In Nancy Meyers' The Holiday, a romantic comedy from the director of Something's Gotta Give and What Women Want, two women trade homes only to find that a change of address can change their lives.
Iris (Kate Winslet) is in love with a man who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda (Cameron Diaz), realizes the man she lives with has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham (Jude Law) and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur (Eli Wallach), mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Jack Black).
"I have found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said, 'Journeys end in lovers meeting.' What an extraordinary thought."
-- Iris (Kate Winslet)
Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz), the owner of a prospering advertising firm that creates movie trailers, lives in Southern California. Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) writes the popular wedding column for London's Daily Telegraph and resides in a charming cottage in the English countryside.
Though Iris and Amanda live 6,000 miles apart, they are in exactly the same place: Just before Christmas, Iris and Amanda decide to take a needed break from the men in their lives (played by Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell) -- and neither is much in the mood for a nostalgic chorus of "Auld Lang Syne."
Amanda, wanting to get out of town for the holidays, stumbles onto an internet site that specializes in home exchanges, and finds Iris' English cottage to be the perfect antidote to her troubles. On impulse, Amanda and Iris agree to crisscross continents and move into each other's homes for two weeks.
Iris lands in Los Angeles on a spectacularly clear day warmed by the gusts of the seasonal Santa Ana winds. Not long after she arrives at Amanda's Brentwood home, she is befriended by Arthur (Eli Wallach), a noted screenwriter from Hollywood's Golden Era, and Miles (Jack Black), a film composer who works with Amanda's exboyfriend.
In England, where it is anything but balmy, Amanda is just settling into the cozy solitude of the snow-covered Rose Hill Cottage, when Iris' handsome brother Graham (Jude Law) comes knocking at the cottage door.
In an unexpected turn of events, both women discover that the best trips are the ones where you leave your baggage behind.
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