Thoughts After Rewatch: The Holiday

My second holiday-themed entry in Thoughts After Rewatch is the aptly named The Holiday. I can say about this film exactly what I said about Love Actually: this is one of my favorite romantic comedies or rather one of my favorite movies, and a must-watch every holiday season.

The good: First up, Kate Winslet. One of the most talented actresses working today, Kate can play any character and she excels in a more comedic role. Her chemistry with Eli Wallach (who’s also fantastic) is a joy to watch. Next, Jude Law. He’s charming as usual but gets to show his vulnerable side. Jack Black: wow. His best performance to date (I’ve yet to see Bernie). He’s restrained, very likeable and you root for him to end up with Kate Winslet. Not only that, but you feel he deserves to be with that amazing woman. Also, this being a Nancy Meyers film (love her to death), The Holiday features excellent music, fantastic dialog and yes, insanely beautiful houses.

The bad: I feel kinda bad for putting her here, but Cameron Diaz was the weakest part of the cast. I think the woman is talented but an actress with a wider range could’ve done great things with her part. Also, John Krasinski and Edward Burns were on screen for far too little.

The ugly: The scenes where Cameron Diaz was trying to cry were neither funny nor poignant. Again, this called for a better actress.

Favorite scene: a tie between the tribute to screenwriter Arthur Abbott (Wallach) and a 3-way call between Diaz, Winslet and Law

Favorite line: (Arthur [Wallach] to Iris [Winslet])

He let you go. This is not a hard one to figure out. Iris, in the movies we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend.