Lena (Felicity Waterman) lives in East Germany, a country just liberated because of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A James Dean fan, she comes to California to visit the Hollywood scene in Los Angeles. However, she first lands in East Los Angeles, in a pretty dire neighborhood. Once she finds the genuine movie making neighborhood, she rests content. But, not for long! Her traveling baggage is mixed up with another woman's, a lady who turns up dead. Lena turns to erstwhile cab driver, Mike (Chris Lemmon) for help in the ensuing and dangerous situations that come her way. Will Lena really have a rest- and-relaxation vacation in LaLa Land? The two stars, Waterman and Lemmon, make this movie palatable. They are attractive and comedically gifted. The script is one of the been there, done that type, however, with little coherence at times. Conversely, the sunny scenery and costumes add to a pleasant viewing. If you are a romcom fan and would climb mountains for a nice kiss or two, you will be happy you took a chance with this film. Everyone else would probably be a bit bored and switch to E.R. reruns.
12 Reviews
The Absent Minded Tourist. (minor spoilers)
vertigo_1411 January 2005
With the fall of the Berlin wall, East German, Lena (Felicity Waterman)goes on holiday in California. Except, only tours Los Angeles, and Lena is having the worst vacation, as nothing seems to go as planned; she learns that reservations she made for a hotel turned out to be phony, a cab driver rips her off, and worst of all, her luggage has conveniently been switched with that of a lady who suddenly winds up dead. Although, this is understandable, considering how gullible Lena is. You'd think she was new to the planet the way she fell for one stupid scam after the next.
Only the scams look good when compared to the fact that she is being pursued by hoods who have been watching her. When the dead lady's bag doesn't contain what they want, they go after Lena, knowing she has the same bag and was the last to see the other lady alive. They figure that she is in on the deal. Things seem to turn around when Lena unexpectedly befriends a fast-talking cab driver named Mike (Chris Lemmon as a sometimes arrogant, sometimes sincere guy), who helps her in sporadically timed moments of emergency.
'Lena's Holiday' is more of a dreamy love story and a comedy surrounding a vacation nightmare (but pretty soon only just love the story) than it is a caper, which you're only reminded off at certain convenient moments in the movie. I would say it is about 70% love story, 20% comedy about Lena's disastrous holiday misadventures (which is pretty much the entire intro), and 10% caper. It is still an enjoyable comedy, nonetheless.
Only the scams look good when compared to the fact that she is being pursued by hoods who have been watching her. When the dead lady's bag doesn't contain what they want, they go after Lena, knowing she has the same bag and was the last to see the other lady alive. They figure that she is in on the deal. Things seem to turn around when Lena unexpectedly befriends a fast-talking cab driver named Mike (Chris Lemmon as a sometimes arrogant, sometimes sincere guy), who helps her in sporadically timed moments of emergency.
'Lena's Holiday' is more of a dreamy love story and a comedy surrounding a vacation nightmare (but pretty soon only just love the story) than it is a caper, which you're only reminded off at certain convenient moments in the movie. I would say it is about 70% love story, 20% comedy about Lena's disastrous holiday misadventures (which is pretty much the entire intro), and 10% caper. It is still an enjoyable comedy, nonetheless.
An unpolished but likable update of "Charade"
gridoon202410 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
A lot of "Lena's Holiday" feels pointless (like Pat Morita's cameo near the start) and almost improvisational; the budget is limited, and there are long stretches of very little happening. Yet, in the last 20 minutes or so, I realized the purpose of this movie: it is to bring the classic romantic-thriller formula of films like "Charade" up to date. Because the crime plot had been strictly peripheral until then, the plot twists surprised me completely. And Felicity Waterman gives a winning performance as the fish-out-of-water heroine; she is also extremely convincing as an East German - in fact, I actually thought the actress WAS German until I checked out her bio and found out she is British! **1/2 out of 4.
Felicity is terrific!
lor_29 June 2023
My review was written in October 1991 after watching the film on Prism video cassette.
