The Holiday
Published December 26, 2018

Film info
- Title The Holiday
- Director Nancy Meyers
- Year 2006
- Run time 2hrs 18m
- Genres Comedy, Romance
- Tagline As one door closes another one opens
After bad bouts of man trouble just before the holidays, Amanda (Diaz) and Iris (Winslet) are desperate for a change of scene. Travelling in opposite directions (Diaz to London, Winslet to Los Angeles), each finds herself alone in an unfamiliar town, but neither remains a stranger in her new surroundings for long.
Live blog
Time | Comment |
---|---|
1:38 | Loving Jack Black’s studio setup! |
3:00 | “Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other, but what about the rest of us?” |
5:23 | Love Sarah Parrish! “I never realised how pathetic you are.” |
13:52 | I mean, cheating is bad but to make him walk on gravel in bare feet is harsh. |
16:40 | I wanna see the Lohan/Franco film! |
17:43 | “For years, I read these reviews, I buy the books but I never read them.” Sing it, sister. |
22:10 | This has gone very You’ve Got Mail, I like it. |
29:19 | No way does Iris do that commute every single day. That’s cray cray. |
32:49 | Now, hold on. She was watching Little Britain, which was on the BBC, which doesn’t have ads on it. |
33:04 | Where did the dog come from??? |
43:21 | Well Jude Law is adorable. |
52:14 | “You’re lovely” is such a nice thing to say to someone. |
55:30 | Did she get on the plane? |
59:19 | Well, Kate Winslet would recognise the Oscar. |
1:02:05 | “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’re behaving like the best friend.” |
1:13:26 | I quite like finding yourself in the middle of dinner party that you somehow are hosting. |
1:27:32 | What is way past complicated? |
1:28:56 | Oh Arthur, wait till you see how much Netflix want to produce. |
1:35:34 | “Two notes, and you’ve got a villain.” |
1:44:01 | “I used only the good notes.” Okay, so Jack Black has won the movie. |
1:53:26 | Nooooo Jasper! Nooooo. |
1:57:52 | Gumption! What a word! |
Conclusions
Really loved this! It’s one of those adorable but quirky rom-coms, where you can’t quite believe what is happening but are completely swept along for the ride. I fell in love with Jude Law a little bit, but was bowled over by the concept of Jack Black as a romantic lead - and he pulled it off!
The real hero was Arthur, though, and boy did I cry when the doors opened and everyone was cheering. My word.
My only complaint, really, is that aside from some snow and the odd wreath on a door, it doesn’t feel like a Christmas film. It could be set at any time really, and still be almost word for word the same. But that makes no odds to the overall enjoyment of a great and worthy film. Hoorah!
Rating: 5 / 5