User Reviews

This movie doesn't get an award for originality of premise -- we've seen two other movies where the female lead takes on an impostor as her boyfriend or fiance.

In this one, her boyfriend breaks up with her just before they are supposed to travel to her family home for the holidays. Having given him a big build-up to her Christmas-devoted family, she winds up taking an actor home with her to pose as "Ethan", her erstwhile boyfriend.

There is a twist here. The other "imposter boyfriend" movies had the "imposter" reluctant to take on the task. In this one, the "impostor" is an actor who is eager to experience a small town, family Christmas to prepare for a possible role he auditioned for, and he takes on the opportunity with relish.

Of course, complications ensue. The writers did a good job of keeping the complications interesting and amusing, and the actors did a fine job of taking the "funny parts" off the page and making them funny on the screen -- which doesn't happen from some scripts.

We got quite a few chuckles out of this one, and that makes any movie worth watching.

Hallmark scores high with Holiday Date. The entire cast makes the movie a joy to watch. Lots of fun, laughter and a greater understanding that the season has lots to celebrate.

Make sure you put this movie on your to watch list. Leaves you smiling.

This is a genuinely amusing little variation on the usual Hallmark template. It starts off with all of the cliches in place: Nice girl gets dumped before the holidays when she is expected to bring the dumper to meet the family for the first time. she can't bear the humiliation or to disappoint them so she falls in with a plan to substitute an actor to impersonate the architect ""Mr. Christmas" ex-boyfriend. He is a born and bred New York City actor who is anxious to visit a small town to get a feel for a role he is up for. One problem. He is Jewish and can't even build a gingerbread house. The chemistry between the charming leads was great, there was some ample support from veteran actors Bruce Boxleitner and Teri Rothery. And the talented Anna Van Hooft, who usually plays the villain in Hallmark movies, does a credible job in a throw away part as the supportive sister, for a change. And lets not forget the contribution by a Hallmark Stallwart Peter Benson as the brother-in-law.

This was a nice romance with some good laughs fueled by the tension of when will the truth come out, and what will happen then, and the cluenessness of fake fiancee Joel, played with aplomb by new comer Matt Cohen.

One of the best this year. Hallmark Christmas movie fans: Don't miss it!

Really enjoyed this movie. It is not often that I laugh out loud during a Hallmark movie, but this was a fun movie. Brittany Bristow should have been a lead long before now.

While premise was not original, this movie was delightful. The acting by all was solid especially Matt Cohen and Bruce Boxleitner each who made me chuckle through out. There was good chemistry among the whole cast and the celebration of different holiday traditions was touching. The movie was very cute and sweet.

I know that most of Hallmark movies are the epitome of 'fairy tales', but really? We have a grown woman coming home, and scared to death that she has to arrive without a boyfriend on her arm ? Then, there are the parents, Mum in particular who is a 'boyfriend' obsessive and talks of nothing else on the phone or around the house. The woman is a nutcase, and irritating that the daughter doesn't tell her so. Not a good advert for American Mums !!!!

And as for the engagement, well, instead of being walked all over by the family with excitement, why not explain - these two weren't 12 year olds, but adults !

Bruce Boxleitner must be desperate to appear in a film like this.

Then there are the house lights EVERYWHERE, must cost a fortune in batteries !!! And how many Christmas Trees does one house need ? They too were everywhere, and then a big production was made of "decorating the family tree together" oh for God's sake. The worse cheesiest film ever made.

Matt Cohen is very amusing, without overworking the humor, it just comes with a smile and cleverly fun. The rest of the cast are well played too.

Smile and Enjoy

First, let me admit I'm not Jewish so I can't truly understand the objections some would have to this movie. I'm guessing many Gentile families might go overboard to celebrate Hanukkah if they wanted to make their daughter's "boyfriend" feel at home. Yet, based on the comments of a local radio host, a guy who is Jewish and loves family-friendly Hallmark movies, he loved the humor in this movie. Like him, I laughed out loud more than once. I thought the chemistry between the two leading actors was believable. I loved Bruce Boxleitner's "Walter" and his harrumphs of disapproval. Look for the humor in the story; a step above the stereotype. The cast is charming.

'Holiday Date' did intrigue me in a way, as the advertising was colourful and put me in a good mood, the concept while far from original was a decent one and it did interest me seeing a film that didn't have Brittany Bristow in a supporting role but instead take centre stage. Have said quite a few times too about loving Christmas and finding enough of the Hallmark festive films pleasant, inoffensive watches (though there are some mediocre at best and even downright bad ones too).

