A kind of version of "Love Actually"

Rating: Null/10 (10 December 2006)

Written, produced and directed by Nancy Meyers ("Something's Gotta Give" & "What Women Want"), this is a chic-flic that has had variable reviews, but is really rather engaging if utterly predictable. The premise is that two women who have recently suffered broken relationships exchange homes over Christmas in order to escape men and get over the hurt only to find ... you guessed.
What gives the narrative a bit more bite is that the two women are from opposite sides of the Atlantic, so we see American high-flier and trailer-maker Amanda (Cameron Diaz) struggling with the wilds of rural Surrey in England, while the more self-effacing correspondent on Britain's "Daily Teelgraph" newspaper Iris (Kate Winslet who - get it - played the young Iris Murdoch in an earlier bio-pic) gets to live in a swanky house in warmer but windier Los Angeles. Amanda comes across Iris's brother Graham (Jude Law in a rare comedic outing), while Iris finds herself spending time with film composer Miles (an oddly-cast Jack Black).
What I liked about the parallel stories was their asymmetry: one involves lots of sex (although one bed scene sees the bra staying firmly on), while the other involves none; one includes a friendship with an octogenarian who has lost contact with much of the world, while the other features two (overly) cute little girls. Among these support roles, there is a wonderful performance from 91 year old Eli Wallach ("The Magnificent Seven" and 150 other screen appearances) who portrays a long-retired screenwriter who introduces Iris and Miles to the films of Hollywood's golden age.
In fact, it is clear that Meyers loves watching movies as well as making them because the dialogue is studded with references and allusions to various films whether it is the feisty performances of Barbara Stanwyck or the exotic soundtrack for "The Mission" or Dustin Hoffman's role in "The Graduate". Given this reverence for movie-making, Myers could have thought of a cleverer title for this fetching if somewhat false piece of escapism - something like "Love Internationally".