Perfect piece of sugar plum

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2013)

First of all, the opinions on here are so wildly divergent you will wonder if we all saw the same film. I put it down to expectations. If you're looking for the next Lawrence of Arabia, you will be pretty disappointed.
The film is about an English writer for a newspaper, Iris who is trying to finish off an unhealthy affair with her toxic co-worker and Amanda, an American owner of a movie trailer production company who recently ended another unhappy relationship due to boyfriend infidelities. It's a few weeks to Christmas and they both want to escape across the pond. Iris swaps her cozy, Surrey cottage (exactly what all Americans think everyone outside of London lives in) for Amanda's Bel Aire mansion (what everyone outside of LA thinks Calfornians live in). From here, their stories are told independently without much intermingling (save one phone call).
Iris travels to America, is suitably overwhelmed with the mansion she is staying in and and meets up with Amanda's co-worker, Miles (Jack Black), a movie score composer. Their friendship begins along with a friendship with Amanda's neighbor, Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach) a writer from the golden age of Hollywood.
Kate Winslet (Iris) was a gem in this and I am not always a fan (see Hideous Kinky). I could really feel for her character, feel her pain and understand her story arc. Jack Black is really out of his element here which is a crying shame because he did brilliantly and I would love to see him as a normal, romantic lead again sometime. I really loved his character and the way he brought him to life on film. Eli Wallach made me wish I was Iris and could spend evenings in his company listening to him tell me about his life. (on a side note, I would definitely watch a film based just on the Arthur Abbott character)
Amanda travels to England to stay in a tiny cottage in the English Countryside. She is, of course, completely out of her element (ie driving on the wrong side of the road, tiny bathtub, farm animals, etc). She meets Iris' brother, Graham (Jude Law), who I believe is an editor of some kind. They connect rather quickly due to some alcoholic influence, and Graham seems to be another guy with secrets that she can't trust. Cameron Diaz has never been my favorite actress but I can usually put the mild distaste out of my mouth long enough to enjoy the movie (see Knight and Day) but she was just dreadful in this...at least at the beginning. I can't tell if she forgot how to act, or if she was directed to overact scene as if she were in a high school play. Either way, I usually fast forward right through her scenes. Jude Law is an actor I don't have much knowledge of but I though he did a fine performance. Outside of Sherlock Holmes and AI, I don't think I've seen any of his other films (how is that possible?). Any defects in his character were written that way, not acted poorly.
I recommend this to anyone in the mood for a lighthearted Christmas rom-com. It's the perfect film for an afternoon in front of the Christmas tree with a cup of hot cocoa.