A very Likable Bunch

Rating: 9/10 (15 January 2007)

Nancy Meyers can make them like they used to. This old fashioned comedy shows the talents of an interesting quartet of movie stars that do very well playing relatively normal people. Cameron Diaz continues to do well with light comedic parts, and Winslett, is of course, a fantastic actress who appears to be able to handle just about any genre. The revelations are Black and Law, who haven't really handled romantic with this much finesse. They're both charming and look like they've been doing this for a long time. There is something engaging about Black, and how he can portray an everyday man very well. Law who has tried this before, glows this time out.
The film is both touching and funny, and what makes it work is the good chemistry between each of the two pairs of leads. As a n added bonus, there's a great turn by Elli Wallach, as the representative of a generation that is not being honoured in Hollywood anymore, that of the writer with the insight. He charms his new friend (Winslett), and through her, we experience what most movies now lack, heart and the ability to connect through good and clever dialogue.
In the end, "The Holiday" is not much more than a cute, romantic film, something that we'd like to see more of, a return to a time where everything works out at the end, with the necessary bumps of course.