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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 186
Released: March 13, 2007 |
| Our Price: $5.71 |
| Used Price: $3.07 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In Nancy Meyers' The Holiday, a romantic comedy from the director of Something's Gotta Give and What Women Want, two women trade homes only to find that a change of address can change their lives. Iris (Winslet) is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda (Diaz), realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham (Law) and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur (Wallach), mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Black).
Description of The Holiday:
As a pleasant dose of holiday cheer, The Holiday is a lovable love story with all the Christmas trimmings. In the capable hands of writer-director Nancy Meyers (making her first romantic comedy since Something's Gotta Give), it all begins when two successful yet unhappy women connect through a home-swapping website, and decide to trade houses for the Christmas holiday in a mutual effort to forget their man troubles. Iris (Kate Winslet) is a London-based journalist who lives in a picture-postcard cottage in Surrey, and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) owns a movie-trailer production company (leading her to cutely imagine most of her life as a "coming attraction") and lives in a posh mansion in Beverly Hills. Iris is heartbroken from unrequited love with a cad of a colleague (Rufus Sewell), and Amanda has just broken up with her cheating boyfriend (Edward Burns), so their home-swapping offers mutual downtime to reassess their love lives. This being a Nancy Meyers movie (where everything is fabulously decorated and romantic wish-fulfillment is virtually guaranteed), Amanda hooks up with Iris's charming brother Graham (Jude Law), and Iris is unexpectedly smitten with Miles (Jack Black), a super-nice film composer on the downside of a failing relationship. --Jeff Shannon
Extras from The Holiday
First Look Featurettehigh bandwidth
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Film Clip: "Sushi for Two"high bandwidth
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Film Clip: "Oh Brother"high bandwidth
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Stills from The Holiday (click for larger image)
Beyond The Holiday on Amazon.com
On Blu-ray |
CD Soundtrack |
The Films of Nancy Meyers |
The Holiday Reviews:
Do yourself a favor, and take a holiday from "The Holiday" 
2009-11-06 - It's almost Christmas, and I am one of those people who gets into the mood early. So when I found this one, starring Kate Winslet (whom I adore), I thought, can't go wrong, right?
Wrong.
Iris Sempkins (Kate Winslet) of Surrey has been pining after Jasper for three years. Her life goes into an uproar when he suddenly reveals he is engaged. Meanwhile, in LA, Amanda (Cameron Diaz) breaks up with her boyfriend (Edward Burns) when she finds out he was cheating with his receptionist. On a whim, she decides to house exchange with Iris over the Christmas holiday. While on Holiday, Amanda meets Graham, Iris' hot older brother (Jude Law). In LA, Iris meets Miles, Amanda's ex-boyfriend's friend (Jack Black). And the rest, as you might say, is history.
Kate Winslet and Jack Black's sidestory is absolutely adorable. It is muted, it is subtle, it is cute, it is everything you would want in a romantic comedy. They had real chemistry together, and I was definitely rooting for them to get together in the end.
I also adored the story with Iris and the screenwriter. Very sweet and makes you realize that relationships are more than just between lovers, family members, you get the picture.
And, I know it's petty, but I loved the Dustin Hoffman cameo. Funny!
But the majority of the story centers around the "love" (AKA "lust") between Amanda and Graham. First off, while I liked Amanda's beginning (how she kicked out her boyfriend), I thought her story increasingly became boring and stupid, particularly right around Graham's "drunken" entrance. I really hated Hollywood's "Well, you're drunk, I don't know you, so I think we should have sex" mentality. WTF? Who does this sort of irresponsible thing? Maybe a teenager, maybe a college student, but a successful movie producer? And a widower?! With two young daughters? Doesn't at least Graham realize that love doesn't abound from a one night stand with a drunk stranger? I don't see how Hollywood thinks they can pull this horrible coupling off without making the rest of the world raise their eyebrows in skepticism.
Not to mention, Jude Law and Cameron Diaz have no chemistry with each other. It's all physical. Jude Law is a hunk; Cameron Diaz sexy. There is nothing else between the two of them, and yet most of the movie centers on them and their falling in lust. Boring!
In fact, the movie bored me so much (well, at least the parts that Kate Winslet and Jack Black weren't in) that I brought out my computer to surf the net at the same time. I almost never do that.
My advice? If you like Kate Winslet and Jack Black, I would watch their scenes and skip over everything else. You'll thank me for it in the end.
Brought to you by:
*C.S. Light*
Great movie, great price 
2009-10-17 - This movie is very cute. A bit on the cleche side, as all romantic comedies are, but it is a lot of fun.
a great romantic comedy
2009-10-05 - Just rented this movie and really enjoyed it. It's a fun little romantic comedy that will certainly get you in the holiday spirit. Jack Black is funny, as always. He also shows a more sensitive side, that you don't always see in his movies. That was a highlight for me.
The story, in general, is one we can all relate to. Most of us are working way too hard and bypassing the little things that make life so great. That was my big takeaway from this. It was a nice (and sometimes hilarious) reminder to stop and smell the roses.
How can you not LOVE this movie? 
2009-10-03 - I think I need another copy of this movie. I just love it. I watch it every time I am on the road and get a DVD player to myself. Yes, I am quite aware of how pathetic I am...
Great Romance movie
2009-09-27 - Cameron Diaz and Jude Law have total chemistry, unfortunately Jack Black and Kate Winslet don't. Cameron and Jude's characters save the day though and carry the whole movie. Kate's friendship with her neighbor does your heart good. In spite of the lack of chemistry between one of the two couples in the movie, I've probably watched it at least 50 times. Makes me feel like love is still possible. And who wouldn't want to watch Jude Law?
