STORYLINE: Iris is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda’s L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris’ handsome brother Graham and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur, mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles. (IMDb)

    Travel, near and far, is a staple of the holidays. The thanksgiving classic Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987) builds its entire plot around the annual tradition. The storyline, featuring Colin Firth in Love Actually (2003) is centered around travel.  Of course, travel can be a staycation, and the family travels to you.  This is what National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) is about.  In 2006, director Nancy Meyers released The Holiday, a rom com, about holiday travel.

   The Holiday takes the typical traits from a rom com, and ramps up the charm.  Spread out through the feature is a unique since of humor, that factors in to the overall enjoyment of the film.  

   There is a fine line when doing the emotional moments in film.  Going to far and you insult my intelligence as a moviegoer.  If the film does not go far enough the mark is missed. The Holiday landed these moments.  It did this by spacing them out, keeping the musical score to the bare minimum, and letting the talented actors perform.  In between these moments there were intelligent jokes, and all of this supported a well thought out and entertaining story.

   I enjoyed myself watching this holiday film, from my normal seat, while munching on a popcorn. 

    Until next time I will see you at the movies!

(This Retro Rewind continues my series of holiday blogs of holiday films that I see in theaters this holiday season.  Previous entries: The Polar Express (2004) and The Addams Family Values (1993) ).