Went to see The Holiday tonight, the "girlfriends go out to the girl movie" night. This gave much more of what we wanted from a movie than did The Lake House, and although I agree with many of the reviews, The Holiday was rather innocent and cute. Yes, Eli Wallach was the star (very good), and my girlfriend and I wanted much more magic from Jack Black and Kate Winslet, and yes, this movie was obvious ... but we had to admit that the expressions and smiles and looks from Jude Law made it good enough to watch. (After deciding to check at the door how we feel about him personally, we found ourselved often entranced.) Although the script has been criticized, I did like many of the lines, even if they were overdramatic at times. There were nice subtleties, and Jack Black (a favorite, as many of you know) was good (would have been better with more screen time!!).

Of course, the more romance I see and read, the better I think I can make my damn novel, so all things help. I was paying particular attention to the way that the awkward moments were presented, how the male characters handled their sensitivity, and whether the men's lines were believeable and sincere. All in the name of research.