Holidays can be pretty lonesome for the hopeless romantics or those single people who are constantly pressured to bring a plus one to any annual festive occasion. And Netflix’s Holidate looks like the kind of film that puts a romantic comedy take on some of those real-life problems. But don’t let that put you off, because the film, starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey, looks like it is a lot of fun.
See, the premise of the film is pretty basic. Two friends, both single, always find themselves being set up with these awkward dates. Tired of that repeated setups, they decide to have a non-sexual friend with benefits relationship for the holidays. All holidays, including Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas. Every imaginable get-together. But when the celebrations end, they find that they have much more in common than a disdain for the holidays.
Typical formulaic cookie cut romantic comedy set during the holidays. Or so you may think. Maybe it’s the cheesiness of it all. Or maybe it’s the charm from Robert’s and Bracey’s chemistry. Honestly, I think it’s the hilarious nod to Dirty Dancing’s “Nobody puts Baby in the corner” dance mishap—anyone of those reasons. Take your pick. But I think I will enjoy this.
I can’t believe I just said that.
Anyways, here is the official plot synopsis for Holidate:
Sloane (Emma Roberts) and Jackson (Luke Bracey) hate the holidays. They constantly find themselves single, sitting at the kids table, or stuck with awkward dates. But when these two strangers meet one particularly bad Christmas, they make a pact to be each other’s “holidate” for every festive occasion throughout the next year. With a mutual disdain for the holidays, and assuring themselves that they have no romantic interest in the other, they make the perfect team. However, as a year of absurd celebrations come to an end, Sloane and Jackson find that sharing everything they hate may just prove to be something they unexpectedly love.
Andrew Bachelor, Jessica Capshaw, Manish Dayal, Alex Moffat, Jake Manley, Cynthy Wu with Frances Fisher and Kristin Chenoweth also star.
Directed by John Whitesell, using a script written by Tiffany Paulsen, Holidate debuts exclusively on Netflix on October 28, 2020. Yup, A Christmas movie before Halloween. Honestly, I think we are going to need it given the year we are having right now.
