A Holiday Soufflé

Rating: 6/10 (12 December 2006)

"The Holiday" (as the name implies) is that unique animal: the holiday film. You know, the one that comes out a few weeks before Christmas, intended to counter program against all of the serious (read "depressing") Oscar contenders. The one that takes not an ounce of concentration to follow, that goes down as smoothly as a cup of hot chocolate, and is as quickly forgotten.
Well, there's a time and place for movies like that, and if December isn't exactly that time and place, I don't know where or when is. All I know is that my wife and I ended up at this on opening weekend because our other two choices for new movies were "Apocalypto" and "Blood Diamond." 'Nuf said.
As for the movie? Oh, what's the point. It's too long, the pacing is all over the place, it has some good moments and a lot of flat ones. But the cast is gorgeous, the settings are fun, the conclusion is warm and fuzzy. I could be a Scrooge and say "bah humbug" to the whole thing, or I could just sit back and enjoy it for what it is, which is what I did.
And let's face it -- no movie with Kate Winslet, a superb actress who makes anything she's in better by virtue of her sheer talent alone -- can be entirely bad (well, except for maybe "Titanic.")
Grade: B