The Holiday (DVD)

The Holiday was arguably the best romantic-comedy of 2006 did not stack up to its competition in regards to box-office. The Break-Up almost doubled The Holiday’s take home and Failure to Launch nipped it by about $20 million. So why did The Holiday not live up to its 2006 competitors? Honestly I think it has a lot to do with the cast, even though they are all perfect for their respective roles. I loved this movie and still do after watching it a couple times on DVD already. This one is right up there with Love Actually in my opinion. Granted, it isn’t quite as good thanks to it being a little long, but the two back-to-back I can already see as a holiday mainstay.

The Holiday stars Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black and was written and directed by rom-com all star Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give, What Women Want). The film tells the story on four characters lost in love as it primarily centers on the lives of the two female leads and ultimately brings all four stories together. It is a cheesy little story, but it is well told and I don’t think Jude Law has ever turned in a better performance and Winslet proves she is more than just a dramatic actress as she is very well suited for comedy.

As for this DVD you are pretty much buying it for the film as the special features are a bit sparse aside from an audio commentary with Meyers, editor Joe Hutshing, production designer John Hutman and Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer. The four banter a bit and it is relatively interesting, but in no way a reason to get excited. Also included is a short making-of featurette that is rather generic. In her commentary Meyers says she doesn’t include deleted scenes because they aren’t finished and she doesn’t think it is fair to the actors. So there’s that.

You aren’t buying this DVD for the special features; you are buying it for the underrated and very good movie. The Holiday is a film that was overlooked in theaters and I hope it doesn’t suffer the same fate on DVD even though a March release for a winter holiday film is a bit unorthodox. I guess Sony though Christmas in March was something America was lacking.