HotToastyRag
If you loved Groundhog Day, 12 Dates of Christmas will probably be your new favorite Christmas movie. This ABC television movie is the best Christmas classic since Elf, one you will add to your collection and watch every year.Amy Smart stars as an unhappy, lonely young woman determined to win her ex-boyfriend back on Christmas Eve. She ignores the advice of her best friend, Laura Miyata, is rude to her kind-hearted neighbor, Jayne Eastwood, and hurts her dad and stepmom's feelings with her flippant remarks about the holidays. On top of it all, she gets set up on a blind date with Mark-Paul Gosselaar but doesn't really give him the time of day because she's still in love with Benjamin Ayres. But, when the clock strikes midnight, time flies backwards and she finds herself reliving Christmas Eve all over again!Everything about this movie is adorable, and every time you watch it, there's more to notice and appreciate. Director James Hayman adds the clever touch of inserting each of the 12 proverbial gifts of Christmas during her repetition of the day; for example, there are two sets of love birds in a shop window and nine women start up a conga line in a bar. It's great fun to try and catch all twelve! While most films of this type-mean person learns his lesson-focus on one lesson, Aaron Mendelsohn and Janet Brownell's script is more complex than that. Amy Smart's character is given deeper reasons for her unhappiness, rather than a cheesy, generic dislike of the holiday or lack of romance. Each of the supporting characters are given their own quirks and niceties, adding to enjoyment of the story. Plus, there's more than one romance in the film, so even though you're guaranteed to fall for Mark-Paul Gosselaar, you'll find yourself rooting for other couples as well.From Mary Long's holiday pun-"What happens when Santa gets stuck in the chimney? He gets Santa Claustr-ophobia!"-to Audrey Dwyer's one repeated, memorable line-"I spritzed you and you passed out"-12 Dates of Christmas is full of funny lines and scenes that you'll look forward to reliving every year. I can't recommend this modern Christmas classic highly enough. I just love it!
Stephen Abell
This takes the concept of Bill Murray's movie Groundhog Day and adds a dash of Christmas Spirit... but only a dash.It is basically a love story... Not just of Kate, but the other people that transect her life, and her coming-to-terms and accepting other people's love interests.It doesn't have a dark side as Groundhog Day did where Bill Murray went through a few suicide days; Kate has a bad day where she gets grumpy with people, though the director shoots it with humour.The only thing that concerned and irked me a little was the way Miles would just walk away when things got a little tough or strange. Wouldn't you want the love interest to have a little interest in his supposed love, give her some benefit of the doubt? What would the future be like with this type of man?That said, I really enjoyed the film, though I wouldn't really call it a "Christmas Movie" as it's only set on Christmas Eve. It is a movie where you can cuddle up close with your loved one and just enjoy the lighthearted script (which made me feel good throughout the movie and made me laugh a few times too) with good acting and decent direction.
phd_travel
This ABC family Christmas movie is better than some of the recent Hallmark holiday movies. The writing is sharper and the cast is likable - more A list for TV than usual. The Groundhog Day formula has been used in TV movies sometimes unsuccessfully, but here they got the right elements of Groundhog. Each repeated day is different enough and builds upon the last with sufficient humor and inventiveness. A young lady pining for her ex is set up on a blind date.Amy Smart has enough vitality without being annoying and she pulls the role off quite well. Mark Paul Gosselaar is a likable enough romantic lead.If you have to pick one Christmas movie to watch this one is okay.
Elizabeth-133-463684
So, I was surfing Netflix and found this film. I really enjoyed the film and would watch it again. I am a sucker for the romantic comedies, especially if they have a fun Christmas message! In this film, she is initially overwhelmed and obsessed with her ex boyfriend, who she is convinced will come back to her. She has to relive Christmas eve over and over until she is gets it right. She is pretty self absorbed in herself and fails to see the needs of those around her. But as she has a chance to relive the day over and over, she starts to get to know those around who she would normally not notice. She also has a chance to spend more time with a first date and really gets to know him as she goes through the day over and over. There may be some who think the film is predictable, but I loved to see what was going to happen the next day! I always love a fun and positive message film! Love it and would watch it again!
AD
