I am not a sucker for romantic comedies. I am a chick and will watch some flicks, but I am not a chick who can actually stomach many chick-flicks. It's not that I don't try. Yet, so many romantic comedies, those films typically deemed 'chick-flicks,' recycle the same formula and have little original about them. They end up feeling a bit like a half-eaten stale doughnut: sweet, but too chewy to swallow.
I heard some mixed reviews about the Holiday, so I added it to my Netflix queue just in time for the holidays. I did like the concept of an American fleeing to England for a little while. That's something I'd love to do if I were a woman with time and money. I am not, so that bit of fantasy was appealing. Also, there seemed to be a stellar assembly of stars for this vehicle. Nancy Meyers, further, directed this piece of cotton candy, and her other romantic comedies usually have something interesting or original going for them, even if the movie isn't always successful (Something's Gotta Give, What Women Want, etc.).
I am sorry to say that this film is something trying to be original and different but fails quite spectacularly in the process.
Cameron Diaz plays Amanda, an American movie advertiser with bad success at relationships. Kate Winslet plays Iris, a British book editor with bad success at relationships. Each has recently broken up with a cheating boyfriend (Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell), and each decides to shed this emotional baggage by a random house-exchange vacation during the Christmas holiday, which is really a rather secondary backdrop to the rest of the story. Amanda thusly flies to Surrey to stay in Iris' old-country cottage. Iris thusly flies to LA to stay in Amanda's posh Californian estate. While on each woman's respective getaways, the women meet men with whom they fall madly in love by the end of the movie (oh, am I giving something away? Don't be so naive). Amanda falls for Iris' brother Graham (Jude Law), a widower father of two precious girls, who stumbles upon the visitor in his sister's home one drunken night. Iris falls for Miles (Jack Black), an acquaintance of Amanda's ex, who stumbles upon the visitor in Amanda's home while trying to collect the ex's things. Oh, and Iris randomly meets Eli Wallach, who plays an aging screenwriter offering up nuggets of wisdom about love and life.
This movie had potential to be something a bit different but turned out to be something simply not. The acting was so wooden, it was painful to watch. Perhaps, it was the material. Kate Winslet was easily the best actor in the piece, devoting her usual fortitude toward odd and/or serious roles to something quite frothy and trite, making her performance the truest and most honest in this especially contrived and formulaic movie. Every other actor, including Jack Black, felt like square pegs being shoved into round holes. Cameron Diaz was the worst of the bunch this time, and she's had experience at these sorts of films.
The writing was simply subpar. While the story followed a logical progression, the dialogue was inconsistent. The supposed heartfelt moments lacked any true depth. The wit was sparse.
That's not to say that the film did not have its enjoyable moments. I was easily more taken in by Amanda's visit to the English countryside and more charmed by Jude Law's Graham. That romance, as manipulated as it was, was the one I was more interested in watching only because a) it was in England , and b) Jude Law is one good-looking man--who has an accent. Yet, I virtually despised the character of Amanda, so this enjoyment was tempered. She was just so obnoxious.
All in all, I didn't expect much from this movie, but I also got less than I expected. I consider that disappointing, even for this genre of film. I think I have to rate this movie a 5 for being utterly mediocre. I was expecting it to be a 6...but I can't even say it was cute because it was altogether too saccharine and too fluffy. It made my teeth hurt. For obvious reasons, the Holiday does not pass the test. I will not be buying it or watching it again, even if it's on cable. There is an altogether better romantic comedy about bad luck in relationships leading to true love with a more relatable character and believable actress playing her that is set in England. Watch Bridget Jones' Diary and take a holiday from this movie.