[Movies] The Holiday

As you can all tell by now, my partner Brian and I are really working on getting through our pretty significant DVD collection so that we can actually say that we've seen most (and eventually all) of the movies in our collection. One of the more insteresting movies we got to watch recently was The Holiday, which thankfully turned out to be much more than just your typical chick flick.

The story centers around two women who decide to swap homes for the holidays in order to escape love woes in their respective locations. Instead they find new reasons to love again during their two week vacations of sorts - not that bad a set up for a film when you get down to it.

First off, the movie hit the ground running with a pretty strong cast, which is always an important part of the equation. I'm not just talking about star power but more along the lines of on screen chemistry and how well they fit their respective roles. Cameron Diaz had the somewhat easier role since her character allowed her to be pretty much the same girl that she is in most movies but I was personally surprised at how well Kate Winslet handled the role of Iris. She was very good and pretty funny to boot - definitely worlds away from some of her stuffier roles in period films.

Jack Black was okay as well since he turned down things a few notches and wasn't so off the wall - perhaps this is a hint that he's ready for more serious roles in the future? Of course we come to Jude Law who was unbelievable sexy not because of his physical appearance (althgough I'd love to drown in those eyes of his) but because of how charming he was in the movie. *gasps* Note to self - must get my own copy of Alfie.

As for the story itself, while initially it seemed a bit simplistic and typical of romantic comedies, its execution was great in my opinion. Top marks go to the writers for making this such a smart comedy given the over-abundance of witty one-liners and pick-up lines that even though you know you'd never have a collection of people like that all in one area, it's still fun to watch them interact on screen.

I was scanning other reviews and I feel a tad disappointed they did not enjoy this movie as much as I did. I think that's more because it chose not to stick too much to the stereotypical formula for these kinds of things and stepped a little beyond the norms. However it's precisely because of those reasons that I truly love this movie and look forward to repeating it some time in the near future, again and again and again.