The Holiday is a 2006 American romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers. Co-produced by Bruce A. Block, it was filmed in both California and England, and stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as Amanda and Iris, two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, who temporarily exchange homes to escape heartbreak during the holiday season. Jude Law and Jack Black were cast as the film's leading men Graham and Miles, with Eli Wallach, Shannyn Sossamon, Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell playing key supporting roles.
Distributed by Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures, The Holiday was first released on December 6, 2006, in Spain and on December 8, 2006, in North America and the United Kingdom. It grossed over $205 million worldwide. Critics praised the film's visual aesthetic design and the cast's performances, though criticized its plot as predictable.
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Plot
Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet), a columnist for The Daily Telegraph in London, has been in love with her co-worker Jasper Bloom (Rufus Sewell) for over three years, despite the fact that he has cheated on her numerous times and the previous break-ups with him. When she learns that he is engaged to another woman, Iris is at a loss for how to move on with her life. Meanwhile, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), a workaholic living in Los Angeles, discovers that her long-term boyfriend Ethan Ebbers (Edward Burns) has been cheating on her with his secretary. After breaking up with him, she decides she needs to get away for the Christmas holidays and visits a home-exchange website on which Iris has listed her cottage in Surrey, England. Amanda contacts Iris, and the two women agree to swap homes for two weeks.
While Iris revels in the luxury of Amanda's large Los Angeles home, Amanda is disappointed by the slow, quiet pace of life in Iris's quaint cottage. She grows bored after only a few hours and books a flight home for the following day. Later that night, Iris's brother, Graham (Jude Law), knocks at the door thinking Iris is home. Graham asks Amanda to let him spend the night despite never previously meeting, as he has been drinking at the pub and does not want to drive home. Amanda agrees. After a brief, drunken conversation, they kiss and later end up sleeping together.
In the morning, Graham receives phone calls from Sophie and Olivia, which arouse Amanda's suspicions that Graham has multiple girlfriends. Graham, knowing that Amanda is planning to return home imminently, invites her to dinner later that night if she decides to change her mind, which she later does. They spend time together over the days that follow, but Amanda becomes worried that their relationship will be complicated as she is only living in England for two weeks.
Meanwhile in America, Iris meets Miles Dumont (Jack Black), Ethan's assistant, and later, an elderly neighbour named Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach). She learns that he was a screenwriter during the Golden Age of Hollywood. The two become friends. Arthur notes that Iris's relationship with Jasper is not serving her well, and he suggests movies for her to watch that include strong female characters, in hopes that she can acquire what he calls "gumption". Back in England, Amanda chooses not to see Graham again but, alone again in the cottage, she has a change of heart and surprises Graham at his house, where she meets his two young daughters, Sophie and Olivia. He reveals he is a widower.
Iris then discovers that the Screenwriters' Guild wants to throw a grand celebration in Arthur's honor, but he is reluctant to attend because he does not expect to know many of the attendees, he cannot walk without the assistance of his walker, and he does not want to embarrass himself on stage. Iris encourages him to go and promises to help him prepare by undertaking an exercise program together, determined to help him walk without his walker. During this time, Jasper contacts her from England, asking her to assist with the book he is writing. She agrees to look over his pages, but does not have the chance to do so after spending so much time with Miles and Arthur.
Iris and Miles slowly become close friends and spend more and more time together. Iris returns to Amanda's house and is surprised to find Jasper at her doorstep. Iris is touched at first and the two spend a cosy night in together, only for Iris to discover he is still engaged. She breaks up with him for good, claiming he has never treated her right and has finally got clarity. Meanwhile, Miles breaks up with his cheating girlfriend also, and rushes to attend Arthur's award ceremony with Iris. The event is filled with attendees standing and applauding Arthur's lifetime of achievements. That, and the music that Miles wrote especially for Arthur for this moment, give him the confidence to walk onto the stage unassisted. Miles asks Iris for a date on New Year's Eve, but she reminds him she will be back in England by then. He agrees to travel to the United Kingdom for her.