Breezy romantic comedy "Lena's Holiday" showcases an engaging new actress Felicity Waterman. Direct-to-video release of the Crown International picture is quality light entertainment.
Waterma, previously seen in small roles in "Die Hard 2" and "Night of the Warrior", portrays Lena, an East German tourist whose misadventures in Los Angeles are lightly geared to the 1989 demise of the Berlin Wall.
Arriving at the airport her bags are switched with those of Dani Minnick, whose muder gets Lena in hot water. Almost everyone, ranging from photographer Nick Mancuso to cab driver Chris Lemmon, is anxious to help the beautiful German girl, except for criminals led by Michael Sarrazin.
Filmmaker Michael Keusch maintains a friendly, romantic tone to the proceedings, with numerous personalities like Bill Dana and Pat Morita popping up for comic relief. Lemmon acts as Lena's unofficial guardian angel in a warm turn that unlike most of his previous roles is careful not to ape the mannerisms of his famous dad, Jack.
Statuesque Waterman handles her German accent with aplomb and creates a charming character whose James Dan obsession makes for a diverting subplot.
Tech credits are fine in a film that fits snugly in the mode of Crown International's traditional drive-in movie fare.
Breezy romantic comedy "Lena's Holiday" showcases an engaging new actress Felicity Waterman. Direct-to-video release of the Crown International picture is quality light entertainment.
Waterma, previously seen in small roles in "Die Hard 2" and "Night of the Warrior", portrays Lena, an East German tourist whose misadventures in Los Angeles are lightly geared to the 1989 demise of the Berlin Wall.
Arriving at the airport her bags are switched with those of Dani Minnick, whose muder gets Lena in hot water. Almost everyone, ranging from photographer Nick Mancuso to cab driver Chris Lemmon, is anxious to help the beautiful German girl, except for criminals led by Michael Sarrazin.
Filmmaker Michael Keusch maintains a friendly, romantic tone to the proceedings, with numerous personalities like Bill Dana and Pat Morita popping up for comic relief. Lemmon acts as Lena's unofficial guardian angel in a warm turn that unlike most of his previous roles is careful not to ape the mannerisms of his famous dad, Jack.
Statuesque Waterman handles her German accent with aplomb and creates a charming character whose James Dan obsession makes for a diverting subplot.
Tech credits are fine in a film that fits snugly in the mode of Crown International's traditional drive-in movie fare.
Unusual comedy/thriller hybrid from Crown International
Red-Barracuda7 February 2017
Lena's Holiday is certainly a slightly unusual release from b-movie producers Crown International Pictures. It's one of those uncommon films which combine the comedy and thriller genres, while it also has a title character travelling from an ex-Communist Bloc country which adds a bit of fish-out-of-water to the mix. The story is set in the immediate aftermath of the Berlin Wall coming down. An East German girl uses her new found freedom to visit Los Angeles. As soon as she arrives she finds herself mixed up with violent jewel thieves.
This is an odd mix of genres which results in a film which is hard to fully categorise. There is some comedy but that's offset by moments of murder and threat, so the comedy and thriller elements are almost pulling against one and other. Still, this does ensure that the film is a little different from what you would expect. It's actually not too bad an effort from Crown, who by this point in time were churning out quite a lot of under par efforts. The title character is played by English actress Felicity Waterman who sports a pretty funny accent, it's not always convincing but she is successfully amusing with it and she is undoubtedly the star of the show here in a very likable performance. There's also a completely superfluous appearance from Pat Morita as a slovenly hotel owner well it was nice to know he was there. This is a pretty middling affair overall in truth but it does have a decent likability factor and it also has the bonus of not being too generic or predictable.
