Too much hysterical hyperbole

Rating: 6/10 (24 December 2018)

I remembered this as a better movie than I found it to be when I rewatched it. What may be my bias away from RomComs and towards RomDrams might have been the filter that lowered my rating. Romantic Comedies seem to root the comedy in hysterical hyperbole and the first 35 minutes of this movie is exactly that (I was not amused) but after those initial scenes there are some great moments of Romantic Drama (which I liked) that finds the core of it's comedy in people confronting the unexpected consequences of their life choices. Jude Law and Kate Winslet bring more rooted performances but I think the hyperbolic tone of the film was a directorial choice, so even they were pushed to the extremes. I also wondered if the roles were cast to highlight stereotypes of Yanks and Brits. Good acting smooths off the harsh angles of stereotypes by filling out the characters, which is what great performers do. Jack Black is always better than I expect him to be. Not a bad movie but more so a fair movie with nice moments. I give this film a 6.8 out of 10. {Holiday RomCom}