For me, 'Holiday Date' is one of those pleasant, inoffensive sort of films. From personal opinion, as others hold it in higher regard, it isn't a masterpiece and is a bit uneven. As far as 2019 Hallmark festive films go it is in the better category. Having suffered through 'A Cheerful Christmas', also from 2019 and for me among the worst Hallmark Christmas films, straight before watching 'Holiday Date', it was a relief to see something above average and have a lot of good things.

Visually, 'Holiday Date' looks as if it was made with a lot of care and love. The film is beautifully photographed, never looking too stolid or claustrophobic while not resorting to gimmicks or trying to do too much that it swamps what's going on. The scenery captivates and is full of vibrancy, the decor is not subtle but has so much colour and beauty anyway. Some of the soundtrack is nostalgic and easy to listen to, with a sense of the Christmas period.

Script-wise, 'Holiday Date' has a good deal of laugh out loud moments and also genuinely sweet but not too cutesy ones too. The dialogue isn't too corny and flows naturally. A good deal of the storytelling warms the heart and charms, the second half is more involving and more entertaining than the first in my view but to me 'Holiday Date' didn't strike me as dull. Some actors that tend to be in support that transition to lead don't always fare successfully, where their personality goes and they seem ill at ease or over-compensate. Bristow was appealing and didn't make her character sugary or obnoxious. Matt Cohen is amusing and easy to like, once the goofball quality to Joel's character is toned down in the writing, and Teryl Rothery is classy support.

It's not a perfect film by all means. The early portions are not immediately easy to get into, with the story being fairly thin on the ground and needing more life and variety. Thank goodness it gets better later on. Some of the goofiness is overdone at times, especially early on.

At times too, the imposter plotting gets a little too over-complicated as a result of the film trying to cram too much in in too short a space of time. There could have been more variety, as there are a lot of typical for Hallmark elements and it is a bit stale.

Overall, decent but didn't make me go wow. 6/10

The first temptation about a Hallmark film is to define it as nice. Obvious, if the subject of film is Christmas. In this case , lovely can be more precise. For Matt Cohen job and, off course, for fine ... meet of Christmas and Hanukkah. Yes, it is the expected comfortable film. But not only. It is amusing, it has inspired twists, it is seductive, touching and ...not so bad. Predictable, off course, but charming in just good way. So, lovely. And just lovely.

This movie is just adorable. Yes, A premise that's been used before. Woman needs a date to bring home to her family since her boyfriend broke up with her. But it was the cast that made this movie. Wonderfully casted all the way across the board. Matt Cohen is a tremendous addition to the Hallmark family. Totally enjoyed this movie. A lot of giggles. It's just a very sweet movie. Totally worth your time.

I have to say that this movie ties with "Snow Bride" in ranking #1 in my top 5 favourite Hallmark movies!!! Like the plot and the way that the cast played the roles made the film feel so real!!! I love Holiday Date as much as Snow Bride because the couples who started out as fake dating really formed very genuine connections and you wish that movies couples were real life which most fake dating movies can't make their plots feel authentic between the couples!!!

I love how Hallmark is now diversifying its movie characters this year like Lifetime where you have a Jewish man and a Christian family celebrating two great winter holidays (Christmas & Hanukkah) together as one united family!!!.

The chemistry between the Joel & Brooke characters was so romantic & sweet while at the same time uniting differences. I really hope there's a sequel and we get a Holiday Date 2 with the Joel & Brooke characters because the last few minutes of the film wanted me to see more romance between Joel & Brooke.

So please Hallmark, PLEASE make "Holiday Date 2" where this time Joel introduces his new girlfriend Brooke to meet his family!!!

This was by far my favorite hallmark Christmas movie 2019, and one of the best ever. It's both funny and full of love, warmth and holiday cheer. All the actors play their roles very well and the story is perfect. I also loved the fact that they celebrated Christmas as well as Hanukkah. I hope they'll make a sequel of this movie in 2020 - I so want to know how the storyline of these two continues.

This was a funny movie please just stick it out and it will all make since. The male lead does act silly at first but stick with and it gets so much better.

I think Brittany Bristow is really cute and I enjoyed watching her in this Hallmark Christmas movie. I liked that they incorporated traditions from multiple holidays this time! A little over the top and unrealistic, but aren't they all?

