OK-ish. It'll pass an evening

Rating: 6/10 (25 December 2007)

I made the 'mistake' of telling a girl at college i thought Cameron Diaz was good in 'Theres Something About Mary', so predictably the next day i was entrusted with some Diaz films, 'In Her Shoes' and 'The Holiday'.
To be honest i wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of watching these. Having read the blurbs i could tell they were going to be a bit different to 'Theres Something About Mary' and the inclusion of Jude Law added to the feeling of trepidation. After two weeks i could put it off no more and cleared my schedule for what i thought would be a two hour bore-a-thon.
Out of the two i had borrowed i went for The Holiday first, simply due to Jack Black being amongst the cast list.
Anyway, i will admit, it wasn't that bad. The story was quite good. True, it was clichÃ©d, unrealistic (things never slot into place like that) and generally a glorified chick flick pretending to have a 'deeper meaning' but it worked.
Kate Winslet played the 'pathetic doormat' role extremely well.
Cameron Diaz was her usual self. Playing the 'not your usual type of girl' role as well as always (has she ever had a different role?). However, i nearly had to turn off during her rendition of 'Mr Brightside'.
Jude Law finally succeeded in playing a ladies man without making me want to vomit. I saw brief flashes of a genuine guy in his character, not the usual sickeningly flawless god type figure.
Jack Black was wasted here. He's a comedy actor and the character didn't play enough to his strengths, i was thinking the role would be more suited to an Elijah Wood type actor, somebody who we don't expect comedy from, only to be let down when it isn't delivered.
Overall: It surprised me in the fact it wasn't dreadful - 6/10