The Holiday

[maxx02]

No thread for this over here? That seems odd...

Well I skimmed it and wished it was a story about Kate Winslet's character and Rufus'.

Yup, rat. But what an irresistible rat. Another of those characters like Marke where I just couldn't help but liking him. Touched with the gift of sincerity, it's impossible to resist the idea that he just needs a bit of help to get over the slump.

Roof did it again. In a shockingly tiny role, he made me feel exactly what Iris was feeling and when she pushed him away, I was thinking... hey now, let's not be too hasty here...

Can someone who bought the DVD point me to this interview they've been babbling about? Please tell me they aren't just talking about the two brief blurbs with Rufus... that's hardly an interview.

Glad I skipped it at the cinema. Don't have much patience for this sort of thing even if one of my favorite actors and another of my favorite actresses is in it.

[ukelelehip]

I'm glad I saw it in the cinema. It's fluffy, romantic fun and if I had seen it at home, I probably would have been off checking my emails after 10 minutes. Cinema works best for me because it's the best way to keep me focussed.

I did love it though when I saw it. Exactly for what it was; fluffy romantic fun. Jude looks delish too even though he's abnormally tanned for a Brit in winter. Plus, mmmm Eddie Burns. Yeah, I approve!

[maxx02]

Jude Law couldn't look delish if he was laid out naked with an apple stuffed in his mouth and a bow tied around his... well you get the idea.

And before anyone gets upset with me, it's only my opinion but he still creeps me out.

forget about that... what about Roof and Kate/Iris and Jasper?

[quoll]

Inclined to agree with you about JL - does absolutely nothing for me either - a very plastic personage imho

[ree]

I saw The Holiday for the first time this weekend.
Lets start an Jude anti-fan list. He is a British Ken doll!
Amazingly enough there are quite a few vision impaired individuals at IMDB who swear up & down that he and Ruf are virtually physically identical.

I thought Kate was wonderful as Iris! I haven't seen every movie she's done, but I can't believe she's portrayed any other character more convincingly than Iris. I loved the interaction between Jasper & Iris, and I completely believed in her unrequited, heartrending love for him. Call me blinded by the Ruf,
but I didn't see Jasper as a total jerk either. I did see him as a selfish individual with no ability for self introspection. Sure, he was totally self absorbed, but many people are if those around them allow them to believe it's acceptable behavior that will be tolerated. He clearly needed Iris and probably was confused about who he really wanted the most. He came to the incorrect conclusion that he could have both women, but only because Iris had been allowing things to go along that same path for some time. She said herself that the long phone conversations and lunches always happened when Sara wasn't around. He did seem completely confused and astonished by Iris's behavior just before she shoved him out of her life and out the door. Perhaps she should have stood up to him earlier on, when it became obvious that he didn't want to sever their relationship. Maybe Sara was just better at taking him in hand, no pun intended, and calling the shots!

[maxx02]

I can't help but wonder about Nancy Meyers relationship with Rufus. He seems to have gotten a great deal of preferential treatment beyond what such a small role would warrant. He was part of the publicity tour and he has two bits of interviews in the extras.

It would be lovely to think they got on well and she might choose him again for another role as she is quite well thought of. He seems to like her as well. He has says genuinely nice things about her in the extras.

Of course Rufus could charm the socks off a snake if he so chose.

[GreenEyesToo]

maxx02 said:

I can't help but wonder about Nancy Meyers relationship with Rufus. He seems to have gotten a great deal of preferential treatment beyond what such a small role would warrant.

I thought that as well, Maxx - for a cameo role, he was remarkably prominent in the publicity rounds. Not that I'm complaining...

Hope you're right about her keeping him in mind for another role in the future. A [glow=red,2,300]lead role[/glow] of course!

[maz]

Absolutely loved this "girly" film, a lot more roofy would have been nice tho! This has to be up there along with charles 2nd on my "looking hot" list so far How many times i rewound the office scene when he sais "you stinker" god only knows

[dreamer]

It's a delightful movie, although Rufus is so villain (but so much great as villain!). It's a pleasure seeing it, so I saw it many times for relaxing.

