The Holiday
Ang gwapo ni Jude Law.
Those were the very first words uttered when the movie ended - by my companion.
And he’s a guy.
The Holiday is an endearing, light film about two successful women - Amanda and Iris- who are both on the verge of emotional breakdown. Desperately needing escape, they meet on a home exchange website and impulsively agree to swap houses for two weeks.
Cameron Diaz plays Amanda, a highly-stressed woman from LA who rakes in the big bucks with her very successful movie trailer-editing company. Iris is a neurotic, spineless writer for The Telegraph. Both have lovelorn predicaments - Amanda’s live-in partner confesses to sleeping with his secretary while Iris harbors unhealthy unrequited affection for her fellow writer who apparently only loves her editing skills.
Raring to escape, the very next day they fly to the opposite sides of the Atlantic - and the story begins.
The Holiday is a typical romantic comedy - expect incredible mush, hot cocoa, dogs, snowflakes, cute children, warm tingly feeling…the works. I love Iris’ quaint picturesque house, but I also wouldn’t mind spending a few weeks in Amanda’s huge LA mansion complete with swimming pool. So Hollywood.
Diaz does alright, no surprise there since this is a role she can play in her sleep. I love her outfits, especially that gorgeous black top she’s wearing when she accidentally meets the kids. Oh, and can anyone really run through snow wearing sky-high designer stilettos?
Jack Black plays Miles, a music composer for Hollywood movies, who can’t believe that he is dating a gorgeous actress. He started off fine - until he did a High Fidelity. While I’m sure everybody was amused by his crazy antics at the video store, that just about ruined it for me. I think Black can be a serious actor, I really do, but unless people stop expecting him to dish out the same crazy, eyebrows-raising, face-contorting antics he’s known for all the time, he’d be stuck doing the same goofball role over and over.
Jude Law is hand…no, he’s beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Definitely even more beautiful than Cameron. Forgive me for not having a concrete opinion regarding his acting as Graham, the widower with two beautiful children, because while I think he does great, I’m not entirely sure I’m not biased. That lovely face sure distracts me.
Now Kate, she nails this. There’s no other way of saying it. There is an unmistakable vulnerability and honesty to her portrayal. Such a fine actress, that Kate Winslet.
And no, the fact that I loved her as Clementine and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind remains one of my ultimate favorite movies do not have anything to do with this.
But the real gem of the movie is, handsdown, Elli Wallach. He is brilliant and endearing as the Oscar-winning screenwriter Arthur Abbott. I love how he wittily banters with his friends using words like half-dead and bedpan among others. Runner-ups would be Miffy Englefield as Sofia and Emma Pritchard as Olivia, Graham’s two adorable daughters.
The plot maybe a no-brainer, but with the warm, natural dialogue, Winslet’s heartfelt vulnerable acting, and the unbelievable chemistry between Diaz and Law, it sure wins.
