Released in December 2006, The Holiday is a hard and fast Christmas classic for many movie lovers. Written, directed, and produced by cinema powerhouse Nancy Meyers, the movie follows two women, Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and Iris (Kate Winslet) as they swap homes– and soon, lives — over the holiday season in order to escape heartbreak. However, their lives are soon upside down as they experience love, friendship, and holiday cheer on opposite continents.
The swoon-worthy dialogue, festive aesthetic, and sheer romance of The Holiday have cemented it in the Christmas romcom hall of fame to many, and many movie theaters rerun the film over the festive season. The movie covers both the highs and lows of the Christmas period, something many people can struggle with as the happy-and-bright attitude of the festive season can be so pervasive. It also comes with fantastic winter wardrobe inspiration for both the freezing English snow and the warm Los Angeles climate. Overall, the movie is a love letter to the importance of both romantic love and true friendships over the holidays: it’s a festive favorite for a reason! If you’re looking for a modern romcom with a star-studded cast to tide you over the Christmas season, The Holiday should be on your watchlist.
Table of Contents
What Is The Holiday About?
The Holiday begins by establishing the lives of Iris and Amanda, two women living very different lives in England and America respectively. They do share one trait, however: they are both in throes of heartbreak at the hands of uncaring men. Iris is a columnist for a London newspaper and is still in love with her ex-boyfriend Jasper, played by Rufus Sewell. At an office party, it is announced that Jasper is engaged, and Iris is heartbroken.
Amanda is a producer for movie trailers in Los Angeles and discovers that her boyfriend Ethan (Edward Burns), who is a film composer, has been cheating on her. Amanda throws Ethan out of the house after a dramatic confrontation and decides she needs a change.
Amanda and Iris meet on a website that allows strangers across the world to swap houses for a short holiday, and the two begin to write to each other. They soon decide to swap houses for two weeks: Amanda travels to Iris’ English cottage, and Iris travels to Amanda’s large Los Angeles house. The exterior shots of the movie were filmed on location in England, whereas the interiors were shot on sound stages in Los Angeles. Many eagle-eyed fans have noted the changes in Jude Law’s tan throughout the movie, which can be attributed to this.
Soon after she arrives, Amanda meets Iris’ handsome brother Graham, played by Jude Law, who is a book editor. Likewise, Iris meets Amanda’s neighbor Arthur (Eli Wallach), an accomplished screenwriter from Hollywood’s Golden Age. She also meets Ethan’s colleague Miles, played by Jack Black. Meyers wrote the part of Miles especially for Black, after seeing him play a rock-and-roll substitute teacher in School of Rock (2003).
The two women then begin to navigate love and friendship through the holiday period, as Amanda begins to fall for Graham, and Iris finds love and friendship through Miles and Arthur. The movie ends with a climactic get-together at Graham’s house in the countryside, where he, Amanda, Miles, and Iris all spend New Year’s Eve together.
Watch The Holiday Trailer
The trailer for The Holiday sets out the premise of the film pretty well for anyone who has yet to see it. It shows the contrast between the two women and their lives, jobs, and homes, but unites them through their struggles with heartbreak. It also sets out the juxtaposition of Iris and Amanda’s personalities: Amanda is confident, headstrong, and unafraid of confrontation, whereas Iris is more timid, and her confidence has taken a hit since Jasper’s engagement. But the two learn to compromise through their exchange, with Iris thriving in the sunny LA climate and Amanda learning to be more vulnerable through the dark English winter.
Is The Holiday Streaming Online?
If you’re ready to get started with Iris, Amanda, and their festive journey, you may be wondering where you can stream The Holiday. Many movie theaters show reruns of the movie throughout November and December, so check your local listings to find out if you could watch The Holiday on the big screen.
The Holiday is also available for purchase or to rent through Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube. It is also available to stream through Sling TV, which for those who don’t know, is an app-based TV service that serves as a substitute for cable.
More Christmas Romcoms That You Can Watch Now
Holidate (2020): Directed by John Whitesell, Holidate is a movie for all seasons. It stars Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey as two strangers who make a deal: they will spend the holidays with each other in a fake relationship to help them escape awkward encounters with exes, and meddling mothers. Over Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, the two become closer, and a romance begins to bloom, leaving one question — can they continue to fake it?
Happiest Season (2020): Happiest Season, directed by Clea DuVall, stars Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as Abby and Harper, a gay couple who are set to spend the holidays with Harper’s family. However, as they journey to Harper’s childhood home, she admits to Abby that she never actually came out to her parents. The movie follows the two as they try to hide their relationship from Harper’s family, enjoy the holidays, and navigate their own relationship. It also stars Dan Levy as best friend John, and Alison Brie as Harper’s sister Sloane.
A Christmas Prince (2017): Starring Rose McIver and Ben Lamb, A Christmas Prince is the story of Amber Moore, an American journalist who is assigned to cover a press conference in the fictional principality of Aldovia over the Christmas season. Prince Richard is set to take the throne following his father’s passing, but his playboy image and rumors of abdication before he even manages to ascend to the throne grab the media’s attention. Amber sneaks into the palace and begins to work undercover as a tutor for Princess Emily (Honor Kneafsey). But, the more Amber gets to know Richard, the more she starts to feel for him, and the bigger predicament she finds herself in.
Source link
More Stories
Trump admin DHS lawyer begs Minnesota judge to hold her in contempt so she can sleep – We Got This Covered
All 9 Seasons of OG ‘One Tree Hill’ Coming to Netflix Internationally
IRON LUNG May Be Painfully Empty and Completly Lost on Me, But Its Massive Success is Impressive as Hell — GeekTyrant