"Holidate" like a Hallmark rom-com with a salty, raunchy mouth

  

Holidate (2020)

“Holidate” might be the edgiest, snarkiest Hallmark Channel romantic comedy there never was. Subversive, not quite. It’s almost just another disposable, vanilla formula package, but akin to “No Strings Attached,” “Friends with Benefits,” and "Sleeping with Other People," it has a salty, raunchier mouth than expected. Leading actors Emma Roberts (2019's "Paradise Hills") and Luke Bracey (2016's "Hacksaw Ridge") are charismatic and attractive, and casting them as cynics who don’t care if they are being likable is actually refreshing. Their chemistry doesn’t exactly scorch the screen, but they do make “Holidate” a tart-enough throwaway decidedly not for “the-schmaltzier-the-better” crowd.

“Fucking holidays,” Sloane (Emma Roberts) bemoans as she smokes a cigarette outside her family’s house in a Chicago neighborhood before Christmas dinner. Much to the chagrin of her smothering, plain-spoken mother (a woefully one-note Frances Fisher), she has been single for six months after her French boyfriend was sexting a young, hot barista. Then there’s Jackson (Luke Bracey), a noncommittal Aussie golf pro who gets stuck on the holidays meeting the insanely chipper parents to his equally crazy girlfriend of only three dates before running for the exit. Of course, these two singletons meet and get to talking at the mall when returning presents. Sloane and Jackson end up making a “holidate” arrangement in which they will be each other’s date for holiday parties and dinners without any strings attached. Want to bet that they will break down their defenses and settle down with each other?

Compared to the robust catalog of Hallmark Christmas Movie™ titles, director John Whitesell (who has specialized in sitcoms and forgettable comedies) and writer Tiffany Paulsen (2017’s “Nancy Drew”) do one better with “Holidate” by incorporating most of the holiday biggies — Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, you name it. And that's not all. To lead your story with two caustic and sour characters who will eventually admit they have eyes for each other is risky, but the actors make it work. Emma Roberts is winningly acerbic and eye-roll ready as Sloane, endearing and warming herself up to the viewer. She does this with more ease than Luke Bracey as Jackson, but he still manages to charm and connect. Of the standouts in the supporting cast, Jessica Capshaw brings a vivacious presence and sharp comic timing as Sloane’s older sister, who might not have it all together. Kristin Chenoweth also commits the hell out of a colorful part as Sloane’s randy Aunt Susan, who introduces her niece to the concept of a “holidate,” and somehow sells an unconvincing peripheral romance.

Before conventional obstacles abound, and a silly yet sweet declaration of love in the mall, Tiffany Paulsen’s script does actually make a few smart, self-aware observations about cinematic romances. On Sloane and Jackson’s first faux-date at a big New Year’s Eve bash, she gets on the topic of how “cockamamie” every romantic comedy is in contriving ways to keep the stars apart “when you know they’re gonna be together from the poster.” In another moment, when our soon-to-be-in-love leads wake up in bed next to each other, Sloane points out how movie characters unrealistically kiss in the morning, halitosis be damned. With more moments like this and fewer pandering, forced-to-be-zany antics—a blown-off finger on the Fourth of July and a laxative gag that luckily skips the gross-out payoff—“Holidate” could have been even better. Then again, as formulaic romantic comedies go (and something comfortable on the old Netflix to kill time while prepping for the holidays), this is a likably acrid confection.

Grade: C +

Netflix is releasing “Holidate” (103 min.) for streaming on October 28, 2020.