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.
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My Dad's Christmas Date
Romance · Comedy · 2020
It’s Christmas and the charming city of York, home to Jules, 16, and her dad, David, is decked out ready for the festive season. In many ways, David and Jules’ relationship is no different from that of most fathers and their sixteen-year-old daughters. He struggles to understand her, she refuses to communicate with him. He wants to be involved in her life, she wants her own space. In one important respect, however, David and Jules share a profound bond: the death of Jules’ mum, and David’s wife, in a car crash two years before. With both struggling to cope with everyday life in the shadow of their loss, Jules, inspired by happy memories of her mum, decides to take matters into her own hands.
Movie details
My Dad's Christmas Date
2020 Romance · Comedy 1h 31m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
It’s Christmas and the charming city of York, home to Jules, 16, and her dad, David, is decked out ready for the festive season. In many ways, David and Jules’ relationship is no different from that of most fathers and their sixteen-year-old daughters. He struggles to understand her, she refuses to communicate with him. He wants to be involved in her life, she wants her own space. In one important respect, however, David and Jules share a profound bond: the death of Jules’ mum, and David’s wife, in a car crash two years before. With both struggling to cope with everyday life in the shadow of their loss, Jules, inspired by happy memories of her mum, decides to take matters into her own hands.
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 My Dad's Christmas Date?
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.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Mick Davis
Written by
Toby Torlesse · Brian Marchetti · Jack Marchetti
Jeremy Piven
David
Olivia-Mai Barrett
Jules
Hadar Cats
Emma
Joely Richardson
Sarah
Megan Brown Martinez
Claire
F
Felix Butterwick
Ben
S
Sophie Corcoran
Natasha
Court is in session
Put My Dad's Christmas Date 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.