The 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday is having a moment on TikTok. Despite being nearly two decades old, the Nancy Meyers flick, which boasts Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet as its leads, has seemingly become a hit among Gen Z and younger millennials.
The question remains: Why, after 17 years, is The Holiday suddenly blowing up on TikTok of all places? Well, the film’s appeal to younger audiences works on several levels. For starters, it takes place during the aughts — and many Gen Z-ers and millennials love the aughts.
Aughts nostalgia
In fact, the hashtag #00s has more than 6.1 billion views on the platform and consumer research company GWI reported earlier this year that 56% of Gen Z-ers and 42% of millennials are nostalgic for the 2000s.
Not only that, but the hashtags #theholiday and #theholidaymovie have a combined total of more than 347.5 million views on TikTok, proving that the Meyers flick is continuing to thrive as Christmas Day approaches.
In a recent TikTok, Safy (@safy9519), a 27-year-old creator based in Rome, revealed that The Holiday is her “comfort movie.”
Wintertime in the mid-aughts and a soundtrack that features Mr. Brightside by the Killers? The Holiday checks a lot of boxes when it comes to the #00s aesthetic. Many TikTokers, however, find a young (32-year-old) Jude Law, reason enough to regularly revisit the holiday flick — his real-life scandals at the time aside. It’s also worth noting that two years prior to the film’s release, Law was named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2004.
‘The Nancy Meyers aesthetic’
Brooke Justine (@brookejustine), 31, who recently acquired The Holiday soundtrack on vinyl, believes that the film depicts something that her generation aspires to.
“Nancy Meyers in general has become very popular with Gen-Z, ever since the Coastal Grandmother craze during the summer,” she told Yahoo News. “Everyone has been diving into her films — it’s what they hope to be like when they get older. The Holiday gives us that coastal grandmother feel, it’s lighthearted and classic. It presents a simple rom-com film that leaves us in the holiday spirit. Millennials have Love Actually, Gen-Z has The Holiday.”
The aesthetic goes beyond even “coastal grandmother” for some TikTok users. Several creators have posted about wanting to channel the quintessential cozy vibe that’s often emanated in Meyers’s films, which include The Parent Trap, Something’s Gotta Give and more recently, the short film Father of the Bride Part 3(ish), released in 2020.
On Nov. 11, TikToker @ccthegemini took to TikTok to gush over homes that “could double as the set for a nancy meyers movie.”
‘Unproblematic’ for Gen Z
Lizzie Logan, comedy writer and former pop culture writer for Glamour, told Yahoo News that the film, with its “immaculate vibes” and #cottagecore aesthetic, actually has a lot to offer to younger audiences. Logan penned her own article about the film in 2016.
“It’s pretty unproblematic,” she said. “I would guess that Gen Z is more aware than my generation (young millennial) was about the fat-shaming jokes in Love Actually and Bridget Jones Diary, which are both Christmas rom-coms. If you’re looking for a feel-good movie, you don’t want to feel bad about yourself, and The Holiday has a ‘come as you are’ message that’s very sweet.”
Logan told Yahoo News that people are drawn to “unchallenging material” around the holidays, and she claimed that this movie is exactly that.
“It’s a cute, neat romance you can watch with your family,” she said of The Holiday.
Astrological relevance
Nostalgia isn’t the film’s only draw for younger audiences, though. Chelsea Maninang (@chelsmaninang), 27, a self-described “zodiac whisperer” based in Los Angeles, even posited that Meyers had successfully managed to represent all four zodiac elements among The Holiday characters.
In a video posted on Nov. 8, which currently has nearly 900,000 views, Maninang gave her thoughts on what each character’s astrological sign is.
“She’s an earth sign. If I had to put my money on it, she’s a January Capricorn, with a close second being September Virgo,” Maninang says of Cameron Diaz’s character Amanda Woods in a video posted on Nov. 8. “Did we mention she’s so f***ing type A and anal about everything?”
This distinct, astrological analysis of the film and its characters feels true to Gen Z, given that the generation is more inclined to relate to astrology because they’re “more curious about themselves and their lives,” according to the Washington Post.
Per a report by trend forecasting agency WGSN, via Harper’s Bazaar, 62% of Gen Z-ers say their zodiac sign is accurately representative of their personality traits. In fact, many zoomers are known to rely on their horoscopes to help make major life decisions.
For many fans, The Holiday is on constant rotation regardless of the time of year. As Christmas Day approaches, though, it seems that Gen Z and younger millennials are even more eager to show their love for the 2006 romantic comedy.
Laura Davis is an entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Broadway, she offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
