12 Dates of Christmas (2011)
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!
DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. When she gets spritzed by the perfume, the camera spins in a continuous circle, and it might make you sick. Also, look away every time the clock starts going backwards, as it does the same thing. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Christmas movies here!
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!
DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. When she gets spritzed by the perfume, the camera spins in a continuous circle, and it might make you sick. Also, look away every time the clock starts going backwards, as it does the same thing. In other words, “Don’t Look, Mom!”
More Christmas movies here!