12 Reviews of Christmas - The Holiday (2006)

           Hey guys, Chuck here, and well, it was just a matter of time before I posted a review of a Nancy Meyers film. But, just for 12 Reviews of Christmas, I will be taking a look at her 2006 film The Holiday. 

         The movie focuses on two women: Iris, who lives in a small town cottage in England and works for The Daily Telegraph, and Amanda, who has a big luxurious house in Los Angeles and owns a company that cuts together movie trailers. One night, during an office Christmas party, Iris is utterly stunned when her ex, Jasper, announces his engagement to his current girlfriend, in spite of the fact that Iris is still in love with the guy. Meanwhile, Amanda breaks up with her boyfriend Ethan, a film composer, when he admits to cheating on her. 

          Spotting Iris' cottage on a home exchange website, Amanda reaches out to Iris and the two women agree to swap houses for two weeks, so that both can get away for the Christmas holiday. So, Amanda heads off to England, while Iris heads to Los Angeles. Iris easily adjusts to Amanda's luxurious home, enjoying the pool among other things, while Amanda struggles to adjust to Iris' cottage. Later that night, however, Amanda meets Iris' brother Graham, and the two really start to hit it off, and end up sleeping together. Iris, meanwhile, befriends Amanda's neighbor Arthur Abbott, who is an Oscar-winning screenwriter from the Golden Age of Film. During dinner, Iris tells Arthur about Jasper, and he gives her a list of films to watch with strong female lead characters. Iris also meets and befriends Miles, a friend of Ethan's who is currently dating an aspiring actress named Maggie. 

           One day, Iris sees a letter from the Writer's Guild, wanting to honor Arthur at a gala event, and Iris convinces him to accept the honor, even training with him so he can walk on stage without a walker. Later on, at a video store looking for movies from Arthur's list, Iris and Miles see Maggie, whose supposed to be in New Mexico working on a project, with another man. Iris later tells Miles about her struggles with Jasper, and the two agree to spend Christmas Eve together to get their spirits up. 

         Meanwhile, Amanda and Graham have been really hitting it off, and she really starts to open up to him. Deciding to surprise him at his house, Amanda is shocked when she meets Graham's two daughters: Sophie and Olivia. Graham reveals he's a widower and doesn't want to introduce his children to someone else if the relationship doesn't have a definite future. He and Amanda realize that things are starting to look a bit more complicated than they expected. 

             Iris, meanwhile, finally kicks Jasper from her life, while Miles ends things with Maggie for good. The two heads to the gala event honoring Arthur, who manages to walk on stage without assistance. After talking it over, Miles decides to head to England with Iris for New Year's. Meanwhile, as Amanda e getting ready to head back to Los Angeles, Graham reveals that he's fallen for her, and en route to the airport, she changes her mind and goes back, deciding to stick around for New Year's. 

          At Graham's house, Iris, Miles, Amanda, Graham, and Graham's daughters celebrate New Year's together. 

           Okay, so the idea of two women, both dealing with heartbreak, swapping houses for the Christmas holiday is definitely an interesting one, and it could have gone very wrong. However, in the hands of Nancy Meyers, it works quite well. While there are a lot of cliche moments and predictable scenes, I feel that with strong writing and directing, Nancy Meyers makes it come together really well. 

           The best thing about this movie, in my opinion, and the thing that really pulls it together, is the cast. The supporting cast, which includes the likes of Eli Wallach, Rufus Sewell, Edward Burns, John Krasinski, and Kathryn Hahn, are terrific, and the four lead actors of Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black are all terrific. Honestly, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet are the two pieces of the puzzle that really tie the whole movie together. 

         Overall, while not wholly unique in concept, this is definitely an enjoyable film to watch around the Christmas holiday. Heck, I'd rather watch this every year as opposed to something like Love, Actually. So, I give The Holiday a rating of 4/5. This is Chuck signing off, and 12 Reviews of Christmas continues tomorrow with my review of the Rankin/Bass classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

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