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The Holiday was not a film I chose to go and see; somewhat of a rarity
for me. I'm not much of a filmgoer, and won't go to see a film unless I know a
bit about it beforehand, and like what I see. Perhaps the only information I had
about the film came from a half-hearted comment from my brother, 'it's a chick
flick where two people swap houses'; and this immediately made me think of
cheesy daytime television shows. However, I found myself going to see this film
on a cold afternoon in early January, and this is what I thought.
During the first ten minutes, this general impression was backed up by what I
saw. Amanda (Cameron Diaz) is the stereotypical daughter of L. A. - working in
film advertising, living in a sprawling house and going through a firey
break-up. Iris (Kate Winslet) on the other hand, lives in a picturesque little
cottage in the heart of rural England, working for a newspaper and deeply in
love with a man who will never love her back. It's the last straw for both women
when Amanda discovers her boyfriend slept with the secretary, and the love of
Iris' life gets engaged to another girl at the office. In a whirlwind of
frustration and hurt feelings, they meet (via a house exchange web site) and
agree to swap homes for two weeks; and before long, both women find themselves
on the other side of the world.
 Iris'
first impressions are positive - L. A. is bold, bright and sunny, and
Amanda's gigantic home with its' myriad of gadgets is pure luxury. Amanda, on
the other hand, quickly discovers that Iris' compact little cottage is rather
too picturesque for her liking, and begins wishing she hadn't been so rash in
leaving L. A. This changes when a handsome stranger, Graham (Iris' brother, and
played by the gorgeous Jude Law) arrives drunkenly on the doorstep with a view
of spending the night on his sister's couch. Deciding that England has got some
things worth staying around for, Amanda soon finds herself getting more involved
with the locals than she'd intended and begins to fall for him.
In L. A., Iris is awoken by the arrival of Amanda's oblivious colleagues, one of
which is Miles (Jack Black), a composer who's alive with the joys of springtime
(in the middle of winter?) and deeply in love. Nevertheless, Iris soon strikes
up a friendship with him and with Arthur (Eli Wallach), a retired and forgotten
screenwriter living nearby, and with their help discovers the wonderful world of
the motion picture.
After its awkward start, Amanda and Graham's relationship continues to blossom
when both discover what they're looking for in each other. Miles' world
collapses when he discovers his girlfriend has been cheating on him, and turns
to Iris for support. However, fate throws a spanner in the works when Iris'
former crush turns up on her doorstep and Amanda becomes suspicious about
women's names in Graham's contacts. As both stories develop side by side, will
Amanda and Iris find what they're looking for before their 2 weeks is over?
 At
its most simple, this film is exactly what it offers to be - a seasonal story
of love lost and found set against the dually idyllic (depending on where you're
from) backdrops of L. A. and rural England. At first, what bothered me about
this film was the very stereotypical nature of its characters and situations (do
all American girls dream about rugged Oxon-educated English boys working in
publishing?) and this marred the experience for me a bit, until I realised that
both myself and my friend (being English) were both sitting there laughing at
Miles' carrying on in the video store. It's then I realised that perhaps
stereotypes aren't such a bad thing - and if this film does one thing right, it
carries its stereotypes off well.
I think the film was very well casted (I've heard that this film was written
especially for the four main actors and actresses). Jack Black also did quite well
in what I believe is his first role in this type of film. However, for me Kate
Winslet shone out in the most convincing performance.
The story is very predictable, and the characters do seem to live in a fantasy
world (take the idealness of both women's houses for starters), but I do think
this film is good for what it is. It's soothing, and it doesn't force you to
think or harden yourself against difficult subject matter. As long as you go to
see this film with expectations befitting the genre, you won't be disappointed.
You may even be pleasantly surprised. If not, you could just while away your
time by staring at Jude Law.
Starring
Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black
Directed by
Nancy Meyers
Certificate
12A
Summary
A festive and heart-warming piece of light entertainment, expect little more from
it and you'll enjoy it.
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