The Holiday (2006)

Sometimes a change of scenery is all it takes to see your life, and your heart, a little more clearly. Nancy Meyers' "The Holiday," which she wrote and directed, is a warm, lovable romance wrapped in all the Christmas trimmings, her first romantic comedy since "Something's Gotta Give." It begins when two successful but unhappy women connect through a home-exchange website and agree to swap houses over the holidays, hoping to forget their man troubles. Iris (Kate Winslet) is a London newspaper columnist who lives in a storybook cottage in Surrey, while Amanda (Cameron Diaz) runs a company that makes movie trailers - she even imagines her own life as a coming attraction - and lives in a luxurious Los Angeles mansion. Iris is heartbroken over her unrequited love for a caddish co-worker (Rufus Sewell), and Amanda has just split from her cheating boyfriend (Edward Burns), so the swap gives each of them a much-needed break to rethink their love lives. This being a Nancy Meyers movie, where every room is gorgeously decorated and romantic dreams nearly always come true, Amanda soon falls for Iris' charming brother, Graham (Jude Law), a widowed book editor with a secret or two, while Iris finds herself unexpectedly drawn to Miles (Jack Black), a sweet film composer stuck in a failing relationship. Eli Wallach nearly steals the show as Arthur, Iris' elderly neighbor in Los Angeles, a legendary screenwriter from Hollywood's golden age who helps her rediscover her self-worth.