This is an odd mix of genres which results in a film which is hard to fully categorise. There is some comedy but that's offset by moments of murder and threat, so the comedy and thriller elements are almost pulling against one and other. Still, this does ensure that the film is a little different from what you would expect. It's actually not too bad an effort from Crown, who by this point in time were churning out quite a lot of under par efforts. The title character is played by English actress Felicity Waterman who sports a pretty funny accent, it's not always convincing but she is successfully amusing with it and she is undoubtedly the star of the show here in a very likable performance. There's also a completely superfluous appearance from Pat Morita as a slovenly hotel owner well it was nice to know he was there. This is a pretty middling affair overall in truth but it does have a decent likability factor and it also has the bonus of not being too generic or predictable.
Light fare with cute girl.
vegasniceguy-12 December 2005
I enjoyed the movie, partially because I was in rapture with Felicity Waterman. She is very attractive and did an excellent job portraying a naive East German girl coming to visit Hollywood. I even believed she was European, her accent seemed that good.
Also thought Chris Lemmon was good in his role. While obviously no way he could match his father's career, was surprised he didn't have a larger career. Seems like a very likable guy. Some excitement, some laughs, some love. I enjoyed the movie, would watch it again, even if only to see Ms. Waterman in that short dress. Somebody involved in creating this movie definitely had a thing for James Dean.
Also thought Chris Lemmon was good in his role. While obviously no way he could match his father's career, was surprised he didn't have a larger career. Seems like a very likable guy. Some excitement, some laughs, some love. I enjoyed the movie, would watch it again, even if only to see Ms. Waterman in that short dress. Somebody involved in creating this movie definitely had a thing for James Dean.
Adorable Felicity Waterman but not much else
SnoopyStyle1 April 2014
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, east German Lena Jung (Felicity Waterman) is a James Dean fan. She's a tourist in Hollywood. At the airport, a sketchy situation left her with a switched bag. She has trouble with her hotel's name, and the cab stops in front of a gallery where she meets photo artist Flynn (Nick Mancuso). She finally gets to the motel which turns out to be a dump run by Fred (Pat Morita), and finds none of her paid-up 10 days all inclusive luxury tour. In desperation, she goes to Flynn's place. There she discovers that her bag has been switched and Flynn is an lecherous unstable creep. She leaves a box of condoms behind as she tries to exchange the luggage. She finds the woman dead, and the the only help comes from cabbie Mike (Chris Lemmon).
Felicity Waterman is very cute and her bad German accent is adorable. That's really all there is in this weak B-movie rom-com-thriller. Chris Lemmon comes after about 30 minutes and he doesn't have good enough charisma. He's also a little too old. I would prefer a younger better male lead. The quality of production is weak for this Crown International Pictures. In the end, I can't recommend this movie.
Felicity Waterman is very cute and her bad German accent is adorable. That's really all there is in this weak B-movie rom-com-thriller. Chris Lemmon comes after about 30 minutes and he doesn't have good enough charisma. He's also a little too old. I would prefer a younger better male lead. The quality of production is weak for this Crown International Pictures. In the end, I can't recommend this movie.
Crown International Pictures do romance, and the result's surprisingly all right
Leofwine_draca24 September 2016
I tend to avoid romantic comedies like the plague but I ended up watching LENA'S HOLIDAY anyway, purely because it was put out by Crown International Pictures and I've been watching a lot of their movies over the last year (blame a British TV channel which has been showing much of their back catalogue). Anyway, this is a low budget entry in that particular genre, but one which turns out to be surprisingly warm and likable given that I usually despise the genre.
The story is about a young girl from East Germany who ends up in Los Angeles and gets taken advantage of by various unscrupulous characters. Felicity Waterman essays the lead and although her accent occasionally slips she's quite authentic for the most part, and has a sweet nature which makes her easy to root for. The supporting cast are fairly good too, with Chris Lemmon (son of Jack) as the quickfire cab driver and Nick Mancuso less scuzzy than usual (only a bit, mind) as a photographer. There's a random Pat Morita cameo, an aimless sub-plot involving Waterman being pursued by crooks, and plenty of fish-out-of-water humour.
