The Holiday

Nancy Meyer’s film starts out pushing all the right romcom buttons – work addicted Iris barely even has time for the office Christmas party, so dedicated is she to her job. Pretty enough but clearly the cinema’s version of ‘plain’ she is still hung up on Jasper when disaster strikes in the form of his engagement to another colleague. Reduced to a sobbing wreck, Iris has such a stereotypical introduction I’d be willing to leave the cinema if she wasn’t being played by Kate Winslet. She’s one of those A-class actors that manage to make even the most clichéd role memorable.

In fact the majority of the cast of The Holiday are brilliant. As unlikely as it sounds, Jack Black is a fantastically charming man when not singing ‘Fuck Her Gently’ as part of his other job in Tenacious D. He’s completely convincing as the self-deprecating yet passionate film composer. Jude Law also has a surprisingly refreshing turn as Iris’ brother Graham, and Eli Wallach is wonderful as the has-been screenwriter Arthur Abbott, who is perhaps more relevant to contemporary society than he gives himself credit for.

The only blemish on The Holiday’s otherwise charming exterior is Cameron Diaz, who unfortunately isn’t up to the task as Amanda. As Iris’ American equivalent it’s Amanda’s hatred of men (and Edward Burns in particular) that leads to her to agree to a cross-Atlantic house-swap with her. I’ve never had a problem with Diaz, and she was well suited to films like Charlie’s Angels and There’s Something About Mary, however her kind of hyperactive ‘extreme acting’ really doesn’t fit well into the rest of The Holiday. Whereas Jack Black toned down the over-the-top antics we were used to from High Fidelity and The School Of Rock, Diaz sadly seems to be out of kilter with the general mood of the narrative.

The script is decent, and any of its shortcomings are more than made up for by the skill and general charm of Winslet et. al. The Holiday is the type of safe cutesy feel-good film you expect around Christmastime, one where you know nothing too nasty is ever going to intrude on the make believe lovey-dovey world.