The Holiday (2006)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Amanda	Cameron Diaz
Iris	Kate Winslet
Graham	Jude Law	½
Miles	Jack Black	½
Arthur Abbott	Eli Wallach
Ethan	Edward Burns
Jasper	Rufus Sewell	½
Himself	James Franco

Review

In Nancy Meyers' romantic utopia, everyone is a high-profile worker in the entertainment business who live in dreamy Hollywood homes and idyllic fairytale cottages in British villages that seem to be untouched the last hundred years. Every colour is bright and every detail is polished, except the fragile love lives of our poor protagonists. The Holiday utilizes the British victim of unreturned love (Winslet) and the screwball break-up of the American Barbie-doll who can't cry (Diaz), and lets them swap homes for the Christmas holidays. Not surprisingly, this dramatically changes the situation of both.

In all her twaddle, Meyers has some occasional poignant views about the constantly discussed issue of love, and the film has a persistence and determination that ultimately gets to you. It remains completely light-weight and predictable, but the cuteness cannot be snubbed. Cameron Diaz will never be anything but a useful camera suspension, but she is not entirely devoid of charm here, and she's helped on by a Jude Law who couldn't be implausible if he tried, even here where he's operating in idle mode. The film's most rewarding relation, however, is the only platonic one in the film; Kate Winslet and a gentle Eli Wallach share a handful of delightful scenes that even threaten to justify the unlikely romance between Winslet and Jack Black. Unfortunately, Black's personal quirkiness devours any chance of taking him seriously. It's Winslet's talent that saves their relationship from complete ridicule.