12:01 - Un minuto dopo mezzanotte

This isn't as good as "Groundhog Day," but it's not bad. I compare it to that film because a similar storyline with each day repeating itself. The main difference in this story is that it's a crime story in addition to the romance, and it doesn't have the likable lead characters the much more famous Groundhog Day had. Here, we get Jonathan Silverman, not exactly Bill Murray. Helen Slater, meanwhile, should have terminated her career after Supergirl. The movie also could have used a little better humor.

Despite all these negatives there is something appealing about the film. Maybe it's just the interesting premise that once it hooks you in, has you to stay just so you can see if the hero is going to make everything right. For that, it gets five points but only a point for the rest. Still, if you see it on TV, check it out.

This is my my second movie I saw where the day keeps repeating. The first one was a short on Showtime. It was a serious flick. In that one, it was worse; in that movie the same HOUR kept repeating as opposed to the same DAY repeating, not to mention that that flick was NON-comedy. Anyway, I was glad to see that that this film had some comedic elements. I like to find my favorite line in a movie. In this one, it would have to be where his mom calls, and Barry tells his mom "I can't talk right now, mom. The day's repeating" and hangs up. I saw it when it ORIGINALLY came on TV, so I don't remember it much, but I do remember I thought it was 2 hours well spent.

On a side note, I saw Groundhog Day after this movie. Groundhog Day is different enough from this movie so you can watch both and not feel like you're having the day repeat. (sorry, COULDN'T resist).

I put a tape in the video machine one night to record this unknown film called "12:01" - the synopsis in the TV guide seemed interesting. I kept that tape for months, watching it over and over, just to see the subtle changes in each day being lived again. Brilliant.

Everybody seems to rave about how "original" Groundhog Day was/is but I saw "12:01" on UK TV well before Groundhog Day even hit the cinemas over here. "12:01" may have been a low-budget TVM and may have its flaws but the concept of the day after day scenario is just as good.

The sad thing is that I actually logged on tonight to order both "12:01" and Groundhog Day but I can't find a UK supplier of "12:01" and it would be such a shame if it were never seen again.

Try to imagine a combination of Back to the Future and Groundhog Day, and you've got 12:01

This was a decent scifi flick, and I found it highly enjoyable. It was a great combination of scifi, fantasy, romance, and humor. Jonathan Silverman and Helen Slater were both well cast, and if you rent this, you will not be disappointed.

*** out of ****

Don't let the premise fool you into thinking this is a rehash of Bill Murray's movie - this is a GREAT little story unto itself. It's closer to Office Space & Back to the Future than to Groundhog Day.

With a well-constructed plot & engaging characters, you can ignore the obvious writing & cinematography constraints of working on a TV budget. Watch for the pearls: Jeremy Piven & Marin Landau will sneak through with their organic performances if you're not paying attention. But everyone from the office dominatrix to the wiry assassin are well-developed; I even felt like "Mom" was part of the cast! So what IS the story about? A hard-working downtrodden everyday guy with a little tardiness problem. On the day that he FINALLY works up enough nerve to talk to the office cutie that he's had a crush on for longer than his mother can stand, she gets killed. And he has to watch it happen. ...again. And if he doesn't figure out what to say & do, he'll have to keep watching it. But the key is to figure out who ELSE is watching her, and why his interest in her has caused our hero to wake up Tuesday after Tuesday after Tuesday...

12:01 is definitely worth watching again, and again, and again, and...