This is the basic premise in my first holiday movie review--The Holiday. Both Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) have their lovelifes end tragically--Iris' beau is engaged to another woman, Amanda's is cheating with his secretary. Despondent and frustrated, the two meet through a house swap website. Amanda decides to go to Iris' English cottage for two weeks--Christmas--while Iris occupies the other's LA mansion. In England, Amanda meets Iris' brother Graham (Jude Law), a charmer with a secret. The two begin a fling that develops into something deeper. Meanwhile, Iris befriends Amanda's elderly neighbor Arthur (Eli Wallach), part of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and composer Miles (Jack Black). These two men help Iris find a new self-confidence.
The movie is a real pick-me-up, with each woman taking a different journey. Iris has been in a funk we've all been in and needs a new outlook on life. Arthur gives it to her using the only way he knows--the movies. He has her watch movies with strong heroines, encouraging her to be the heroine of her own movie, not the best friend. Miles gives her a relationship where she doesn't feel like the dirty little secret or skeleton in the closet. Across the pond, Graham reintroduces Amanda to her fun side, to the side not addicted to work. He brings out a side she's been suppressing since she was a teenager, reconnecting her to her emotions. The movie allows for a great character-study, something not really seen in your typical holiday rom-com.
I do feel that the movie spends more time focusing on the romance growing between Graham and Amanda. While there's no denying that Law and Diaz have a magnetic chemisty, it would've been nice to see Black and Winslet play off each other more. The scenes between Iris and Miles are always uplifting, even when the two are commiserating over their failed relationships. Their romance isn't as built up as Amanda's is and it hurts the ending of the movie. However, Iris' relationship with Arthur overshadows Miles, a mentor-mentoree relationship that is really the catalyst for Iris' transformation. Miles is just a domino in this equation.
With Miles being a composer, the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard. It has a holiday feel even when mixed in with the "taking a stand" and "romance" motifs for each character. Movies also play a large part throughout the film--Iris is surrounded by Hollywood, Amanda is haunted by a voice over artist narrating her life as if it were the theatrical trailers she cuts. Winslet and Diaz are charming as ever, Black has grounded his goofy persona to create a more serious romantic interest while Law can make any woman swoon as Graham.
All these work together to make a wonderful romantic comedy, with just a dash of Christmas thrown in. A good-for-all-year round viewing, not just Christmas. So, it gets four out of five stars but on the holiday scale, three and a half candy canes.
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