Leofwine_draca
I tend to avoid romantic comedies like the plague but I ended up watching LENA'S HOLIDAY anyway, purely because it was put out by Crown International Pictures and I've been watching a lot of their movies over the last year (blame a British TV channel which has been showing much of their back catalogue). Anyway, this is a low budget entry in that particular genre, but one which turns out to be surprisingly warm and likable given that I usually despise the genre.The story is about a young girl from East Germany who ends up in Los Angeles and gets taken advantage of by various unscrupulous characters. Felicity Waterman essays the lead and although her accent occasionally slips she's quite authentic for the most part, and has a sweet nature which makes her easy to root for. The supporting cast are fairly good too, with Chris Lemmon (son of Jack) as the quickfire cab driver and Nick Mancuso less scuzzy than usual (only a bit, mind) as a photographer. There's a random Pat Morita cameo, an aimless sub-plot involving Waterman being pursued by crooks, and plenty of fish-out-of-water humour.
gridoon2018
A lot of "Lena's Holiday" feels pointless (like Pat Morita's cameo near the start) and almost improvisational; the budget is limited, and there are long stretches of very little happening. Yet, in the last 20 minutes or so, I realized the purpose of this movie: it is to bring the classic romantic-thriller formula of films like "Charade" up to date. Because the crime plot had been strictly peripheral until then, the plot twists surprised me completely. And Felicity Waterman gives a winning performance as the fish-out-of-water heroine; she is also extremely convincing as an East German - in fact, I actually thought the actress WAS German until I checked out her bio and found out she is British! **1/2 out of 4.
vegasniceguy-1
I enjoyed the movie, partially because I was in rapture with Felicity Waterman. She is very attractive and did an excellent job portraying a naive East German girl coming to visit Hollywood. I even believed she was European, her accent seemed that good. Also thought Chris Lemmon was good in his role. While obviously no way he could match his father's career, was surprised he didn't have a larger career. Seems like a very likable guy. Some excitement, some laughs, some love. I enjoyed the movie, would watch it again, even if only to see Ms. Waterman in that short dress. Somebody involved in creating this movie definitely had a thing for James Dean.
William Shackleford
My wife (a former East German) happened to tape this off the Romance channel, and we watched it together later. We had never heard of the movie, and doubt if it ever played in theaters here. The situations were very funny and romantic, and the lead actress' East German accent and mannerisms are right on the mark. We had just been visited by a young (21) East German niece of my wife with many similarities to the heroine. We were both amazed to find she is played by an English actress, Felicity Waterman. I would like to see more of her movies. She is perfect in this one. I enjoyed it as much as any movie I've seen in the past year.
AD
