Tonight's Movie: The Holiday (2006)

Watching THE HOLIDAY, a feel-good romantic comedy, was true bliss. I laughed, I cried, I left the theater with a happy glow. A grand start to the New Year, in terms of movie-going.

As you may know if you have read any of the recent reviews of the film, the plot concerns two lovelorn ladies who impulsively exchange houses for two weeks at Christmastime. Amanda (Cameron Diaz), an L.A. producer of movie trailers, trades places with Iris (Kate Winslet), a writer at London's Daily Telegraph. Amanda meets Iris's charming brother (Jude Law) within hours of her arrival, while Amanda makes friends with both an elderly screenwriter (Eli Wallach) and a kind musician (Jack Black).

I particularly enjoyed Wallach's character teaching Iris how to be "the leading lady in her own life" by having her view countless screwball comedies from the Golden Era. (There's a cameo in a scene at the video store that's a lot of fun.) I also liked that Law's apparent playboy-about-town isn't quite what he seems. To say more would spoil the surprise. And OK, I'll say it: The man is drop-dead gorgeous. Those eyes!

As with other Nancy Meyers films, such as BABY BOOM and SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE, THE HOLIDAY has fabulous sets. I want Jude Law's kitchen! And my jaw dropped with wonder when I got a look at Amanda's DVD library and screening facilities; as Iris gasped, "That's intense!" The L.A. Times recently ran an article on the set designs for Meyers' films in general and this film in specific.

Trailers can be found here. The last trailer on the list has at least 3 scenes I don't believe were in the movie, which was rather interesting.

A postscript, we saw a trailer for BECAUSE I SAID SO with Diane Keaton and Lauren Graham (GILMORE GIRLS). It looked a bit like a cinematic GILMORE GIRLS, concerning the relationships between three generations of women; Keaton plays the controlling grandmother. It may not be great, but I have enjoyed several of Keaton's "family" films and hope it's entertaining.