Meanwhile, Graham confesses his love for Amanda on the night before she is scheduled to depart, but Amanda is still doubtful that a long-distance relationship will work. On her way to the airport, she realises she feels the same way and returns to the cottage and reunites with Graham. Amanda tells him that she has decided to stay to spend New Year's Eve with him, and they embrace. Iris and Miles celebrate the new year with Amanda and Graham and his two daughters, enjoying the evening, and laughing and dancing together.
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Cast
- Cameron Diaz as Amanda Woods:
- Kate Winslet as Iris Simpkins:
- Jude Law as Graham Simpkins:
- Jack Black as Miles Dumont:
- Eli Wallach as Arthur Abbott:
Shannyn Sossamon appears as Maggie, Miles' girlfriend and aspiring actress, while Edward Burns plays as Ethan Ebbers, Amanda's boyfriend; Rufus Sewell portrays Jasper Bloom, Iris' on-and-off affair. The film also reunited Sewell and Sossamon as they both starred in A Knight's Tale together, although they do not share a scene. Extended Simpkins family include Miffy Englefield and Emma Pritchard as Sophie and Olivia, Graham's daughters, respectively. The film also cast Bill Macy as Ernie and Shelley Berman as Norman, friends of Arthur, as well as Kathryn Hahn as Bristol and John Krasinski as Ben, Amanda's employees. Jon Prescott appears as Maggie's short-time affair.
Dustin Hoffman appears in the video rental store in an uncredited cameo as Jack Black talks about the score from The Graduate. According to Hoffman, this was unscripted and unexpected. He was going to Blockbuster for a movie, saw all the light and came over to see what was going on. He knew director Nancy Meyers, who scripted a short scene with him in it. Lindsay Lohan, who had made her motion picture debut in Meyers' remake of The Parent Trap (1998), and James Franco, a friend of Meyers, make uncredited appearances in the trailer of the fictional movie Deception, which Amanda and her team finish at the beginning of The Holiday.
Production
Location
Production on The Holiday began in Los Angeles, then moved to England for a month before completing filming back in California. Principal photography began in the Brentwood area on the Westside of Los Angeles, where real Santa Ana winds reportedly gave Meyers and her team a winter day as warm as scripted in the screenplay. Although Amanda's home is set in Brentwood, the exterior scenes at the gated property were actually filmed in front of Southern California architect Wallace Neff's Mission Revival house in San Marino, a suburb adjacent to Pasadena. Neff had built the house for his family in 1928. The interiors of Amanda's house were filmed at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. Other Los Angeles locations included Arthur's house in Brentwood and Miles' house, designed by Richard Neutra, which is situated on Neutra Place in L.A.'s Silver Lake area, near downtown.
The UK part of the film was partially shot in Godalming and Shere, a town and village in the county of Surrey in South East England that dates back to the 11th century. Filming began January 2006
Reception
Box office
The film opened at number three on the United States box office, raking in $12,778,913 in the weekend of December 8, 2006. Altogether, The Holiday made $63 million at the North American domestic box office, and $142 million at the international box office. The film grossed at total $205,135,175, worldwide, against a production budget of $85 million, and an estimated advertising spend of $34 million. The Holiday became the twelfth highest-grossing film of the 2000s to be helmed by a female director.
Critical response
The Holiday received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 47% of critics gave the film a positive rating, based on 135 reviews, with an average score of 5.5/10. Its consensus states "The Holiday, while sweet and somewhat touching, lacks any surprises and eventually overstays its welcome." On Metacritic, which uses a normalized rating system, the film holds a 52/100 rating, based on 31 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
In her review for USA Today, Claudia Puig found that The Holiday "is a rare chick flick/romantic comedy that, despite its overt sentimentality and fairy-tale premise, doesn't feel cloyingly sweet." She felt that "much of the credit goes to inspired casting and the actors' chemistry." Carina Chocano, writing for the Los Angeles Times noted that "like a magic trick in reverse, The Holiday reveals the mechanics of the formula while trying to keep up the illusion. She complimented Winslet and Law's performances, but was critical toward Diaz, who she felt "strikes the off-note, but then you tend to think it's not her fault." Rex Reed from The New York Observer noted that "at least 90 percent of The Holiday is a stocking-stuffer from Tiffany's [...] so loaded with charm that it makes you glow all over and puts a smile in your heart." While he felt that the final 15 minutes of film "diminish a lot of the film's good intentions," he added that Meyers "created some hearth-cozy situations, written some movie-parody zingers, and provided Eli Wallach with his best role in years."
