Georgia Byrd comes to realize the wisdom of that old saw: No one ever said, on her deathbed, "I wish I had spent more time working."

		'Last Holiday' Rating: PG-13 for some sexual references. Starring: Queen Latifah. Director: Wayne Wang.

And Georgia, a cookware saleswoman at a New Orleans department store, believes she's near death. That's the diagnosis after she takes a spill and gets a CAT scan, which shows she has just a month to live.

Until now, she's been a meek woman who favors no-nonsense hair, sensible shoes and Lean Cuisine dinners and harbors a silent crush on a coworker (LL Cool J). She quits her job, cashes in her savings and flies to the luxurious Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic to live a little before dying.

Unshackled from fear, insecurity, budgets, calorie-counting and delayed gratification, Georgia blossoms. She wins over the resort's chef (Gerard Depardieu) and staff and incurs the suspicion and wrath of a businessman (Timothy Hutton) whose empire includes the department store that employed her.

"Last Holiday" is a remake of the 1950 movie of the same name starring Alec Guinness as cautious salesman George Bird who, told he is dying, heads to a seaside resort where he is transformed.

Directed by Wayne Wang, "Last Holiday" is a formulaic fling that takes Queen Latifah several steps beyond her turns in "Chicago," "Bringing Down the House" and "Beauty Shop." No longer playing second fiddle or simply leading an ensemble, she is the star and she steers this comedy with charm, ease and accessibility.

Georgia is Everywoman turned Cinderella, complete with the now-mandatory "Pretty Woman" montage trying on gorgeous gowns. She not only gets the glam garb but the chance to order everything from the menu and not feel guilty.

"Last Holiday" has a twist you can spot a mile away and some silly over-the-top bungling and villainy. Still, any movie that celebrates, elevates and liberates the working woman is a welcome tonic for the winter blues. And we all could use a reminder to spend a little more time living and a little less working for a living.