I loved everything about this one. The way they blended the two holidays was so much fun and didn't feel forced. Glen was an absolute gem of a character. He had me laughing the entire movie. The whole cast was amazing. I adore all of decorations and Christmas activities and cooking and family time. This is what I want in all of my Christmas movies.

I don't know what order they showed them, but Hallmark brought us two movies combining Christmas and Hannukah this year. Mistletoe & Menorahs was a much better entry in that category. This one started out as annoying, but did get a little better in the second half.

Joel is arrogant and clumsy in the beginning. I did not like him and I felt sorry for Brooke. Brooke doesn't have just one jerk for a boyfriend, but two if you count the fake. Then Presto! Somewhere about half way through, the man changes and the socially awkward jerk becomes likeable. Even so, I didn't think it was enough for Brooke to undergo the inevitable falling in love. Even after the change, I thought the chemistry between them was less than thrilling.

Teryl Rothery always seems to do a good job in supporting roles, this time as the mom.

The first half also made an attempt at comedy, mostly through the inept Joel. I didn't find it funny, but many will.

Well, with this being yet another Hallmark Christmas movie, I figured I would give "Holiday Date" from writers Karen Berger and Kraig Wenman a chance. However, I can't claim to have harbored much of any hopes or expectations to the movie, given the ultra cheesy cover that the movie boasted, which made it look like a cheesy cooking show.

Still, I opted to sit down and watch "Holiday Date", as it might actually turn out to be one of those moments where Hallmark up the game and do a 180 and completely surprise you.

Well, I was surprised alright. But not in a positive way. No, not even in the least way. "Holiday Date" was an insanely boring and pointless Christmas movie, that tried to blend elements of Christian and Jewish themes together for a sappy mixture. It didn't really work, especially since the storyline and characters were so pointless and bland that no amount of Hallmark Christmas sugar could do anything to salvage this train wreck of a movie.

I wasn't familiar with the cast that starred in "Holiday Date". And that is usually something I enjoy in movies, but the actors and actresses that played in this movie virtually had nothing to work with in terms of script, characters, dialogue or anything else for that matter.

Hallmark and director Jeff Beesley truly struck out massively with the 2019 "Holiday Date".

I managed to endure just a bit over an hour of torment, then I just gave up, as it became clear that the movie had no chance to recover from the crash course it had been on from the very beginning. And I had virtually no interest in the characters that milled about in the movie like pointless and faceless drones. Nor did I care an ounce about the storyline or things that took place as the storyline dragged on an on in a snail paced speed.

My rating of "Holiday Date" lands on a one out of ten stars. This is definitely one of the worst Christmas movies I have have stumbled upon in 2021, and believe you me, I have seen more than my share of Christmas movies this year.

To be clear, I watch every Hallmark movie, every Saturday, in every season: Winterfest, Forever Love, Spring Fever, June Weddings, Fall Harvest, and, of course, Countdown to Christmas. The predictability of the plots, including the singe kiss at the end of the movie, is comforting to me. I have also enjoyed Brittany Bristow as a supporting actress in several of these movies and looked forward to seeing her as the female romantic lead. She did not disappoint, but the storyline did. This is probably because I think the premise of being so unwilling/unable to be honest with your parents that you find it preferable to hitch your wagon to a stranger is just so remarkably unhealthy and inevitably disastrous that I can't get past it. As I was looking at other reviews, I realized that I just hate the "impostor" plot. Therefore, I qualify my 4-star review with that disclaimer. You may feel otherwise, so press forward.

This is the only Hallmark Christmas movie I have ever stopped watching midway through. The actor/boyfriend was too stupid for words, making all the interactions with the family painful and awkward. I love these movies because even though they are predictable, they're fun to watch and the primary characters have chemistry and intelligence, even if they all make the same stupid mistakes. There was no chemistry, or intelligence, in this one, and I hope it never airs again.

What are we looking at here? This is the most horrid uncomfortble thing ever from Hallmark....Well, almost. The woman playing the lead woman momma turrible. Just turrible. Whatsamatta, kristin chenowith not available?

Yes, the storyline has been been done before and yes it was a little corny but you know what? I thoroughly enjoyed it! The cast was so great that they saved the silly storyline. Over the top Xmas decor? Yeah but no fake giggles, no cheesy festivals. It was just fun. Thank you!!!

It was a great story bringing Christmas and Hanukkah together.