The Holiday
2006
**
Director: Nancy Meyers
Cast: Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon
Iris and Amanda, two lovelorn ladies, want to escape their philandering boyfriends and agree to swap homes for two weeks. And wouldn't you know, Iris finds Mr. Right in L.A. and Amanda finds hers in Surrey, UK. Nancy Meyers has created a romantic comedy so bland and inoffensive that it's not even worth getting worked up about. If the story was set in the real world and the characters resembled actual human beings, one might be tempted to throw stuff at the screen. These four incredibly successful career people live in the land of milk and honey where they never have to worry about annoyances such as work. This amiable crowdpleaser comes straight off the conveyor belt, yet Meyers has the audacity to comment on the shallowness of modern day Hollywood movies. The film is about 45 minutes too long and its actors range from sweet (Winslet) to oversweet (Law) to miscast (Black) to plain awful (Diaz).
