rajnot A wonderful way of story telling by bringing together a bunch of great actors.. Life is not always fair.. and you will only learn that when you are in hard times.. Very good laughs.. Billy Connolly is great as usual, besides good actors like David Tennant, Rosamund Pike, child actors did a great job.. must watch for heart warming..

James Today's generation gap is huge, parents find coping with with the organised chaos that is modern life an almost insuperable problem, and yet somewhere down the line kids need their parents - and hugely also their grandparents, and of course both parties can benefit if for once we just drop the stupid, profane and mostly meaningless burdens of everyday life and think about what really matters. Communing a bit with nature might do that, and from the off we know that "What we did on our holiday" is going to be selling the inspiringly gorgeous Scottish Highlands and Islands to us - including the midges (whose presence the film is big enough to admit to). In general, this offering both written and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin dwells a lot on peoples' lying (for a vareity of reasons), yet is supremely, at times touchingly, at times even brutally, honest in its approach. Its integrity shines through. To make this work, the makers needed two sets of messed up parents to begin with (and this job is very well done by David Tennant + Rosamund Pike, as well as Ben Miller (the best thing he's done I believe) + Amelia Bullmore. Here we have two brothers markedly different from one another plus their wives. On paper, the Miller character Gavin is more successful than that played by Tennant, but he has the small difficulty of actually explaining what he even does! Basically, he's a "short seller" (whatever that is), and his young nephews and nieces make the kind of innocently witty remarks on that score that you might expect - to fine good comic effect! Exactly what brother Doug does is not clear either, but both of their marriages have some issues. But the stars of this show are grandparent and kids, and here there is nothing less than dream-fulfilment, as those who have long imagined how great a slightly toned-down but still pithy Billy Connolly might prove to be get their rewards. Poor old grandad is on the way out due to cancer and he is now (on the occasion of his 75th birthday party) ready, even desperate, to communicate some of his real, fundamental thoughts about the world. He feels he's not going to do very well with his sons and daughters-in-law, but wonders if he might reach them through the kids, at the same time as reaching the kids. Ultimately, he achieves more than he bargains for, when actually dying on the beach while in those kids' company; and he thus gives rise to the film's crescendo ending (on which score I'll avoid all spoilers).Many of the lines Connolly gets to utter are just superb, and the way he puts them across likewise. It's a treat.However, as Connolly interacts magnificently with Emilia Jones as Lottie, Bobby Smalldridge as Mickey and Harriet Turnbull as the youngest Jess, even he is at the same time being upstaged by them. These kids are just splendidly talented, appealing, and extremely, extremely funny. What is more, they often convey huge meaning in what they say and do, as kids invariably will. There is total, disarming authenticity here.Lottie - being the oldest - is most affected by her parents' marital problems, and has become rather withdrawn and anxious. Seeing her transform with the events of the film is a moving and at times powerful joy to watch. More depth and reality is conveyed by Emilia Jones's performance than in many, many previous films we've seen.Indeed, comedy laugh-out-loud this may be, but we take a great deal of value and meaning from this piece if we focus in on it (and also if we perservere through a perhaps slightly unpromising-looking first few minutes).Let's face it, a family get-together in a big house in the remote and beautiful wilds of Scotland is a concept that has a lot going for it from the outset, but the gem of giving equal weight to three generations of the family (with actors truly capable of pushing that idea through), of allowing the lines to flow with such a mix of wit and wisdom, of achieving the perfect mix of physical and verbal comedy, and of pursuing a plot-line of typically British eccentricity, is a really great achievement that should not be underestimated.At moments, "What we did on our holiday" risks straying towards the syrupy or naive, but it mostly, mainly stays on the right side of the line. That'as deft work by the makers. The film also very wisely plays only slightly with the English-Scottish stuff, remaining good-humoured and avoiding easy laughs based around divisiveness in favour of meaningful content that Brits from Land's End to John O'Groats can readily identify with. And they certainly should do so, as the rewards are very considerable. I expected little here and got a very great deal (appropriately enough on Christmas Day). I believe many, many others will find the same as I did.

Prismark10 From the makers of the sit com Outnumbered comes this odd mix. David Tennant and Rosamund Pike are Doug and Abi going through a rough patch in their marriage which is on the verge of splitting up. They head off to Scotland with their three children, Lottie, Mickey and Jess to celebrate what could be their grandfather's (Doug's dad,) Gordie last birthday as he is ill with cancer. The couple want to maintain an appearance of happy families for Gordie, the kids though let slip various difficulties their parents are having.However as the preparations for the party are taking place Gordie dies during a trip to the beach with the children. The kids knowing that all the grown ups just argue decide to give him a Viking funeral that grandad had earlier talked about which causes consternation to the adults when they later find out.It is a film of two halves. The first part is about dysfunctional families as when we get to Scotland, Doug's brother, a social climber also has problems at home with his wife and son who feel repressed by him. The emphasis on the children who react to the behaviour of the adults around them gives the film a different spin. The second half with the resultant media scrum changes the direction of the film and it just got silly. By that point it ceased to be an observational comedy and not even a drama.For a film that starts brightly, it takes a left turn which leads to disappointing results even though by the end the adults seemed to have worked through their problems.

TxMike I saw this at home on DVD from my local public library. I generally like British humor and this movie is filled with it, and almost all of it is laugh out loud funny, but in a very smart way. The cast includes three children, girl-boy-girl of about 10, 8, and 6, and they are each smart and delightful. They play a very key role in the resolution of the overall story.The "happy" couple, contemplating a divorce and not currently living together, are Rosamund Pike as Abi and David Tennant as Doug. They are getting their things and the three kids into the family SUV for a road trip from the London area to NW coast of Scotland, to help celebrate the 75 birthday of Doug's dad. But his dad, Billy Connolly (about 71 during filming) as Gordie, hasn't been well and his kids are saying this may be his last birthday. (As an aside, Connolly is just great in this role and his performance overall makes the movie what it is.) So anyway the weekend in Scotland will involve Doug's brother and wife, plus 200+ guests invited to the big birthday celebration in the big tent out in the big yard. But can the kids keep the secrets, so that granddad won't fall ill worrying about his sons?This is a great movie, interesting, funny, and with a meaningful message about accepting others with their quirks, people are just who they are, life is short, don't get mad at others you care about, just get along!SPOILERS: Gordie was not happy about the fuss being made over his birthday and he has resigned to the fact that his cancer is killing him. He puts on a brave face but he knows the end is near. He takes the pickup truck and the three grandkids to his favorite beach while everyone else is prepping for the party in the evening. Gordie lies down on a blanket on the sand but never wakes up. The kids rightly determine that he has died, no pulse and no breathing. They also recall him saying just earlier that day he didn't want a funeral, he was 80% Viking and he would have preferred a fiery burial at sea. So the kids gather discarded wood pallets and build a raft, and using the lawn recliner as a sail, set him on fire and out into the North Atlantic. In the end the grownups and news agencies outside the door have trouble understanding but Abi and Doug get the overall message and may be ready to repair their relationship.