Favorite Movie #103 - Holiday Edition: the Holiday

Favorite movies that have had an impact on me - #103 - The Holiday (2006) - Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) are severely unlucky at love. To escape their most recent heartbreaks they switch houses on a home-exchange website for the holidays — Iris moving into Amanda's palatial L.A. mansion, where she meets musician Miles (Jack Black), and Amanda into Iris's charming, but very quiet Surrey cottage. Quiet, that is, until Iris's brother Graham (Jude Law) stops by looking for his sister. The Holiday on its surface is a fairly standard rom-com. You'd have to have never seen one before to not guess the outcome. What sets it apart from the pack is the charm of its four leads and the twin holiday backdrops of wintry Surrey and sunny Hollywood. There is also some great supporting work from Eli Wallach, who plays a Classic Old Hollywood screenwriter who teaches Winslet about meet-cutes and how to be a gal with gumption.


 

Holiday connection: Home and life swapping during the holiday season