User reviews

This takes the concept of Bill Murray's movie Groundhog Day and adds a dash of Christmas Spirit... but only a dash.

It is basically a love story... Not just of Kate, but the other people that transect her life, and her coming-to-terms and accepting other people's love interests.

It doesn't have a dark side as Groundhog Day did where Bill Murray went through a few suicide days; Kate has a bad day where she gets grumpy with people, though the director shoots it with humour.

The only thing that concerned and irked me a little was the way Miles would just walk away when things got a little tough or strange. Wouldn't you want the love interest to have a little interest in his supposed love, give her some benefit of the doubt? What would the future be like with this type of man?

That said, I really enjoyed the film, though I wouldn't really call it a "Christmas Movie" as it's only set on Christmas Eve. It is a movie where you can cuddle up close with your loved one and just enjoy the lighthearted script (which made me feel good throughout the movie and made me laugh a few times too) with good acting and decent direction.

I liked this move. It is sweet and good hearted. But it is, more or less, a remake of "Groundhog's Day." And that's not saying that is a bad thing,

Kate is stuck in a past she cannot shake. She had an ex-boyfriend that she feels she missed the bus on when he is moving on with his life. A death of a mother. Her father dating a very sweet woman she disapproves of for no other reason than it isn't her mom. So she wishes that she could fix things. Well, in movies like this, some magical force fulfills this.

Now she's an unwilling participant in re-living this one day.

Ordinarily, I would say, the repetitive nature of these incidences would be aggravating and painful to re-watch. I dismiss them since we're suppose to be going through the same process as Kate. She has a blind date with Myles (Mark Paul-Gosselar's character...who inexplicably doesn't have a listed name in IMDb). His character is really improbable conglomeration of everything sweet a girl would want in a guy. He doesn't exist but only to be tolerably normal. Then the onion begins to peel. Because most of us need a lifetime to discover the person in front of us. Kate is in purgatory to be sure. And so...which could easily derail us into not caring, OR worst turning against Kate. Director James Hayman skates so fine on that line, he finds the joy in being able to repeat her world. Well, entertaining to us anyway. I think the message is clear...which was clear for "Groundhog's Day"...we're resigned to a lot of things in our lives, until we break the pattern. And that pattern is to give into what sometimes the world wants for us. It's not giving up, it's embracing it.

Yeah, I'm a sucker for this movie. So, if you venture to watch it, keep this in mind...great performances. Mark-Paul Gosselar is surprisingly low-key. He's every man. A good center. Nothing spectacular in his life...just so simple. He has dreams, but they don't interfere with his good deeds.

You will feel good you took the time to watch.

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 (C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

SO PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

In this film Amy Smart plays Kate. The character finds herself reliving Christmas Eve (including a blind date with a man named Miles) over and over again. She must discover how to break the cycle – should she attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend Jack, or should she pursue Miles, or something else?

I love everything this movie did. I love the fact when Kate realizes that "she will relive the same day over and over again" she decides to feast on every dessert imaginable.

This film also had lots of heart and its one of the better Christmas films. I will watch this again.

Don't get me wrong - I was expecting a complete rip-off of Groundhog Day with Amy Smart as the protagonist, reliving Christmas Eve & all the complications of rekindling an ex-love, a blind date as well as other friendships along the way. It worked better than expected and Amy Smart's natural sassiness & upbeat acting gave it a lot of positivity. What I think the film was missing, was just a depth of character in the feelings and conversations which worked so well in Groundhog Day, especially in the secondary characters. Even so - not a bad try and worth a watch. The all-round acting was good so will appeal to most people.

No Spoilers:

Before I say these mean things allow me to first point out that the movie was pretty enjoyable and if you are looking for a light easy holiday movie and have already burnt through all the really good ones, then go ahead and watch this. It isn't bad, just not deserving of "really good" or "great". It is actually a little good. 5/10 would be "just okay", which is why I'm giving it a 6/10, because it wasn't boring and did make me smile some.

In the beginning of the film they showed her as being very shallow. They made the mistake of never showing her as having wised up. She continued to be shallow through to the end. Yes she wizened a little, but not enough.

The movie never really gets deep enough to allow Amy Smart to show off her acting skills (she is a proven good actor). Not much of anything very heartfelt happens. No tears shed. No real feeling of caring for the characters.

Some of the plot feels a bit carelessly thrown together as if with a mindset of "yeah this will fill in the basic romcom blueprint good enough".

Felt like another movie training people to think that everyone is mystically fated for "the one" and that marriage is everything. Ironically it actually tries, for a brief moment, to suggest that her obsession with marriage instead of enjoying the day was the cause of some of her past problems.

Anyways. I kind of enjoyed it, but it felt shallow like the main character.

Amy Smart plays an insensitive woman who only cares about herself who is given the chance to make her life and the lives of others about her happier if only she stops being so self-centered. After falling over in a department store she bumps her head and re-lives Xmas Eve over and over (twelve times, to be precise) until she gets it all just right.

