I hadn’t heard of the movie “Holidate” until I was looking for something to watch on Netflix and it was the first thing that came up. To my surprise, it was newly released right when I watched it. I started to hear more and more about it after I watched it and heard many people talking about it.
“Holidate” is a Netflix original romantic comedy that was released on Netflix on Wednesday, Oct. 28. As the holidays are near, the main character, Sloane, played by Emma Roberts, is dreading Christmas. She grows to hate the holidays due to the judgment she receives from her whole family about her not being in a relationship. Sloane is the only single one in her family; even her younger brother is engaged. Everyone in her family is longing for her to be in a relationship. Even her mother keeps trying to set her up with random people. Sloane is genuinely sick of her family constantly nagging her to find a partner because it is not even in her interest. She does not feel a need for a significant other, and she is just tired of being the only single one in her family. Sloane does not want commitment, but she also does not want to be the only single person in her family any more, so she has to make a compromise.
After getting to talking with a guy in the mall, Jackson, played by Luke Bracey, they both come to realize that they are in the same situation. They decide to become each other’s “holidate.” This is a term that they create to mean that they will only see each other on holidays and be each other’s plus-ones to events and family gatherings strictly on holidays. This avoids the whole factor of commitment but also prevents them both from being lonely on holidays.
They both feel that dating during the holidays is a lot of pressure, but they also believe that nobody should be alone during this festive time of year. After attending many holiday events together, the two of them start to develop feelings for each other, and it puts them both in a difficult situation.
I am a fan of Christmas movies, but I will admit that most Christmas movies are cheesy and predictable, especially the romance ones, and this movie was indeed like most others in that sense. Although it was an enjoyable movie to watch, it falls into the category with all other romantic holiday movies and just didn’t particularly stand out. The plot was captivating, yet expected. There were no really shocking twists that made the movie much different from other holiday movies.
Although I did enjoy this movie, I feel that it was a one-time watch, and I wouldn’t rush to watch it again. It is a nice feel-good movie, and I did appreciate it while I was watching it. It was not the best movie I have ever seen, but I did not hate it and would recommend it to those who prefer feel-good, predictable movies.
