The Holiday

A Holiday for $1.25

Once a year Americans turn up the testosterone for a three-hour game. Bring out the beer, bring out the chips, bring out the best commercials of the year!

So what do I do? Pull out my $1.25 and head off to the dollar theatre, naturally.

For well over a month, I've avoided the cheesy romantic movie The Holiday. Reviews were not flattering (unless the reviewer in question was unequivocally enamoured of Jude Law), so I decided against seeing it. However, as friends and family began sending me favourable reports, I had a change of heart and opted for a late matinee this afternoon.

Let me state for the record how pleasantly surprised I was by this movie. I don't know about you guys, but I love movies that talk about other movies. It's like the writer is trying to pass on little secrets to those of us who can recognize them. I nearly jumped out of my chair when I caught a 3 second glimpse of His Girl Friday and chuckled merrily at the mention of The Lady Eve and speculated that the Irene Dunne movie Kate Winslett watched was more than likely The Awful Truth.

These are my favorite moments. This is why I go to the movies.

** Caution: Estrogen approaching on Testosterone Appreciation Day! **

I like a romantic comedy as much as the next girl, but I'm picky. I expect predictability. I expect a cookie-cutter cast (girl, bad guy, nice guy, best friend, etc). Yet there needs to be a little something that sets it apart. I think Faith said it best when she recommended it to me, "They have cool jobs!" It's true. I loved that Jack Black was a composer and that Cameron Diaz was a movie trailer editor. The fact that she thought of every aspect of her life as a trailer narrated by the trailer guy was great! (I so do that) These characters were people I could really identify with. While I find myself more a Kate Winslett than Cameron Diaz...I think we all (men included...admit it or not) see ourselves in these roles. Unrequited love...yes, yes. Collosal pricks...yes, yes. Perfect men? Nah, romantic comedies only. :)

This movie met all my requirements, with one exception: Jude Law and Cameron Diaz both had very cheesy moments at the end that garnered an exasperated eye-roll and groan out of me. Otherwise, the movie was fun and sweet and endearing. 4 Stars

And, Madame Writer/Director, I wanna know what else was on Eli Wallach's list of 15 movies Kate was supposed to watch. I hope it included The Philadelphia Story. :)