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The Holiday Our rating: Your rating: 1 2 3 4 Your Comments: see all MPAA rating: PG-13 (for sexual content and some strong language) Genre: Romantic Comedy Theater release: December 08, 2006 by Sony Pictures Entertainment Directed by: Nancy Meyers Runtime: 2 hours 11 minutes Cast: Cameron Diaz (Amanda), Kate Winslet (Iris), Jude Law (Graham), Jack Black (Miles), Eli Wallach (Arthur), Edward Burns (Ethan), Rufus Sewell (Jasper) Related: Talk About It/Family Corner

There's a special bond between heartsick women. It may not be pretty, but it runs deep and spans continents. Though Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) live 6,000 miles apart and share little else in common—Iris is a neurotic wedding columnist who lives in a sleepy English village, Amanda is all control and California cool as a successful movie-trailer maker in L.A.—they make this connection almost instantly when they meet on a house-exchange vacation website.

Amanda's just kicked her cheating live-in boyfriend (Edward Burns) to the curb and, faced with the prospect of spending Christmas alone, starts Googling for ways to get away from it all. When she spots a picture of Iris's wondrously charming Rosehill Cottage nestled in the English countryside, she sends her a message. Iris has just watched her workplace ex, Jasper (Rufus Sewell), publicly announce his engagement. Considering this is a man she's still hopelessly in love with and who's been stringing her along ever since he cheated on her with "some girl" in circulation, she's ripe for a change of scenery herself.

Kate Winslet as Iris

Within the next day or so, Iris is giddily running from room to room in Amanda's expansive and sleekly appointed L.A. home, and Amanda is stocking up on wine and chocolates for a therapeutic Me Night in her cozy English home away from home. Though a main priority for both women seems to be hiding out from the world—especially from men—some friendly male locals happen into their hideaways and start to have the greatest healing effect.

Iris befriends her elderly neighbor, Arthur (Eli Wallach), whom she discovers used to be a famous Hollywood director. Their hours of conversation about love and film (some of the highlights of the movie) have a warming effect on both of these lonely souls. And then there's Miles (Jack Black), a friend of Amanda's ex, who occasionally pops by, bringing much-needed laughter and song.

Cameron Diaz as Amanda, Jude Law as Graham

Meanwhile, Amanda has discovered one of the dreamiest amenities of Rosehill Cottage—Iris's brother, Graham (Jude Law), who apparently crashes at sis's place whenever he's had a few too many at the local pub. In a rare surge of boldness (or something), Amanda seduces Graham, and the couple begins a whirlwind romance—and together, their stunning good looks threaten to upstage the breathtaking countryside. But it's only after a bit of a twist that their relationship truly becomes three-dimensional and interesting.

Romantic comedies—especially well done rom-coms—have been a bit of a dying breed in the past several years, when newer technologies have fueled the rise of action-adventure flicks and world events have spurred more Serious and Important Movies. Perhaps that's why it's so delightful to see The Holiday tucked amidst all the war and gore at the local cineplex. And this isn't just your by-the-number chick flick, with the requisite gay best friend for her and gross-out best friend for him, and every Mars and Venus cliché in the book. No, this is a grown-up chick flick. Think Bridget Jones' Diary or Notting Hill. This shouldn't come as a surprise, considering Nancy Meyers did the writing and directing. Though this isn't as meaty and insightful as her previous hits, What Women Want and Something's Gotta Give, it's still refreshingly fun and engaging.

Jack Black as Miles

The best performances are given by the romantic comedy newbies. Winslet and Law bring a gravitas to Iris and Graham that gives these characters needed believability and dimension. And it's so great to see Jack Black as a romantic lead, though it's tough to actually call him a lead for how stingy they are with his plotline. Still, he holds his own next to Winslet—which is saying a lot. Diaz gets better as the film progresses, but her opening breakup scene feels more like a choreographed dance than the painful end of a relationship. And while she seems more real as the films picks up speed, her character's transformation is the weakest.

It's interesting to note that all four romantic leads make a living sharing and/or shaping other people's stories. Iris is a wedding columnist, Amanda creates movie trailers, Graham is a book editor, and Miles composes movie scores. Even Iris's neighbor Arthur was a movie director. For all their skill and success at communicating other people's lives, they all falter when it comes to living out their own. Love ain't easy in a modern world, Meyers seems to be telling us, and only those who decide to stay open to new relationships anyway will have any chance at happiness.

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