Point of Irritation
In a recent post, Mightgirl had this to say about the new movie The Holiday:
"Cameron Diaz gets Jude Law and Kate Winslet gets… Jack Black? Seriously, Hollywood? I understand that he’s supposed to be impishly charming, and winning, and etcetera, but Kate Winslet is lit from the inside. It seems to me that for a woman to play opposite a guy as good looking as Kate Winslet, they’d tell her to lose a hundred and fifty pounds and consider plastic surgery. (See Jude Law and Cameron Diaz.)
Gwar.
Update: I had a conversation with Bryan about this, and it made me realize (as did many of you) that I’d be about 100 times more likely to have a real-life crush on Jack Black than Jude Law. My issue isn’t that Jack Black isn’t a cutie pie, just that I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie where the girl wins a stunning guy on the basis of her awesomeness. In the few examples I can think of, the guy overcoming a woman’s lack of conventional hotness is a central plot point. In movies, awesomeness only seems to really count if you’re a boy, and that makes me want to punch something."
I think she is missing the entire point. Admittedly, I have yet to see the movie and I believe she hasn't seen the movie either but I am makiing an inference from the trailer.
In the movie, I think, Kate Winslet is in love with the beautiful Rufus Sewell. I don't know if they have a relationship or it is a secret love, but he breaks her heart by getting engaged to another woman, thus prompting her to undertake house exchange. It is in L.A. she meets Jack Black, not as attractive as Rufus Sewell but funny and charming and real. By falling in love with him, she learns to look beyond outside appearances which is the exact opposite of what Mightygirl states, "In the few examples I can think of, the guy overcoming a woman’s lack of conventional hotness is a central plot point."
Perhaps, the movie begins with the concept that Kate Winslet is supposed to be a frumpy character and is seen unworthy of a beautiful man like Rufus Sewell and must learn to date within her attractiveness level, being Jack Black.
I will be seeing the movie today and will be keeping an eye on which theory is correct.
*Update. Saw the movie. I was right. Winslet's character learns to value herself more and falls for the nice guy who will treat her right rather than the beautiful guy who was making her miserable. I discovered that while in general, I am not interested in Jude Law, put a pair of heavy black framed glasses on him and wow, he's hot. To me, the glasses add character that his face is normally lacking.
Posted by Marmy on December 10, 2006 10:53 AM
Comments
It is no stretch whatsoever that Winslet's Iris would date Black's Miles. Winslet's character is almost entirely "good". She is sweet, thoughtful, and caring. The fact that the first friend she makes, in a place as plastic as LA, is Eli Wallach's Arthur Abbott shows that she is not the sort of person to be caught up by stereotypical notions regarding who one should befriend. If her best friend is a frail, male, ninety-something, Jewish, old-Hollywood screenwriter (all things that she is not) she is the sort of woman who could look past the fact that Jack doesn't have abs of steel. Plus, she has just come to terms with the fact that the beautiful man she has loved for years, Sewell's Jasper, is a selfish ass. And, her gorgeous brother Graham (Law) is refered to as having been a bit of a cad. It's enough to turn her character off conventionally handsome men altogether! So, yeah, I had no problem with that romantic pairing at all.
I was impressed with the film actually. While firmly a fluffy, romantic, holiday confection it was deeper and more satisfying than the trailers led me to believe it would be.
Posted by: joe at December 12, 2006 07:09 AM
^ the above comment is some seriously intense thought about a Hollywood romantic-comedy!
Posted by: wN at December 12, 2006 10:20 PM
sadly, entertainment is one of the few things i give serious thought to.
Posted by: joe at December 13, 2006 07:20 PM