Holi-Rom-Com Explanation

Each review comes with a holi-rom-com (h.r.c) score for that movie. This is my score for how well a movie does in the holiday, romance and comedy departments. Hopefully this will help you determine if and when you will watch a movie. You may be in the mood for a funny holi-rom-com so you’ll look for a movie with a high rom score, like Four Christmases. The next night you may need a boost of holiday spirit so you’ll pick a movie with a high holi score, like The Christmas Calendar. The next night you might feel in the mood for romance and will look for a movie with a high rom score, like Broadcasting Christmas. The holi-rom-com score will make it easy for you to determine which movies you want to watch and which movies you should leave alone…forever…and ever…no matter what. Here is way too much about about each score.

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Holi Score

The holi score says how much holiday spirit is in the movie. What’s a holi-rom-com without the holi-day…it’s just a plain old rom-com and during December, that just isn’t enough. Here is an idea of what the holi score means.
 

10 - For a holi score of 10, does someone save a holiday for the whole world? Does Santa fall in love over Christmas? Does the Easter bunny meet her Mr. Right while delivering eggs? Do zombies fall in love then start the zombie apocalypse? Those are examples of a perfect 10 holi score. Unfortunately, the only Christmas holi-rom-com to get a perfect holi score is The Santa Clause 2. Yes, The Santa Clause 2 is technically a holi-rom-com. Ugh.
 

5 - A holi score of 5 is the minimum holi score you should look for in a good holi-rom-com. Anything less and you’re left wondering, “what holiday are they celebrating?” To score 5 the movie should have the characters do at least two holiday activities. Do the characters decorate a Christmas tree and give presents? Do they go trick-or-treating and carve jack-o-lanterns? Do they go to work and have a baby? Do they plant trees and…plant more trees? 
 

1 - Any movie with a holi score of 1 should not qualify as a holi-rom-com, but someone, somewhere in the movie mentions the holiday the movie is supposed to happen around. “Oh, you want me to plan your wedding on December 25? Perfect, the theme will be the three wisemen because everyone is bringing you gifts.”

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Rom Score

Let’s be honest here, the rom score is the most important score. Sure we want to feel the Christmas spirit and we want some laughs, but holi-rom-coms are really about the romance. Unfortunately, this is rarely done well in our standard holi-rom-com. And yet we keep coming back, it’s because we are romantics at heart and glutons for punishment. 

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10 -  For a rom score of 10 the movie needs to renew your faith in love. Are you reminded of your own romances? Does it make you long for your own love of a lifetime? Do your eyes well up when the crusty snowman finally falls for the oddball elf? Does your significant other pretend they have something in their eye to hind their own tears? Do your kids complain that, “this movie is so gross”, but you catch them adding it to their Netflix list the next day? A holi-rom-com with a perfect rom score? I haven’t found it yet, but I’ll keep searching until I do.

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5 - Well, a movie with a rom score of 5 does have a romance, though it isn’t done particularly well. It follows the right formula (An odd couple who start out at odds with each other, but realize they are the perfect match), but in the same boring way. It doesn’t make you want to go get flowers for your spouse, but it also doesn’t make you want to swear off love forever. It’s like Hershey’s chocolate, sure you’ll eat it, but you never crave it. There are too many examples to name.

 

1 - Have you ever come out of a movie with the feeling that there is nothing good in the world and you will never be happy again? Have you ever seen a couple who make you question whether love is real? Have you ever dementors making out in the back seat of a Tesla? Holi-rom-coms with a score of 1 take the most beautiful thing and turn it into pure evil. Either that or they ignore romance completely, which means they are not technically a holi-rom-com.
 

Com Score

Oh, the elusive com score. This is where most holi-rom-coms fall flat. Some holi-rom-coms just don’t try. Some try and fail miserably. Some make you laugh for all the wrong reasons. I get it, comedy is hard, but it is also the thing that takes a movie about a cranky old turkey farmer and a sweet old butcher who fall in love during Thanksgiving and elevates it from a pleasant romantic story to a classic you want to watch every October (or November if you’re American).
 

10 - For a com score of 10, it has to be a truly funny movie. And not just funny, but it has real jokes and bits and gags and sticky situations and awkward side-kicks. It might cause you to do a spit-take. It must make you laugh over and over again. To score a 10, this movie needs to focus more on comedy than the other two areas and this usually isn’t a good thing for a holi-rom-com. 

5 - A movie with a com score of 5 is funny, sort of. It has one genuine laugh and a number of smiles. The movie does try to add comedy and it either doesn’t add a lot or the jokes are generally just ok. A middling comedy score can be overcome with great holi and rom scores.

1 - Every movie needs to have at least one joke. Even the terribly sad ones have at least one joke that re-enforces the idea that life sucks. This movie did not have even that one token joke. Even a pure romance movie like The Notebook had some humour. 
 

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