'Countdown to Christmas' movie review: 'Holiday Date'

With its ridiculous plot and a stellar lead performance, the romantic comedy "Holiday Date" (premiering Dec. 14 as part of the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas) is a laugh out loud hilarious delight.

In short: Aspiring fashion designer Brooke (Brittany Bristow) is dumped right before Christmas - so she enlists the help of actor Joel (Matt Cohen) to play the role of her boyfriend for the holidays.

"Date" opens with a great sequence following Brooke's career - specifically, her aspirations and her frustrations as a fashion tailor. Her natural eye for silhouettes is on display, along with her dreams to not just follow trends, but create trends of her own design. The entire opening establishes Brooke as a designer with talent and ambition.

Then "Holiday Date" almost completely abandons this plot thread entirely. It's actually very odd how completely and utterly "Date" just jettison's Brooke's most personal narrative trajectory ... before morphing into something completely different. Before long, the story seeds that Brooke is excited to spend the holidays in her small hometown with her family - but they expect her to bring her boyfriend, who Brooke calls 'Mr. Christmas.' But the freshly single Brooke rashly decides to recruit an actor she just met to pose as 'Mr. Christmas.'

From this point on, Matt Cohen completely takes control of "Holiday Date" -- and his spirited, enthusiastic Joel is the heart of this comedy. He's a big city guy absolutely tickled with the idea of doing some boots-on-the-ground research for his next role, that of small-town store owner. Cohen is so infectiously, joyfully sincere in his excitement over what he sees as his new "role." Joel's commitment to the over-the-top scheme is what makes "Date" so much fun. Even as the ruse spins more and more out of control, Joel remains merrily confident that he and Brooke can keep the ploy going.

For her part, Bristow keeps “Date” grounded - because if the whole scheme falls apart, it’s Brooke who has to deal with the fallout. Watching Brooke and Joel nimbly sidestep every hurdle that pops up is legit entertaining, but none of it would matter without Bristow’s ability to tap into the relatable impulse to impress, and a quiet guilt simmering in the background. She keeps Brooke centered in the moment, as if she’s silently and earnestly directing Joel’s eager performance.

What begins as a fairly simple deception obviously unravels pretty quickly (because of course it does.) While the film is pretty plot driven, "Date" is still at its core a holiday romance - and its plot allows Brooke and Joel to gradually, organically fall in love. The first half of "Date" is admittedly a high-concept comedy, and the second half evolves into a rather sweet and endearing love story. It's pretty impressive how deftly "Date" shifts gears, seamlessly trading in situational comedy for the mixed feelings of guilt and unexpected infatuation.

Final verdict: "Date" is the not first Hallmark movie to use the "guy poses as fake boyfriend" plot, but this is easily the the most entertaining and fun use of the formula.

Score: 4.5 calling birds (out of 5)

"Holiday Date" is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes. The movie premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Dec. 14.