The Big Picture
Iris and Arthur’s friendship in The Holiday is special because Arthur serves as a source of inspiration and support for Iris, boosting her self-esteem and helping her gain clarity about her relationship with Jasper. Their friendship is characterized by trust, emotional chemistry, and honesty, with Arthur being the first person to tell Iris that Jasper doesn’t see her worth. The pinnacle of their friendship is when Iris encourages Arthur to accept an honor for his life’s work, showcasing the powerful agency of community and the strength they have built together.
Nancy Meyer’s 2006 comedy, The Holiday, might be better known for its quartet of dazzling star power (Cameron Diaz as Amanda, Kate Winslet as Iris, Jack Black as Miles, and Jude Law as Graham) and the sweet, romantic pairs that result — but the friendship between Iris and Arthur (Eli Wallach) is the heart of the film. Iris, a London journalist, is suffering. She loves such a narcissistic jackass (Rufus Sewell as Jasper) that I swore every time he came on screen. She takes a two-week break, swapping her countryside Surrey home for entertainment entrepreneur Amanda’s Los Angeles mansion (Amanda will come to stay in Surrey) to get away from Jasper and his just-announced engagement, which she is supposed to cover for their newspaper. Her feelings of self-worth are punctured. She knows she deserves better than the cat-and-mouse Jasper hook, yet she supports his career, hoping they’ll be intimate again.
When she arrives in L.A., she is a little kid in a candy store discovering Amanda’s modern, opulent home. Still, she has tinges of depression, unable to escape her feelings for Jasper and her resigned sadness at their situation. She meets Arthur (Eli Wallach), Amanda’s neighbor, early into her stay when he is wandering outside one day on the street, lost. It might be Alzheimer’s. She is in her/Amanda’s car and asks him if he wants a ride home. He does and is lovely, and when they get there, she walks him inside. It takes a survey of his living room — an Oscar in the corner, dusty piles of scripts — for her to realize that he is (or was) a screenwriter, a pretty famous one, at that. Their friendship begins.
The Holiday
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other’s countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Release Date December 8, 2006
Director Nancy Meyers
Rating PG-13
Runtime 136
Main Genre Comedy
Studio Columbia Pictures
Writers Nancy Meyers
Tagline It’s Christmas Eve and we are going to go celebrate being young and being alive.
What Makes Iris and Arthur’s Friendship in ‘The Holiday’ So Special?
What does being friends for Iris and Arthur look like? It looks like Arthur making a list of must-watch classic Hollywood films with strong female leads — think Lauren Bacall, Eva Marie Saint, Ava Gardner — for Iris. Iris gobbles them up, boosting her self-esteem and clarity in the process. When Jasper pulls a master manipulative move by coming to L.A. to win Iris back, she initially falls for it but eventually pushes him out of the house. She realizes what she feels is “gumption”; we can thank Arthur and those golden ladies of film for being her inspiration.
Arthur and Iris go out to eat together. Arthur regales her with stories of Hollywood’s past, and Iris confides about Jasper. Arthur tells her and is perhaps the first person to do so, that Jasper doesn’t see her worth. Arthur’s honesty comes without any come-on. There is a purity to their trusting and emotional chemistry. They also have a Chanukah party together, with some of Arthur’s industry friends and Iris’ budding L.A. romantic interest, Miles, who is a music composer.
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Their tour de force friendship moment comes when Iris, who brings Arthur his mail when she visits him, notices that he always throws away a big envelope from Writers Guild West. They want to honor him at an event, Arthur tells Iris, and he has zero interest in accepting, mostly because he sees the evening as an embarrassment where few people will show up. Iris persuades Arthur to accept the honor. She works with him on his physical health, helping him gain his stability by relying less on his walker and swimming together in her/Amanda’s pool. She will, of course, be his date, and Miles scores the music for the event.
What Happens in ‘The Holiday’s Best Scene?
The best scene of The Holiday, wet eyes guaranteed, is when Iris and Arthur walk into the event hall and find hundreds of people on their feet. This is a standing ovation for Arthur’s life’s work in storytelling. It’s a beautiful scene that expresses the powerful agency of community and the endurance of art. Iris grasps Arthur’s arm, and they walk proudly, somewhat amazedly, together down the aisle. When Arthur gets to the stairs for the stage, he says he’s going to climb them himself. He jauntily runs up; what a beautiful testament to the strength he and Iris have built together.
What Can We Learn About Friendship from Iris and Arthur in ‘The Holiday’?
What Iris and Arthur show us is that in the best of friendships, we come to see ourselves and others more clearly. Less bullshit in the way, more opportunity for the making. When someone is in our corner, showing us that we can be ourselves, fail, and succeed, we get the wind on our backs.
Nancy Meyers is a master at depicting the complexities of emotional journeying in relationships. The Arthur section is the most important of the film because in Arthur, Iris, and the audience, find a model of male friendship that has true intentions, is not predatory, and is, frankly, full of joy and positivity. What a breath of fresh air for a rom-com to centralize a stable, non-romantic, non-sexual friendship. We learn that the core emotional competencies of trusting, sharing, and building are the ones that lead to a beautiful, interpersonal bloom.
The Holiday is streaming on AMC+ in the U.S.
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