The story is about a young girl from East Germany who ends up in Los Angeles and gets taken advantage of by various unscrupulous characters. Felicity Waterman essays the lead and although her accent occasionally slips she's quite authentic for the most part, and has a sweet nature which makes her easy to root for. The supporting cast are fairly good too, with Chris Lemmon (son of Jack) as the quickfire cab driver and Nick Mancuso less scuzzy than usual (only a bit, mind) as a photographer. There's a random Pat Morita cameo, an aimless sub-plot involving Waterman being pursued by crooks, and plenty of fish-out-of-water humour.
My room has many mansions
nogodnomasters25 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
After an emotional film of the wall coming down, Lena (Felicity Waterman) comes to LA to see the sights and show off her bad German accent. She gets her luggage swapped with criminal who come after her, but not before she meets a rich cabbie and does the frolic in sand and sun scene. The film is light and tries to be clever. It has some folks with name recognition such as Bill Dana and Pat Morita and Susan Anton.
Unlike my peers, I wasn't overly entertained. The accent was really bad. Available on multi-packs.
Unlike my peers, I wasn't overly entertained. The accent was really bad. Available on multi-packs.
Unique Time Period Piece
dansview11 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This film is based upon mixed up luggage at L.A.X.and crooks chasing someone as a result. I can think of at least two movies that were loosely based on the same concept, which came out much earlier than this.
Out of Bounds with Anthony Michael Hall and Into The Night with Jeff Goldblum.
Chris Lemmon has a very appealing and natural screen presence. What a bizarre twist of fate that his career never took off, yet less appealing actors' careers did. Even being the son of a world famous actor didn't propel him to the next level. That's a shame, because he is wonderful in this role.
The lead actress fit her role beyond perfection, because they didn't want her to be smoking-hot like some chick born and raised in the free world. But they still needed her to be above average, in order to hold the male viewer. (She is supposed to be from East Germany)
This lady was a bit too thin and sported the accent of an unappealing national identity, (East German), so it wasn't like she was a voluptuous Swedish blonde.
Nevertheless, at times she played up her femininity and then she was hot enough.
What really marks this film as unique is that it's also based upon an historical milestone (Berlin wall coming down/End of European Communism), and plays off of that dynamic. It was filmed in 1990, right after that event and its' historical paradigm shift took place in '89.
Add to the mixture the fact that 1990 marked the beginning of the end of white middle class culture in Los Angeles. The world-rocking events of '89 put an end to the Cold War and our need for lots of Aerospace innovation. This eroded the L.A. economy, which had been filled with good-paying Aerospace Engineer and support jobs.
Then just two years later the L.A. riots pushed more middle class folks out, and the floodgates of illegal immigration opened wider to fill the void. So the movie is showing you an L.A. on the cusp of change, although one would not necessarily know that if they were watching it when it came out.
1990 also marks the beginning of the end of 80s culture in L.A. So I loved to catch any musical or style-related motifs in this movie. Having said that, it did not have an abundance of synth-pop music, since James Dean and the 50s were a major theme of the movie and the main character drives a car from that era.
The gangster stuff and the horribly miscast Nick Mancuso were huge errors, but the cuteness of the characterizations of our two main protagonists saved this film from oblivion.
Watch it with your partner and bring some popcorn. I watched it alone, and on an empty stomach. It wasn't satisfying enough to fulfill me, but would have been with the latter two enhancements.
Out of Bounds with Anthony Michael Hall and Into The Night with Jeff Goldblum.
Chris Lemmon has a very appealing and natural screen presence. What a bizarre twist of fate that his career never took off, yet less appealing actors' careers did. Even being the son of a world famous actor didn't propel him to the next level. That's a shame, because he is wonderful in this role.
The lead actress fit her role beyond perfection, because they didn't want her to be smoking-hot like some chick born and raised in the free world. But they still needed her to be above average, in order to hold the male viewer. (She is supposed to be from East Germany)
This lady was a bit too thin and sported the accent of an unappealing national identity, (East German), so it wasn't like she was a voluptuous Swedish blonde.
