The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Holidate
Comedy · Romance · 2020
Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.
Movie details
Holidate
“Who's your perfect plus-one?”
2020 Comedy · Romance 1h 44m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.0 / 10
Community rating
Fed up with being single on holidays, two strangers agree to be each other's platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Holidate?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Long Weekend
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After a disastrous first date, wild-child Nicole and socially-anxious Max vow to lose each other’s numbers until they learn that their dogs found a love match, and now puppies are on the way! The hilariously mismatched Nicole and Max are forced to become responsible co-parents, but may end up finding love themselves.
Feast of the Seven Fishes
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A slice of life story that follows a large Italian family on Christmas Eve as they prepare for the traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes, reminisce about the past and seek love in the future.
Sex Appeal
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Avery, a teenager with a tendency towards perfectionism, enlists her friend Larson to help her prepare for her first time with her long-distance boyfriend.
Starting Over
Comedy · 1979
After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.
Two Night Stand
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After an extremely regrettable one night stand, two strangers wake up to find themselves snowed in after sleeping through a blizzard that put all of Manhattan on ice. They're now trapped together in a tiny apartment, forced to get to know each other way more than any one night stand should.
About Fate
Romance · 2022
Two strangers believe in love but never seem to be able to find its true meaning. In a wild twist of events, fate puts each in the other's path on one stormy New Year's Eve.
Look Who's Talking
Comedy · 1989
After a single, career-minded woman is left on her own to give birth to the child of a married man, she finds a new romantic chance in a cab driver. Meanwhile, the point-of-view of the newborn baby is narrated through voice-over.
How to Be Single
Comedy · 2016
New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, and what Alice, Robin, Lucy, Meg, Tom and David all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love.
Players
Romance · 2024
New York sportswriter Mack has spent years devising successful hook-up "plays" with her friends, but when she unexpectedly falls for one of her targets, she must learn what it takes to go from simply scoring to playing for keeps.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Whitesell
Written by
Tiffany Paulsen
Emma Roberts
Sloane
Luke Bracey
Jackson
Kristin Chenoweth
Aunt Susan
Frances Fisher
Elaine
Andrew Bachelor
Neil
Manish Dayal
Faarooq
Jessica Capshaw
Abby
Court is in session
Put Holidate on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.