I’m all for love. Really I am. But I’m getting tired of non-romantic, non-comedic romantic comedies. When a rom-com clocks in at over 2 hours, I expect more than the occasional laugh and just the suggestion of romance.

The premise of The Holiday is a novel one. Iris (Kate Winslet) is hopelessly in love with a co-worker, Jasper (Rufus Sewell) who doesn’t love her back. She has her heart ripped out of her chest and handed to her when, at the office Christmas party, his engagement to another co-worker is announced. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, movie trailer editor Amanda (Cameron Diaz) is breaking up with her cheating boyfriend (Ed Burns). The women, in desperate need of a change of scenery, agree to swap houses for the holidays. In Iris’s sleepy, snowy English cottage, Amanda encounters Iris’s charming brother Graham. It doesn’t take long for the chemistry between them to take over, although Amanda does her best to stop it from happening.

Meanwhile, the path to true love isn’t as smooth for our girl Iris. She meets Amanda’s neighbor, music composer Miles (Jack Black) and those two form a friendship first before falling in love. Along the way, they also help an aging screenwriter get his due.
It’s ridiculous to refer to a romantic comedy as predictable, because by nature, they are predictable. We don’t see them because we are hanging on pins and needles wondering if these couples will get together, we know they will. We go because we want a laugh or two as we watch two people overcome crazy obstacles to finally be together.

I wanted to like The Holiday. I like all four of the principal actors, especially Winslet; here she’s better than the material around her. She and Jack Black have a great friendship chemistry and after having your heart broken, a good laugh or two is definitely a step in the right direction as far as getting over your heartache. But Black just wasn’t convincing as a romantic lead. I just never bought it.

On the other side of the pond, Law and Diaz had the more traditional romantic comedy storyline. There chemistry was definitely hotter and you want these two impossibly good-looking people to get together but something was missing. It’s almost like Law and Diaz, knew they were good-looking and charming and just sort of phoned in their performances.

The funniest scene is shown in the commercial where Iris has her brother on one-line and Amanda on the other and keeps getting the lines crossed and making comments to the wrong person. Another funny gag has Amanda, the movie trailer editor, having her life narrated by Mr. Movie Voice.

Longer than it should be, The Holiday, would make a decent rental but not much more.