Somewhat less enthusiastic, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly graded the film with a 'B-' rating, summing it as a "cookie-cutter chick flick." He concluded that "it's a self-consciously old-fashioned premise, with too much sub-Bridget Jones dithering, but Nancy Meyers' dialogue has a perky synthetic sheen." Justin Chang from Variety wrote that while "Meyers' characters tend to be more thoughtful and self-aware (or at least more self-conscious) than most [...] this overlong film isn't nearly as smart as it would like to appear, and it willingly succumbs to the very rom-com cliches it pretends to subvert." He added, that "in a spirited cast [...] the Brits easily outshine their Yank counterparts. Winslet weeps and moans without sacrificing her radiance or aud's sympathy, while the marginally less teary-eyed Law effortlessly piles on the charm in a role that will have some amusing resonances for tabloid readers." Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle remarked that the film was "the most love-centric movie since Love Actually." She felt that The Holiday "has charming moments and a hopeful message for despondent singles, but it lacks the emotional resonance of Meyers' Something's Gotta Give and the zaniness of What Women Want. Clocking in at two hours and 16 minutes, Holiday is ridiculously long for a romantic comedy and would benefit from losing at least a half-hour."
Since its release, however, The Holiday has been labeled as a modern Christmas classic.
Accolades
Soundtrack
The official soundtrack contains music by various artists, Heitor Pereira and Hans Zimmer, and is released on the Varèse Sarabande label.
- "Maestro" by Hans Zimmer - 3:53
- "Iris and Jasper" by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe - 3:24
- "Kayak for One" by Ryeland Allison - 1:30
- "Zero" by Hans Zimmer and Atli Örvarsson - 2:44
- "Dream Kitchen" by Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman - 1:35
- "Separate Vacations" by Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe and Imogen Heap - 1:47
- "Anything Can Happen" by Hans Zimmer and Heitor Pereira - 0:48
- "Light My Fire" by Hans Zimmer - 1:14
- "Definitely Unexpected" by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe - 3:34
- "If I Wanted To Call You" by Hans Zimmer and Atli Örvarsson - 1:50
- "Roadside Rhapsody" by Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman - 1:39
- "Busy Guy" by Hans Zimmer and Henry Jackman - 1:28
- "For Nancy" by Hans Zimmer, Atli Orvarsson and Lorne Balfe - 1:27
- "It's Complicated" by Hans Zimmer and Imogen Heap - 1:00
- "Kiss Goodbye" by Heitor Pereira and Herb Alpert - 2:33
- "Verso E Prosa" by Heitor Pereira - 1:59
- "Meu Passado" by Hans Zimmer, Henry Jackman and Lorne Balfe - 1:25
- "The 'Cowch'" by Hans Zimmer, Heitor Pereira, Lorne Balfe and Imogen Heap - 2:42
- "Three Musketeers" by Hans Zimmer, Heitor Pereira, Lorne Balfe and Imogen Heap - 2:44
- "Christmas Surprise" by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe - 2:32
- "Gumption" by Hans Zimmer, Atli Orvarsson and Henry Jackman - 3:45
- "Cry" by Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe and Heitor Pereira - 2:39
- "It's a Shame" by the Spinners
- "You Send Me" by Aretha Franklin
- In the video rental store, Miles (Jack Black) sings the theme tune of Driving Miss Daisy by "Hans". Hans Zimmer also composed and produced the score for The Holiday. Jack Black later spoofed the movie in Be Kind Rewind.
- According to a radio interview on BBC Radio 1, the song "Kill the Director" by The Wombats was written about this film. From the lyrics "this is no Bridget Jones" and according to the radio interview, they hated the film, and hence decided to write a song about it.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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