Nevertheless, at times she played up her femininity and then she was hot enough.
What really marks this film as unique is that it's also based upon an historical milestone (Berlin wall coming down/End of European Communism), and plays off of that dynamic. It was filmed in 1990, right after that event and its' historical paradigm shift took place in '89.
Add to the mixture the fact that 1990 marked the beginning of the end of white middle class culture in Los Angeles. The world-rocking events of '89 put an end to the Cold War and our need for lots of Aerospace innovation. This eroded the L.A. economy, which had been filled with good-paying Aerospace Engineer and support jobs.
Then just two years later the L.A. riots pushed more middle class folks out, and the floodgates of illegal immigration opened wider to fill the void. So the movie is showing you an L.A. on the cusp of change, although one would not necessarily know that if they were watching it when it came out.
1990 also marks the beginning of the end of 80s culture in L.A. So I loved to catch any musical or style-related motifs in this movie. Having said that, it did not have an abundance of synth-pop music, since James Dean and the 50s were a major theme of the movie and the main character drives a car from that era.
The gangster stuff and the horribly miscast Nick Mancuso were huge errors, but the cuteness of the characterizations of our two main protagonists saved this film from oblivion.
Watch it with your partner and bring some popcorn. I watched it alone, and on an empty stomach. It wasn't satisfying enough to fulfill me, but would have been with the latter two enhancements.
German in a strange land
BandSAboutMovies6 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Oh man, this movie is the reason why I bought the B-Movie Blast set twice. The first one I ordered actually had the Dark Crimes movies inside it and I couldn't find Lena's Holiday streaming anywhere. Well, you know what a completist I am, so I got another one, just so you could know all about this movie, dear reader.
Lena Jung (Felicity Waterman, who was on Hulk Hogan's Thunder In Paradise) has gone from East Germany to Hollywood and the culture shock is everything you thought that it would be. Making matters even worse, her bag is switched at the airport and she loses her itinerary and she ends up in the middle of a suspense switcheroo.
There's a pretty interesting cast here, with everyone from Chris Lemmon (Wishmaster), Nick Mancuso (one of the voices of Billy in Black Christmas), Michael Sarrazin (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), comedian Bill Dana, Liz Torres (Gilmore Girls), Pat Morita and Susan Anton.
This is one odd Crown International movie, because just when you think, "This has to be smut," they fool you into making a movie about culture clash and how foreigners see America. I mean, it's not a great movie nor is it worth getting the box set for like I did, but it is not exploitation like most of their output.
Lena Jung (Felicity Waterman, who was on Hulk Hogan's Thunder In Paradise) has gone from East Germany to Hollywood and the culture shock is everything you thought that it would be. Making matters even worse, her bag is switched at the airport and she loses her itinerary and she ends up in the middle of a suspense switcheroo.
There's a pretty interesting cast here, with everyone from Chris Lemmon (Wishmaster), Nick Mancuso (one of the voices of Billy in Black Christmas), Michael Sarrazin (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?), comedian Bill Dana, Liz Torres (Gilmore Girls), Pat Morita and Susan Anton.
This is one odd Crown International movie, because just when you think, "This has to be smut," they fool you into making a movie about culture clash and how foreigners see America. I mean, it's not a great movie nor is it worth getting the box set for like I did, but it is not exploitation like most of their output.
My wife and I loved this movie!
drwls8 January 2001
My wife (a former East German) happened to tape this off the Romance channel, and we watched it together later. We had never heard of the movie, and doubt if it ever played in theaters here. The situations were very funny and romantic, and the lead actress' East German accent and mannerisms are right on the mark. We had just been visited by a young (21) East German niece of my wife with many similarities to the heroine. We were both amazed to find she is played by an English actress, Felicity Waterman. I would like to see more of her movies. She is perfect in this one. I enjoyed it as much as any movie I've seen in the past year.
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