12 Dias de Natal

The lead actors in this movie have good chemistry. The pace of the movie is good and I enjoyed the story line. I had not seen Mallory Jansen in any other movies but enjoyed her acting, not overacting and not goofy. This movie is definitely worth the watch.

This is my 10th Hallmark Christmas movie of the 2020 season. Overall, it was very good; it is at the top of my list thus far. The plot/story was predictable, as one expects with Hallmark movies, but it kept me engaged thru-out. The acting was really good overall. As usual, Tyler Hynes's performance (a Hallmark regular) was very good. He is one of my favourite Hallmark male leads. I know Mallory Jansen from the sitcom Gallivant, where she played the Queen. She too had a great performance. Moreover, they had chemistry, which has been a problem with a few of the Hallmark Christmas movies this season thus far. The script was well written too, especially the dialogue between the two leads. I do have one critique here: the writer(s) should have known that the 12 days of Christmas start on Christmas day; they are not the days leading up to (and including) Christmas day. I am surprised how many people do not know this. Finally, the movie is enjoyable to watch and instils a bit of Christmas spirit. Fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will not be disappointed.

At first, our heroine, played by Audrey Hepburn lookalike, Mallory Jensen, got on my nerves with her lack of gumption, and too-sweet personality. At first I thought she was miscast as a girl with a mousy personality when she was so gorgeous. I guess she was, really, but the actress did somewhat overcome it with a nice performance. Then, to make it worse, Tyler Hynes, a favorite of mind, also got on my nerves. He was closed off, anti-social, and not a team-player. Even though he wanted a promotion to a position that necessitate the opposite of those personality traits! Oblivious. He, on the other hand, was cast perfectly, as he usually brings a gruff edge to his roles.

I stuck with it though and I'm glad I did. As Aiden and Jennifer started to work through their differences, and he learned to work with her, appreciating her talent, their opposite personalities added to their chemistry. Quite early on, Jennifer started to be more assertive, so it did not descend into never-ending frustration for me.

This was well written with an interesting sub-plot of Aiden's family home needing repairs he couldn't afford, and a very clever scavenger hunt through Chicago that the two were working on together. Definitely well above average.

I want to create scavenger hunts around cities- sounds fun! This movie is current, even for a Gen-Xer like me. The acting/directing at the beginning was a little uncomfortable as the actors were acting or directed to act in very stereotypical ways - the grumpy work alone guy and the friendly insecure woman. It got better pretty quickly.

I enjoyed this movie. It was fun to watch. It had a good storyline and of course, a happy ending. Definitely worth watching.