12 Dates of Christmas Synopsis: A story that follows Kate, a young woman who after a horrible blind date on Christmas Eve, wakes up to find she is re-living that same day and date all over again.
Directed by: James Hayman
Written by: Aaron Mendelson, Janet Brownell
Released: December 11, 2011
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rated: PG
In 12 Dates of Christmas, Kate (Amy Smart) is determined to win back her ex-boyfriend Jack. She asks to meet with him on Christmas Eve, using their shared dog, Max, as an excuse to see him. While shopping for the perfect gift to give him, she faints at the mall after being sprayed in the face by a perfume tester. When she comes to, all seems fine, and she rushes off to get ready for her blind date with Miles (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), her stepmother’s godson.
The date does not go well, as Kate is a bit flippant and more focused on her phone, waiting for Jack to call than on Miles. Miles ends the date early when it’s clear Kate isn’t over her ex, and Kate rushes off to meet with Jack. She also meets his new girlfriend, Nancy. It’s a miserable day all around, but when the clock hits midnight, the day seems to rewind until Kate wakes up once again on the floor of the mall… on Christmas Eve.
Again Kate soon realizes that she has an opportunity to live the same day over and over until she gets it right. But for someone who seems oblivious to what real love and family look like, it’s going to take more than a night or two to figure things out… it takes twelve nights, to be exact.
Clearly inspired by Groundhog Day, The 12 Dates of Christmas isn’t nearly as clever or fun, but it does have a lot of heart. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I really liked Amy Smart in Just Friends, and she’s as charming in 12 Dates of Christmas, despite how self-absorbed her character seems to be at the beginning of the movie. She’s a likable actress, which was needed here to keep the audience around to see if she can finally figure out what the perfect Christmas Eve is supposed to look like.
While how Kate wakes up is the same (always on the mall floor with a concerned gentleman and the mall manager hovering), the days are always different, depending on Kate’s choices. The movie is a bit shaky during those first few do-overs, but it seems to find its rhythm once Kate realizes her ability to help more than just herself.
Smart and Gosselaar have some nice chemistry, and it’s fun to watch Kate fall in love with Miles, who still barely knows her, as the first time meeting her each day is the first time he’s meeting her. One of my favorite moments, in terms of comedy at least, is when Kate tells Miles she’s falling in love with him, and they’ve literally only known each other for a couple of hours – in Miles’s head, anyway. You can’t blame him for running away asap. Gosselaar was quite good in this, handsome and affable with an actual personality, which was a nice change from some of the movies I’ve watched recently.
There’s nothing overly special about 12 Dates of Christmas‘s supporting cast, but they’re there to help Kate grow as a person, so they at least serve a purpose. The one shining spot is Jayne Eastwood as Margine, Kate’s elderly neighbor who teaches her how to bake. She was also in The Knight Before Christmas, but it was not memorable enough for me to bump that up half a star. sorry!
12 Dates of Christmas is exactly what you would expect it to be. It was cheesy with some corny dialogue and silliness, but honestly, I found myself laughing through quite a bit of it…when I was supposed to laugh, if you can believe it! There were heartwarming, festive moments too, and I didn’t feel like I had wasted 90 minutes of my life when it was over. Look, I know this is not a fantastic piece of *cinema* by any means, and it’s nowhere near as wonderful as Groundhog Day, but it’s a light, breezy homage sprinkled with a lot of snow and Christmas cheer.
Watched: 12.05.2019
Notable Song: The Twelve Days of Christmas
