"Journeys end in lovers meeting "

Hopeless romantics or perhaps anyone with a broken and aching heart could watch this film for a lift. Actually I'm really fond of feel-good romantic movies, that is why i appreciate this film for its funny and aww-inspiring (not really"awe") romantic lines.

Iris (Kate Winslet) hears the heart-wrenching wedding proposal of her long-time crush Jasper ( Rufus Sewell) to his fiancée, she goes home, bawls her heart out and becomes miserable. On the other hand, Amanda (Cameron Diaz) is quite the opposite. Her inability to cry despite her very recent break-up with her boyfriend poses a big problem for her. Her tear ducts wouldn't just produce a single drop of tear. The only solution to their problem is to go on a holiday vacation to a far place where nothing would remind them of their woes.
With the aid of the Internet and a website called "Home Exchange", these two women, who have never met each other, decides to swap houses over the holiday. Iris flees to California then takes a cab to the lavish mansion of Amanda while Amanda flies to England and pads the snowy path to the cramped country house of Iris. Soon enough, iris meets miles( jack Black), Amanda's colleague while Amanda bumps into Graham (Jude Law), Iris debonair brother. From there, the romance between each pair develops.

Even then, the movie is not without flaws. My major gripe is that the story of Iris and miles isn't well fleshed out. The two just lack the chemistry and the conclusion of their story is a bit contrived for me. Every time they're on screen, i am eagerly waiting for the spark between them to happen but it doesn't. Amanda and Graham's romance is also the typical, cheesy love affair which contributes nothing novel to the genre. I also expected that Jack Black would greatly contribute to the humor of the film but alas, it is a romantic film after all which didn't give him the venue to make a crack and be downright comical.
But somehow it's a good pick me up movie that gives anyone with a heavy heart that warm and fuzzy feeling but it doesn't really have any memorable lingering or award winning value.

Labels: Drama, movie theater, Romance