Holidate Has Charm, Lacks A Sense Of Direction
It’s the Holiday season. For all of you movie fans, this means holiday movies! One of the first to arrive in 2020 was the Netflix original, Holidate. While the film has charm, there’s too much holding it back from being a seasonal favorite.
Let’s start by saying, Emma Roberts is the perfect lead for this film. She brings a sense of charm and a loveable personality. You can’t say the same about Luke Bracey. It wasn’t that he was bad, there was just little to like. The character felt like it had no depth. And that was an issue throughout the film as well.
Some of the side plots in Holidate just never materialized. A lot of the characters just seemed to be there for the sake of being there. Nobody in the film felt important except Roberts character. No other storyline helped progress the main story at all. Here’s an example.
(SPOILER)
The sister of the lead actress is in a loving relationship with her husband. Kids have made it a bit tough, and she does seek out a bit more excitement with him playing Mr. Mom. There’s a scene in the film where she drunkenly makes out with a man dressed as a cat at a Halloween party. At no point, before this does, we feel she’s ever on the verge of cheating, and the issue doesn’t get resolved aside from her accidentally letting it slip to her husband.
The plotline in question just didn’t work. And there are numerous other instances of plot holes in Holidate. This was just one of many. That’s sad considering the film lacks any real twists or surprises in the main story along the way.
A lot of rom-com’s are predictable. Holidate did very little to make it feel otherwise. Even the secondary plot points intended to make it feel like a twist was coming, just felt like there was no real turmoil to suggest an unhappy ending. A happy ending is what you’d expect in a romantic comedy, but at least keep us hanging a bit more.
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Aside from these issues, Holidate does suffer from a bit of an identity crisis. There are at least two scenes in the film which are more slapstick humor you’d find out of an Adam Sandler film. It didn’t fit the narrative of a romantic comedy. Things like that make it a little hard to get into the film for what it is, a love story.
With all the things wrong with this film, there are some positives. As previously mentioned, Emma Roberts is superb. And, while still flawed, the main plot and general message of the film was mostly enjoyable, even if it did come across as a more high budget and raunchier Hallmark movie. What’s best, at its core this a Christmas movie. However, it really can be one you watch all year long.
I’d probably say this is one film to avoid if you’re looking for a serious holiday movie. A lack of direction in certain scenes and characters, an identity crisis, and some rather uninspired acting left me with a semi-bad taste in my mouth. Of course, that’s just me. Some would probably adore this film. I just wasn’t one of them.
Image Source: Netflix
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
