'Holidate' comes for people who hate being single, but aren't ready for relationships

Netflix's new film "Holidate" is about two single twenty-somethings who agree to keep each other company during festive gatherings so they can avoid awkward, pitying questions that pry into their sad love lives.

At first glance, the film seems like a nice, feel-good rom-com with a fun premise, relatable lines and a ridiculously attractive cast, but it surprisingly hits much deeper than that.

Sloane, the main character played by Emma Roberts, looks effortlessly pretty and has almost no problems with work or money, but you'll come to realize that you know her all too well: she's the girl who just came out of a big break up, so she shows up to the most festive day of the year in nothing but a hoodie and sweatpants.

After a torturous Christmas evening of sitting at the kid's table and watching her family get excited over her brother's new engagement, she goes to the mall the next morning and meets Jackson (Luke Bracey) a carefree athlete who also just suffered through an equally awful Christmas. 

And so, the two make a convenient pact to be each other's "holidate" which means they would come as each other's date every holiday for the rest of the year. No strings attached — just two people showing up together to avoid awkward questions about why they're single and what they're going to do with their lives.

The first thing you should know about "Holidate" is that it's not your typical Christmas rom-com.

The Christmas lights and the tree in the poster might suggest otherwise, but Sloane and Jackson actually become each other's safety air bags through New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Cinco de Mayo, and more. People who've been in short and long-term relationships would know exactly how spending more and more time with a person and getting to know them better through their friends and family can change a lot of things.

Apparently, the great thing about having a "holidate" is that you don't just get a fake boyfriend — you get a constant companion (and a good one at that). Jackson understands Sloane's frustrations perfectly, so he doesn't try to stop her from drinking or having a good time. At the same time, Jackson watches over her, tells her exactly how she looks without sugarcoating it, and heroically makes himself available to save her from her controlling mother who keeps trying to set her up at family gatherings.

Roberts has terrific chemistry with Bracey, whom we've seen in action-packed films like "Point Break" and the heavy romance dramas like "The Best of Me." The two actors completely nailed the "are they friends or are they dating" vibe, despite "Holidate" being their first on-screen pairing.

It's more than enough to set your heart aflutter. Who doesn't love the fake dating trope?

But "Holidate" took that trope and ran away with it, introducing an entertaining new concept of relationships in the process.

However, it did retain that classic much of the allure of a classic romantic comedy: the colorful characters, the intense meet-cute, the awkward glances, the little "fight" they have at the end and enough romantic scenes that will send you dreaming for days to come. Sloane and Jackson even try to recreate a particular scene from "Dirty Dancing" that you might want to watch out for somewhere in the movie.

Most importantly, "Holidate" is honest about how family gatherings can be unavoidably intimate and too emotionally exhausting to handle alone.

Being single is fun and all, until you hear that one tita at the party ask: "Walang boyfriend/girlfriend si (y/n)?"

The question isn't always easy to hear, especially if you've been hurt bad by your last relationship. Also, the fact that it pops up during holiday parties or yearly family gatherings presents some kind of timetable that makes you realize: "Have I been single this long?" which leads to "Why am I alone?" "Do I look that pitiful?" or "Is there something wrong with me?" Of course, maybe you're just happy being single and you just don't want a relationship at the moment. That's nobody's business but your own.

In any case, it would be nice to have a designated someone to help you shake off all those annoying questions about what you're planning to do with your life (or just straight up have a good time). It sure beats drinking alone in a house full of people, which must be what many of us have been doing during the lockdown.

In other words: go on and give "Holidate" a play. It is now streaming on Netflix. —JCB, GMA News