I really liked it too, canadiancarebear. Reason No. 1: Jude Law is insanely handsome.
Reason No. 2: Those adorable little girls.
*spoiler alert*
I couldn't help but cry along with the characters. And there were some pretty "real" moments, like when Graham says he's been trying to keep it together, taking things day by day as both full-time dad and book editor.
And Iris' whole ordeal with Jasper just hit close to home for me (the whole "dating a player" aspect). I liked her friendship with Arthur too.
To be perfectly candid, though, I thought the movie poured a few too many elements in. Either story line (Iris' or Amanda's) could have been fleshed out into a whole movie. I mean, there was Reviving Old Hollywood (woman befriends famous old loner and brings him back to life), Getting Gumption (woman not believing in self and dating a cheater), Holiday Fling (time-limited romance between American and Brit), The Secret Turmoil (Brit has kids, doesn't know what he wants from life now), Character Flaws (woman with deep-seated pain who can't cry), and Jack Black (who is in a category all his own). Oh, and throw in cute Movie Trailer voice-over effects. Phew!
I just watched "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) over the weekend, and THAT pair of movie romances treated the subject of "two people getting to know each other on limited time" with depth. "The Holiday" glossed over so much that could have been mined.
But still ... I enjoyed it.
