Movie review
October 27, 2020 · 104 min · M
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Holidate is a 2020 Netflix romantic comedy starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. Two strangers agree to serve as each other's platonic plus-ones for every major holiday over a full year and gradually develop real feelings. The film delivers standard rom-com fare built around family holiday pressure, fake dating, and raunchy humor with no visible identity politics, activist messaging, or social-justice framing.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Holidate.
Woke representation / casting
Some racial diversity appears in supporting friend and family roles (Black and South Asian actors) that fit a modern Chicago setting; no narrative emphasis, marketing spotlight, or identity signaling occurs.
Woke political dialogue
No political, activist, or social-justice dialogue; humor stays raunchy and cynical about holidays and dating without ideological content.
Identity-driven story themes
The story follows classic fake-dating-to-romance and family-pressure tropes with zero race, gender, sexuality, or identity-politics elements.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Light comedic jabs at holiday consumerism and family nagging on marriage appear as standard rom-com material without activist framing, systemic critique, or calls for social change.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant (original story with no source material or established characters altered).
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No anti-woke, right-leaning, or DEI-related complaints appear in coverage or public reaction; criticism stayed limited to comedy execution.
Creator track record context
Key creatives (director and writer) maintain commercial comedy careers with no activist patterns; producers carry low prior scores from entertainment-focused work and one casting director shows moderate representation interest that does not dominate here.
Production
