Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Emma Roberts (American Horror Story, Scream 4) stars in Holidate, a funny, cliche-filled romcom. She plays Sloane, a young, independent woman living in Chicago. Sloane is tired of being constantly pestered by her mother to find a boyfriend who would hopefully become husband material, especially when she shows up to every holiday family gathering single once again.
Still reeling from what she deems as her worst Christmas ever, Sloane bumps into handsome golf pro Jackson (Luke Bracey from Point Break 2015 remake and Hacksaw Ridge) who is also tired of showing up without a date to holiday parties. So he proposes the idea of being each other’s plus-ones for each holiday celebrated.
We all know how these types of stories usually end up, but this one is not your ordinary fall-in-love-at-first-sight holiday movie. That is what makes it so unique. It also throws in some particularly raw and raunchy jokes and you’ve got a basket full of quirky characters that you just got to love, since they entertain you from start to finish. Kristen Chenoweth (The West Wing, Pushing Daisies) portrays Sloane’s aunt Susan, and the character is absolutely hilarious because she basically is what she is and give zero effs about offending anyone. She’s sexy, she knows it, and she’s out to have some fun!
Roberts and Bracey share a cute onscreen chemistry that slowly builds and when their characters finally realise that they are beginning to fall for each other you begin rooting for the adorable couple. There are a few moments that stood out for me during the movie, in that it shows that these two misfits are good people at the core but just not lucky at love. So, you can forgive them for being crass and poking fun at other couples especially when you realise how badly they have been hurt in the past. Pay close attention to the July the 4th fiasco and the Halloween sequence – they are both the most hilarious parts of the movie.
Holidate is a funny, crazy, and entertaining way to kick off the holiday season. So, invite the girls over for a bottle of wine or curl up on a rainy day with the significant other and just watch something lighthearted to chase away the holiday/pandemic blues.
Alice’s Score: 6.5 out of 10
For Julien’s Quick Bite review of Love, Guaranteed you can click here. And for more entertaining film reviews you can like and follow Redmangoreviews on Facebook here.
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.