Hypothetically, if you had to save a Christmas movie from the early 2000sl you would select The Holiday, right?
The fan-favourite rom-com sees successful journalist Iris Simpkins (played by Kate Winslet) swapping the festive season in a quaint Surrey cottage for the lavish, Tuscan-style Californian mansion of movie wizz Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz).
When Iris heads stateside, she strikes up a friendship and eventually stumbles head-over-heels for Miles Dumont (Jack Black), a charismatic Hollywood film composer who works closely with Amanda.
While the pair hit it off, Amanda finds herself embarking on her own Yuletide romance in England with Iris’ brother Graham Simpkins (Jude Law).
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Amanda and Graham’s iconic introduction in The Holiday goes down in the history books, but not for being oh-so-romantic as first-time viewers may expect.
No, instead, Graham meets his future flame by knocking on his sister’s door while he’s ‘inordinately p***ed’.
Unbeknownst to him, his sibling has flown the nest for Christmas, so when he comes face-to-face with Amanda at the door, it’s fair to say he’s pretty surprised.
But that doesn’t stop him from asking the entertainment executive if he is allowed to spend the night, citing not wanting to drink and drive.
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Amanda eventually relents, and the pair end up sleeping together.
But their hedonistic bliss is short-lived because, in the morning, Amanda paints him as a womaniser due to receiving calls from ‘Sophie’ and ‘Olivia’.
Later, Amanda discovers that the mysterious ‘women’ who were blowing up Graham’s phone following their night of pleasure are actually his children. Oops.
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Interestingly, one Reddit user has claimed that Jude’s character’s behaviour during the described scene makes him a walking-talking ‘red flag’.
Taking to the social media website to have their say, the viewer typed: “I’m laughing at the Jude Law and Cameron Diaz storyline.
“He’s a stranger who shows up drunk at her rental. I know he’s Iris’ brother but he’s a stranger still. He admits to being at the pub a lot these days and has to crash on his sister’s couch.
“That’s a red flag on its own setting aside the fact that he has little kids at home but he’s at the bar all the time,” they continued. “Then within like 30 minutes of knowing each other they b**g. What kind of woman is Cameron in this movie?!”
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A second echoed: “To be fair his kids were at a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa so he could have a break.
“I'm not a drinker but when my kids are at Grandma and Grandpa's for the night we always go out and let loose. As a single dad, he probably sets up like a monthly sleepover or something.
“The getting together after knowing each other for 30 min is gross though,” they added. “Like just hygienewise.”
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A third user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Can’t get on board with Jude Law in The Holiday, simply do not trust him, how do we know the wife is really dead?"
You’ll be pleased to know that even though Graham and Amanda’s Christmas romance gets off to an unconventional start, they do eventually confess their love for one another.
After initially convincing herself a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work, Amanda realises on the way to the airport that she is in love with the widower and rushes back to Surrey to say her piece.
The Nancy Meyers-directed flick is iconic, and it's got an 80 percent audience score on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter, with over 250,000 ratings.
It also has a solid 3.5 star rating on Letterboxd, and if that’s not a glowing endorsement, then we don’t know what is!
Topics: TV And Film, Entertainment, Celebrity, Reddit, Social Media