(3.5 out of 5 stars)
If you are looking for that movie to take your girlfriend to on Valentine’s Day then look no further than “The Holiday.” “The Holiday” is a chick-flick movie that even guys can stand and it’s due in no small part to quality acting. “The Holiday” stars Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. Quite the cast for any movie especially one aimed at the young female demographic. The actors and actresses really bring likeability and quality acting skills to a movie that already has a good plot. The plot is about two women (Diaz and Winslet) who are sick of men. Over the Christmas Holiday these women decide to get away from their lovesick lives by taking a vacation. Diaz plays Amanda, a movie trailer editor in Los Angeles, while Winslet plays Iris, a journalist in Surrey, England. The two women meet online at a website called Home Exchange and decide to switch houses for the holidays. Both women are hoping to get over their troubled love lives while on vacation, but instead they are swept of their feet by two men (Law and Black). While the plot may sound a little bit cheesy and an awful lot like a gigantic product placement, there are a lot of well written parts that really come out with the great acting. One of the best parts of the movie is the Winslet/Black storyline, but unfortunately the movie focuses a little more on the Diaz/Law storyline. While Jude Law is superb in this chick-flick (Matthew McConaughey should take notes); Cameron Diaz is the one weak link. If you are a fan of Diaz then you will probably enjoy her performance, but if not then it will just be the same sassy, prissy, and constantly smiling Diaz you seem to see in every one of her other movies. Diaz keeps the movie from scoring higher in my opinion. While Diaz does hold the movie back, there are still plenty of reasons to see “The Holiday.” Veteran actor Eli Wallach absolutely steals the movie in his role as the loveable Arthur Abbott, a retired Hollywood script writer. You just can’t help but admire and love Wallach in his role as the lonely old man. Black also plays great as a sensitive Hollywood movie score-composer. Some of the other roles in the movie are also cast well, as Rufus Sewell and Shannyn Sossamon from “A Knight’s Tale” and Edward Burns from “Saving Private Ryan” play their small but important roles perfectly. So basically, guys if you are looking to make your girlfriend happy after she’s watched more than her share of action flicks with you then definitely take her to see “The Holiday.” She won’t be disappointed and you’ll be surprised at how much you actually enjoy the movie as well.
