THE HOLIDAY has good intentions of invoking the fun and quirkiness of ’40s Hollywood romantic comedies—but it just goes to show that the Golden Age was long, long ago. With two disparate storylines butting heads in this film about love lost and love found, the film ends up being a half-assed, cavity-inducing mess. And while the good moments are pretty good but far between, the bad moments (almost all of which involve Cameron Diaz) are gag-worthy.
Amanda Woods (Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet, the light at the end of the The Holiday‘s dark, dark tunnel) are having holiday man troubles. Desperate to escape their romantic woes, the two strangers meet over the internet and exchange houses for two weeks—Iris goes off to LA, and Amanda to England. And yet they find that love awaits them even on the other side of the globe! (Gack, I know.) Iris falls for Miles (Jack Black), while Amanda gets schmoopy with bland but gorgeous Graham (Jude Law).
In a dream world, The Holiday would have focused on Iris’ time in LA, as she befriends an old screenwriter from the days of Hollywood’s screwball comedies and falls in love with Miles. But this ain’t no dream world—instead, the bulk of the story is devoted to the fearsome, face-splitting smile of Diaz as she hems and haws over the burgeoning affair between her and Graham: “But, it’s so complicated, but I love you. Step off, my life is so complex, aaaaaah come ‘ere you….” In this same dream world, there would have been multiple slaps delivered to Diaz’s face.
Director Nancy Meyers is desperate to infuse The Holiday with old-Hollywood charm, but with the inclusion of cutesy Diaz, the good-looking-but-hollow Law, and the goofy Black, Winslet is the only agreeable character in the treacly bunch. I think Meyers forgot the golden rule: Make sure your love interests are likeable, or you’ll end up with more smarm than charm.