Well done to the makers of 2020’s Holidate for creating an entire movie around a flimsy concept that I’m pretty sure the writers just made up - the “holidate” - a person who’ll be your secretly platonic escort at holiday gatherings, so people won’t judge you for being single. Minus points, however, for spending 90 percent of the movie wittily critiquing schmaltzy Hollywood romantic comedies before turning into exactly one of the cheese-fests it’s been lambasting.
Still, it’s mostly a foul-mouthed, sharp-witted film with two very likeable leads in Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, that keeps threatening to morph into a smart Apatow-esque comedy but never quite gets there, collapsing into a saccharine pile of gospel singing cheese and sickly P.D.Is. Yuck.
Early signs are promising, though, with Roberts’ singleton Sloane doing her best to crap all over her brother’s surprise Christmas day marriage proposal, indicating we might be in for something edgy. Across town we then bear witness to Hemsworth-lite Aussie Jackson (Bracey) being introduced to his clingy date’s family on the second date and revel in his discomfort as it all gets very creepy, very fast. These two unlucky-in-love millennials have a unique meet-cute at the returns desk at a department store, trying to cash in unwanted Christmas gifts that signify just how little their families really think of them. Sensing kindred spirits but feeling no attraction for one another (pull the other one!), plans are hatched to be each other’s wingmen during those awkward holiday parties where they’re looked down upon for being unattached. I’m sure this sort of thing happens all the time in real life?
Sloane’s got a pushy, meddling mum, but it’s not too clear what Jackson’s meant to be getting out of all of this. Also, both are Hollywood good-looking and, realistically, should be fighting off potential suitors, so the idea that both struggle to find a date is sheer nonsense. Buying into the zany premise is easy enough though, as we quickly skip through a whole year, stopping at each colourful festive highlight. So, it’s not solely a Christmas film but it’s been clearly marketed as one and the festive season bookends the whole thing, so cut me some slack here.
Throughout this crazy year there’s plenty crude humour, including a wardrobe malfunction at New Year’s, a boozy mishap on St. Patrick’s Day, a very gory 4th of July firework accident and an unfortunate but raucous Halloween pants pooping incident. It’s full of belly-laughs, feeling a little more like a series of skits thrown together than a properly cohesive narrative but it’s a perfectly fine way to kill a few hours.
Bracey has excellent chemistry with Roberts and their banter crackles with sexy energy. I’m really confused though as to why, seeing as how they seem to be the only people alive who really get each other, it takes them the whole movie to realise they belong together (SPOILER!!!)? Still, this is better than expected. Come for the romance, stay for the vulgar jokes. Just don’t expect this one to reinvent the wheel.
Holidate turned out to be a huge hit for Netflix in Christmas 2020 and I like to think that this was because audiences were looking for comfort in a film that showed them how fun holidays used to be before the government locked us all away. It looks like this year’s Halloween is on - restrictions permitting, of course, and I’ve never been so excited. I can pencil my own Holidate with my wife and child into the calendar and that, after everything we’ve been through, feels special indeed.
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