[tipou]

***SPOILER ALERT***

oh, boy! trying to get through this movie... tough tough tough.

oh it is delightful, dont get me wrong.

just tought it was a bit slow to get going... i want more jack black, and much less cameron diaz - although the sudden movie trailers recounting her life are quite funny. and eli wallach... as always, such a delight. i would have dinner with him and his buddies anytime. ed burns... yum.

jude law is charming enough despite the ken doll quality someone mentioned earlier, especially in the sequence with the kids, who are adorable. and he is funny doing mr. napkin. and cute with glasses.

but its just that once again, rufus is breaking my heart! i've had a relationship with a jasper-like character. these guys are truly charming bastards, and so self centered they cant even see the damage they're causing, and if they see it, i beleive they actually enjoy it in a romantic/sadist sort of way.

so i wanna cry everytime poor, poor, poor iris thinks about him. and rufus is so good in this role, that you actually UNDERSTAND SHE CANNOT GET HIM OUT OF HER MIND!!!! so i keep screaming to kate winslet: TELL THE BASTARD OFF!!! FORGET ABOUT HIM!!! and i know she cant, poor little thing.

well, i just stopped to get some kleenexes. will get back to you later.

damn it! he was in only ONE SEQUENCE SO FAR, and he makes me cry!!!! no but you have to admit, when it comes to charisma, that is hard to beat!!!!!

---- just thinking - this whole rufus sewell movie discovery journey may end up saving me the price of a whole year of therapy - or causing one !!!! ----



ok, back. finished the movie. SHE THREW HIM OUT! GOOD FOR YOU KATE!!!!!

[lizap]

I have to confess to watching much of this on fast forward. I'm not sure why I had such a attitude. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for a romantic comedy, or I didn't have the patience for Cameron Diaz or Jude Law. But I wanted to see the Rufus parts.

This is the first Rufus character that I have disliked utterly and completely and in whom I did not find even a smidgen of appeal or attractiveness. It didn't even look like Rufus to me -- which I guess is a testament to the performance, because I wouldn't have believed I could look at a Rufus performance and be left completely cold. But Jasper did it. What a jerk!

I pitied the Kate character, for being reduced to such an emotional state that she would be subject to the whims of such a smarmy, self-important manipulator. And I believed that she was. But the 'gumption' scene did not ring true to me; or maybe it was just that I found the line clumsy. It seemed like the wrong word to be coming out of her mouth in that situation.

So in short, I think this is the first Rufus movie that I have no desire to look at again, even for the Rufus parts!

[lizap]

This was on my mind for some reason, and I realized one of the reasons I dislike this role so much is that I didn't really perceive Jasper as a character. He was no more than a plot device to me, and I don't like to see Rufus used that way. Thankfully, I can't think of another Rufus role that I could say that about.

[tipou]

it WAS kind of small role for rufus, but i have known my own jasper, unfortunately, and the gorgeous bastard shread my heart to pieces, so however small the role was i was so much feeling for iris that i knew how, for her, he was everywhere and in her every thought. and just when you finally get him out of your head, back he is, wanting to claim his territory like an alley cat.
i thought rufus played that role too perfectly, in fact. i almost hated him for a minute.

[rueful]

I agree more with Tipou, in this case (has to happen once in a while ). Jasper was a sort of thinly written character, but I think between the two actors they fleshed it out. Rufus by really embodying the utterly charming, totally self-centered bastard to a tee, and Kate by so delicately playing the woman who loves him desperately and doesn't have the self-esteem to know that she deserves more. (I'm not sure if Cameron Diaz, for example, would have done so well if she'd had Iris's role.) Because of the acting, I really believed that Jasper was clueless that what he was offering to her at the end of the movie was not enough, and I really believed that, while at the beginning of the movie Iris would have accepted his offer, by the end she knew better.

It's not my favorite movie of his, but I don't dislike it (except for the whole Cameron Diaz and Jude Law storyline, but that's another topic).

[lizap]

I agree that Rufus played the role perfectly, but I'm not sure it mattered. I doubt the movie would be appreciably different with that part played by any marginally proficient actor handsome enough to be believable as a cad; I think Jasper merely served as a prop for the Kate character. But of course, I could be wrong!

This isn't meant as a criticism of Rufus in the least. I think it's just the way the part was written.