The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
The Holiday
Comedy · Romance · 2006
Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.
Movie details
The Holiday
“It's Christmas Eve and we are going to go celebrate being young and being alive.”
2006 Comedy · Romance 2h 16m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
Two women, one American and one British, swap homes at Christmastime following bad breakups. Each woman finds romance with a local man but realizes that the imminent return home may end the relationship.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Holiday?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Love Hard
Comedy · 2021
An LA girl, unlucky in love, falls for an East Coast guy on a dating app and decides to surprise him for Christmas, only to discover that she's been catfished. But the object of her affection actually lives in the same town, and the guy who duped her offers to set them up if she pretends to be his own girlfriend for the holidays.
The Wedding Date
Romance · 2005
With the wedding of her younger sister fast approaching, Kat Ellis faces the undesirable prospect of traveling alone to London for the ceremony. While this is bad enough, Jeffrey, the man who left her as they moved closer to marriage, happens to be the groom's best man. Determined to show everyone -- most of all Jeffrey -- that her romantic life is as full and thrilling as ever, Kat hires a charming male escort as her date.
The Wrong Paris
Romance · 2025
Dawn thinks she's joining a dating show in Paris, France, only to land in Paris, Texas. She has an exit plan — until sparks fly with the cowboy bachelor.
Happiest Season
Romance · 2020
A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet come out to her conservative parents.
Easy Virtue
Comedy · 2008
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.
Your Christmas or Mine?
Comedy · 2022
Students Hayley and James are young and in love. After saying goodbye for Christmas at a London train station, they both make the same mad split-second decision to swap trains and surprise each other. Passing each other in the station, they are completely unaware that they have just swapped Christmases.
The Kissing Booth 2
Comedy · 2020
With college decisions looming, Elle juggles her long-distance romance with Noah, changing relationship with bestie Lee and feelings for a new classmate.
Holiday in Handcuffs
Comedy · 2007
A ne’er-do-well thirty-something attempts to appease her family by kidnapping herself an attractive boyfriend for the family Christmas. Despite unlikely odds and dysfunctional family moments, the two fall in love and share a magical Christmas.
Relationship Goals
Romance · 2026
When TV producer Leah Caldwell aims to become the first woman running New York's top morning show, her ex competes for the same role. Leah stays focused on her career, until chemistry with her ex challenges her priorities.
Your Christmas or Mine 2
Comedy · 2023
They've swapped Christmas – again. Can Hayley and James' relationship survive another turbulent family Christmas or has their future together gone off-piste?!
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Nancy Meyers
Written by
Nancy Meyers
Cameron Diaz
Amanda
Kate Winslet
Iris
Jude Law
Graham
Jack Black
Miles
Eli Wallach
Arthur
Edward Burns
Ethan
Rufus Sewell
Jasper
Court is in session
Put The Holiday on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.