The Holiday

If “talking about relationships” is equivalent to “being in love,” this is the most romantic movie ever. Writer/director Meyers’ follow-up to Something’s Gotta Give mines the same go-girl terrain but is far less interesting narratively, with stock characterizations and a blandly upbeat vibe. It’s cute enough, but it lacks any sort of spontaneity or surprise. Of course you know there will be a happy ending, but you also know you’ll cut to a roomful of properly matched white people dancing ecstatically to Motown; freed of the crippling inhibitions and self-doubt they have discussed at length in the talky script, they will do the bump and laugh uproariously, and the camera will trickle backward out a snowy window. If this is what you want in a movie about love, the most important topic on Earth, you will not be disappointed. In any event, it’s hard to find fault with the cast, who provide much-needed elements of freshness and emotional authenticity.