We watched this goofy romance comedy remake on DVD.

Queen Latifah plays Georgia Byrd, a timid cookware salesperson and want-to-be chef, who is diagnosed with a terminal disease, and is given only a few weeks to live. She decides to go out in style, and takes her life savings for one luxury vacation. She does many exciting things she was afraid to do before, since she has no reason not to...

She never deceives anyone about her condition. Of course, she doesn't take anyone into direct confidence until late in the film, but she does quip witty about how she's "dying" from time-to-time, which, of course, is taken as "tired."

Because of her change in attitude, she abandons most fear, and lives to the fullest. She believes she's got little time, and apparently plenty of cash to last, so she takes a helicopter to the hotel, rents the Presidential Suite, buys a whole new sophisticated wardrobe, and orders all of the chef's specials. Her carefree attitude is presumed by those around her to put her into some higher status than she holds for herself, and she's soon accepted by other rich guests.

The romantic comedy comes in from the funny bits, I suppose, and the seeming romance that develops, even though for most of the film the characters are apart. Early in the film we see she's smitten with a fellow store salesperson (LL Cool J), who is likewise taken with her. She leaves without a word, and it takes him several days to inquire about her. He does chase after her, including an on-foot pursuit to the hotel after he encounters an avalanche. Through the movie we see her miss this absent fellow, but don't really see their interactions grow into a budding relationship.

Of course, it's a Hollywood movie, so it all works out in the end. We learn there was a bad diagnosis, blamed on a used MRI machine; the story covered this with a second opinion, but not a second test. In the end, she finds her new inner strength and confidence, and lives her life like she felt she should have.

This is evidently a remake of a 1950 film where Alec Guiness plays the part of the misdiagnosed patient. I didn't know it was a remake until I searched IMDB for the photo (and the correct spelling of "Latifah"), so I can't comment on how accurately or differently it played out. Netflix doesn't have the original (it isn't out on DVD apparently--Amazon.com does sell the VHS version), but I'll get that when it does and compare it.