The Holiday (2006)

	Directed by: Nancy Meyers	COUNTRY USA GENRE Romance/Comedy NORWEGIAN TITLE The Holiday RUNNING TIME 128 minutes
	Produced by: Bruce A. Block Nancy Meyers
	Written by: Nancy Meyers

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, living in dreamy Hollywood homes or idyllic fairytale cottages in British villages that seem to be untouched for the last hundred years. Every colour is bright and every detail is polished, the only exception being the fragile love lives of our poor protagonists. The Holiday utilises a British victim of unreturned love (Kate Winslet) and the screwball break-up of an American Barbie doll who can't cry (Cameron Diaz), and lets them swap homes for the Christmas holidays. Not surprisingly, this dramatically changes the situation for them both.

In all her twaddle, Meyers has some occasional poignant points about the eternally discussed issue of love, and the film has a persistence and determination that ultimately gets to you. It remains completely lightweight and predictable, but the cuteness cannot be snubbed. Cameron Diaz will never be much more than a useful camera fixture, but she has some charming scenes here, and she's helped along by Jude Law, who couldn't be inauthentic if he tried, even when he's operating in idle mode. The film's most rewarding relationship, however, is the only platonic one in the film: Kate Winslet and a gentle Eli Wallach share a handful of delightful scenes that almost justify the unlikely romance between Winslet and Jack Black. Unfortunately, Black's personal quirkiness devours any chance of seriousness for his character. It's Winslet's talent that saves their relationship from falling completely into ridicule.