The HolidayMovie Reviews

So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 52 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Premiere |

    The Holiday is the type of welcome diversion that only Meyers still seems to specialize -- a romantic comedy where Barbara Stanwyck and Rosalind Russell would have been just as natural as Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet and where the one liners fly like confetti. Read full review

  • 75
    Miami Herald | Connie Ogle

    This melding of comedic minds is one of the better holiday gifts we've received, cinematically speaking. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    If you're willing to embrace a bit of corniness for the sake of some incisive humor, a few poignant moments and enjoyable scenarios, make time for The Holiday. Read full review

  • 70
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    It's formulaic but with a big heart. Read full review

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    The dialogue has a perky synthetic sheen, and with the exception of Diaz, Meyers brings out the best in her actors. Read full review

  • 63
    New York Daily News | Jack Mathews

    A harmlessly cheery confection. Read full review

  • 63
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    Law shines like a sunbeam, warming the film with rakish charm and unexpected emotionalism. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    This is familiar territory for writer-director Nancy Meyers, Hollywood's queen of the chick flick. Her latest has charming moments and a hopeful message for despondent singles, but it lacks the emotional resonance of Meyers' "Something's Gotta Give" and the zaniness of "What Women Want." Read full review

  • 50
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    A lark, with pretensions to be more. Read full review

  • 40
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    In what was clearly designed to be a chick flick, the on-screen chicks work hard at being endearing, while Jude Law, as Amanda's more than conversational partner, charms everyone effortlessly and gets the best lines. Read full review

View more reviews for The Holiday on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Holiday-themed chick flick is OK for teens.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this holiday-themed chick flick will probably appeal to older tween and teen girls, who could get mixed messages from some of the characters' behavior. Several scenes focus on drinking and drunkenness; two of them lead to sexual encounters. This unsafe behavior is presented as cute comedy. Plus, a single father suggests that he sometimes gets drunk to "compartmentalize" his life and deal with his sadness over his lost wife and the pressures of being a fulltime dad. Characters frequently get emotional. A woman punches her cheating boyfriend so hard that he falls to the ground. A couple of "f--k"s and other minor language.
  • Families can talk about the idea of swapping houses, lives, or situations, which is increasingly popular in the age of reality TV and the Internet. Who would you want to switch with? Where might you like to spend two weeks? Do you think it would turn out at all like the movie? What are the risks of swaps like this?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Romantic comedy features silly and sad situations (cheating partners, recollections of missing parents) in order to motivate the eventual appropriate coupling.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: Amanda's movie trailer features explosions and stunts (very brief); Amanda punches Ethan, knocking him to the ground; Amanda hits her head on the cottage stair.
  • sex false0 Sexy stuff: Several instances of kissing and embracing (twice in bed, though no nudity); two drunken sexual encounters -- characters drink together and discuss what happened later; two men admit cheating on their partners; discussions of "foreplay."
  • language false3 Language: Language includes one "f--k" and one near "f--k" (it's obvious what she's saying, though the word ends before the "k"); sexual slang ("shagging," "boob"); at least one of each of these: "s--t," "piss," "ass," "bitch," "hell," "codger," "schmuck."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Sony Vaio laptop, Audi , Lexus, Pepcid, Google.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drunkenness used as means to sexual liaisons; drinking in social situations (parties) as well as to assuage heartache; liquor, wine, saki, and beer; cigarette smoking; reference to valium.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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