À la recherche de Noël

No one would dare to try to remake the 1993 classic film, "Groundhog Day." But it was only a matter of time before someone thought to use the same idea in a completely different way. That's what the makers of "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve" have done. Calvin Carter gets 12 Christmas Eves over to determine if he will wake up on Christmas day or not.

The plot is fair, if a little far-fetched. Carter hosts a Brazilian company representative to see if his company will break into Latin America. As in the inspirational movie, he gets the day to live over and over as he tries to make it his best Christmas Eve ever. The comedy isn't on the level of the "Groundhog Day" and some of it is corny. Nor is the cast on the level of the earlier film.

But there's enough humor, and a good enough script with actors who do a decent job. So, this Christmas movie isn't humbug at all, but enjoyable light fare. The whole family should enjoy it.

Yes, this movie is similar to Groundhog Day, Family Man, and A Christmas Carol.... BUT it still carves out it's own place at the table.

If you like Christmas movies, and if you go into this understanding it was made for TV - you'll be VERY pleasantly surprised and pleased with this comedy. It's not Oscar material, it's not deep, it won't make you cry (thank goodness), but it will give you some laughs and it's a fun holiday film.

There are many many similar films..... most are dull or okay (Christmas Do-Over with Jay Mohr is markedly similar in plot to this tale, but not nearly as entertaining).

Molly Shannon as the angel is absolutely fabulous! Steve Webber does a great job tying comedy and humanity together, creating a sympathetic and believable (for a holiday TV movie) character.

While the plot is familiar in its similarities to other films, and consequently extremely predictable - the humor and contemporary setting make this a great "sitcom" style film.

It wouldn't be a Christmas movie without a moral and the lesson here was deeper and more provocative than expected. He wasn't able to buy, give, volunteer, or simply donate his way out of the mess - it was more and I especially appreciated that.

If you want a fun family Christmas movie with some light laughs, check this out!

Very entertaining, funny sometimes and with a very good message on CHRISTmas.

While the idea is not original (Groundhog Day, Scrooge and the song Twelve Days of CHRISTmas ideas are combined), it uses (and combine) in a very smart and funny way, the idea of some classic movies.

Steven Weber and Molly Shannon (SNL alumni) give us a very good performance.

Along the "12 days", the main character re-learn one of the meaning of CHRISTmas: family and friends. But, boy! How he gets hurt to figure that out!

And guess what? If you are looking for another syrup"CHRISTmas romance" movie, just forget it. This one is not for you at all!

I highly recommended.

Usually this type of TV movie is hazardous to one's health, as they are syrupy enough to cause diabetes, but this one was a pleasant surprise. Steven Weber is Calvin, a type-A businessman who has alienated most of his family in his drive to build up the family business. In his determination he has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas until he is "killed" by various means and forced to search his life and soul to find himself and his family. He has twelve days to accomplish this, aided by Angie (Molly Shannon), a nurse/angel who is determined to help him succeed.

Weber and Shannon work well together and have a nice, rather caustic relationship. The mood of the movie goes from the comic to the introspective as Calvin begins to find his way. Patricia Velasquez adds to the mix as Isobel, the Portugese visitor whom Calvin is trying to impress, but who has her own way to find, we see at the end. Teryl Rothery is under-utilized as Marilyn, Calvin's ex-wife.

If you are in the mood for a nice, pleasant holiday movie and are tired of the usual fare, I would recommend this one. It's not great theatre, but an enjoyable couple of hours.

I don't really think this is a 7 in the grand scheme of movies, but after watching 2 weeks worth of awful christmas movies with my wife, this one was a welcome relief. Some humor, some production quality, some decent acting, some heartwarming content. Should be at least a 6, so hopefully my 7 will bump it up a little