimate her selfish desires and focus on the needs of others. Ultimately, the movie promotes empathy through charity, which is a common theme in many conventional Christmas movies.

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Although the narrative follows a trope in the HCM genre, Feig still disrupts the HCM genre by offering a new cynicism to the holiday season, highlighting the realistic dysfunction and trauma families hold after a medical scare. Film historian David Thomson says, "… it is more current now to say that Christmas is this dreadful family occasion where relatives who do not like each other come together, get drunk, and start fighting. A lot of Christmas movies are rather like that." (Onscreen, It is the Season of Cynicism, 2004) The traditional HCM genre originating in the hopefulness and romance from It's A Wonderful Life (1946) is shifting away. Last Christmas (2019) dove into the character's internal conflict, addressed immigrant discrimination and the political and societal consequences of Brexit, and, however brief the commentary, the film still steps outside of its comforting HCM genre, challenging what a holiday movie can be.

Paul Feig's Last Christmas (2019) cleverly transforms Wham! 's song "Last Christmas" into a literal interpretation and provides the audience with a story of self-discovery and healing. George Michael's music forges emotional connections between characters and the audience, allowing Last Christmas film to explore personal struggles and familial dynamics through song. Feig's film offers a refreshing take on the Hallmark Christmas Movie genre through its realistic portrayal of family dysfunction, stress, and unresolved issues. Kate's introspective journey to healing her new heart requires the audience to leave our preconceived notions of the HCM genre at the door and open our hearts to a musical film commemorating the late George Michael, celebrating the season of giving back.

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