Kate Winslet Movie:

		List Price: $38.96		Label: Sony Pictures Salesrank: 1821 Released: March 13, 2007
		Our Price: $11.48
		Used Price: $9.95
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

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 [Blu-ray]:
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

The Holiday [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Superb
2009-12-16 - this is one of the most wonderful movies I've ever watched. over and over. It's touching, funny, exciting, wonderful in everyway. It's a great love story. Well worth your time.

Love this movie
2009-12-16 - This is one of my very favorite Christmas movies. Just love it. Would recommend it to one and all.

Romantic, with "Cute" Meet-ups"
2009-12-07 - The movie is a bit long for the story, but overall has a few bright moments. I thought that the part with the 91 year old Eli Walach was one of the bright moments to enjoy.

The two female romantic leads are Cameron Diaz (a southern California advertising VIP that creates movie trailers) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) an English wedding column writer who lives in a quaint cottage in the English countryside.

They both need a break from the men who complicate their lives. By chance both Amanda and Iris find each other through an Internet site that specializes in home exchanges for short-term get-a-ways. Amanda and Iris are thousands of miles away from each other but both are excited to change homes and cross continents to move into each other's homes for two weeks.

Iris lands in Amanda's Los Angeles home, and Amanda lands in Iris's English cottage.

Each young woman has a eye-opening adventure and learn of new and deep relationships in their unfamiliar settings.

Iris helps Arthur (Eli Wallach) who is a screenwriter from Hollywood's golden days. He has her watch movies of strong female lead and Iris helps him find the confidence to face his past and accept some praise from his peers. Iris also finds true love in Los Angeles (Jack Black).

Amanda meets Iris's handsome brother (Jude Law) as he comes knocking at the cottage door. She learns that he is a widower with two small children, and discovers that even though she does not want to risk vulnerability, she finds love and trust to ask for the family she wants.


Turned the channel every time!!!
2009-12-07 - This movie has came on cable about 15-20 times and I have turned it every time!!! Thinking this movie had no real plot and a definite chick flick I kept on turning the channel, boy was I missing out on a great film!! I finally watched this movie one night and absolutely loved it!! It is definitely a chick flick, but well worth the watch!! This movie made me fall madly in love with Jude Law, oh my goodness, he is soooo hot!! Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, and Jack Black are also great in this movie. I really enjoyed this movie, it is well worth watching!!!

A Christmas Sugarplum
2009-12-06 - Many previous reviewers have given you the basic plot here, so I will concentrate on the acting.

Despite Cameron Diaz's performance (about which more later) this is one of my all-time favorite romanticomedies. Kate Winslet, as Iris, is absolutely wonderful--down-to-earth and believable. Her transformation from weepy-wimp-in-love-with-loser in the beginning of the movie, to someone with a lot more spine and self-esteem in the end is satisfying to watch. The kind and sweet relationship that develops as Iris determinedly coaxes the very funny Eli Wallach out of his solitary lifestyle--finding her own strength along the way--made me want to cheer for both of them.

I have previously avoided movies starring Jack Black, simply because the trailers looked so stupid. But after seeing his performance as the gentle and optimistic Miles, I'm willing to give him a chance in movies like this. Himself involved with a self-absorbed and cheating girlfriend, you wonder if Miles is going to come to his senses and do something about what's developing between Iris and him. Although Jack is certainly nobody's idea of the classic romantic leading man, he gives a very endearing, sweet, and credible performance here.

Jude Law is...well...just plain yummy as Graham, coincidentally Iris's brother. He has a sad romantic history of his own, and a personal life that he keeps (understandably) secret from Amanda (Diaz). If you can suspend disbelief that an emotionally healthy person can fall so deeply in love in such a short time, you'll love him.

I haven't been able to figure out if Diaz was just doing an over-the-top performance of a spoiled little rich girl, or whether she can't act, but she was anything but believable. Although I enjoyed the scene of her shopping in the local village, too many scenes were overplayed, with wide-eyed, open-mouthed, scrunched-face reactions, and foot-stomping tantrums way too close to slapstick for my taste. She was marginally better near the end of the film--maybe her idea of her character's emotional growth?

However, don't let my general dislike of Diaz's performance keep you away from this movie. The others more than cover for her. You might recognize your own romantic mistakes in Iris's cad of a boyfriend--I know that I did!--and Graham's daughters are complete scene-stealers!

So, all in all, well worth the price of admission.