The Holiday

[Amazon Link]
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[3.0
stars] [IMDb Link]

This movie has a lot of things wrong with it. It's way too long. It's obviously contrived. It's extremely talky; in the show/tell spectrum, it's all the way over on the "tell" end. Worse, the talk is the pretend-witty style that's not very witty at all. And—oh oh—it's an unabshed chick flick; the movie revolves around Californian Amanda and English Iris (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, respectively), who have done been treated bad by the men in their lives, and how they each find their way out of that mess. On an Internet-based whim, they decide to swap houses for a couple weeks; isn't that what you'd do in their position?

So, it could have been pretty bad. But pulling things up quite a bit is Kate Winslet, who made her unlikely role solidly believable. Jack Black does a very good job as Miles, her (eventual) love interest in California. Eli Wallach shows up in a supporting role as a retired screenwriter she befriends.

So, basically watchable. I didn't laugh too much, but I didn't fall asleep either.


Last Modified 2024-02-02 4:34 AM EDT