Normally I wouldn't bother with such fluff, but Amy Smart is gorgeous and really ought to be in more movies. The score is basically lifted wholesale from A Charlie Brown Christmas and there is not much atmosphere. You could basically transpose the story from December 24th to any other day of the year (Groundhog Day, for example) and it wouldn't be much different.

I wasn't once bored watching it though, and it's an acceptable addition to the holiday TV viewing.

Might as well get the "G" word out of the way up front, as this likable Christmas TV movie shamelessly groundhogs its main plot device from a better-known earlier movie, the two twists being that this time it affects a female and that it occurs (or should that be recurs?) on Christmas Eve.

Amy Smart is the girl whose Christmas Day can't get started after a Christmas Eve fall in a department store sees her day rewind every time the clock strikes twelve. From there we see her make the anticipated journey from a truculent self-obsessive who won't accept her new step-mom, creeps out her ex-boyfriend who's obviously moved on from her and finally rudely walks out of a blind date with a handsome young widower to a regular Christmas angel who rights the lives of everyone she bumps into before finally making up with them all, including the guy as she finally gets past her twelve days of Christmas spell.

Smart is amiable in the lead part, a lightweight cross between Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston and the circular time motif is deftly handled even if some of the situations she resolves are more sugary than a cane plantation.

Nicely shot around New York in bright December sun-light, this was an attractive, undemanding, feel-good Christmas movie worth seeing once, but just the once!

This ABC family Christmas movie is better than some of the recent Hallmark holiday movies. The writing is sharper and the cast is likable - more A list for TV than usual. The Groundhog Day formula has been used in TV movies sometimes unsuccessfully, but here they got the right elements of Groundhog. Each repeated day is different enough and builds upon the last with sufficient humor and inventiveness. A young lady pining for her ex is set up on a blind date.

Amy Smart has enough vitality without being annoying and she pulls the role off quite well. Mark Paul Gosselaar is a likable enough romantic lead.

If you have to pick one Christmas movie to watch this one is okay.

Really Good watch, could watch again, and can recommend.

This is about as close as I can find to a gender flipped "Groundhog's Day", granted it's not as good as Bill Murray, but Amy Smart carries this movie really well, even with Mark-Paul Gosselaar giving a great performance, there is only so much you can do with an opposing romance role if you're not in most of the scenes.

We get to see a great growth of character, exploration of herself and her world as she repeats days, looking for a way out.

The message is a little blatant, "Get over the ex", but the reality of struggling with such a thing is exampled plenty well, and surprisingly similar to "While You Were Sleeping" is very much about togetherness and family (born to or made), especially around the holidays.

This is a fun holiday time-shift loop to add to your marathon of time-loop movies.

12 Dates of Christmas is a festive version of Groundhog Day with maybe a bit of A Christmas Carol thrown in.

Amy Smart is reliving her Christmas Eve as she wakes up each time on the floor of a department store. She is selfish, self obsessed and rude. She has not got over her ex boyfriend and wants him back. She does not like her stepmother and when she is fixed up on a blind date she quickly walks out on him within a few minutes to go see her ex.

Each time she reawakens she realises she needs to fix things, become a better person and care for others around her.

This is a lightweight romantic comedy, a bit fluffy but also overlong. I just felt that it run out of plot rather early on but there was still some time left to go.

This was a surprisingly fun and charming holiday movie.

It does hit the familiar tropes of the groundhog day trope of repeating from the same moment, and the romantic element.

However, the heroine very quickly figures out her repeats don't have to keep repeating exactly the same. She learns about life, and herself, and uses the days to try things she was afraid of, and get to know people in her neighbourhood.

Although there are some leaps and it's not entirely clear just how many repeats she gets - or, despite the title, whether she gets 12 dates with the same fellow - this is a charming movie with a bit more depth than the average holiday rom-com.

Essentially 'It's a Wonderful Groundhog Day' stars Amy Smart as a fairly self-centred person who ends up reliving the same day over again. A simple production, with excellent support from Mark-Paul Gosselaar, sees Smart giving a good central performance with a satisfying character arc. The supporting cast are great too. Heart-warming and funny in just the right places.

12 Dates of Christmas is instantly forgettable. Time is precious and don't waste yours watching this. Groundhog Day did it much, much better.

Amy Smart is cute and you may get warm tingles every now and then. However, it's cheesy and the message is more how to avoid spending Christmas alone and get a partner rather than kindness and/or forgiveness. It's also very commercial, schmaltzy, gaudy and lacking in imagination considering where it could have gone with the story line.

I'll try and think of some positives: the dog on the bed is pretty good, the baking lady is cool and Amy Smart does have a nice smile. Still, watch something else - like Groundhog Day for the fiftieth time.

Adaptation of groundhog day. For some reason it didn't sit with me right. It missed something but I cannot put my finger on it. After a while, it felt long and stretched.

I'll be honest, "12 Dates of Christmas" is one of those films that ticks a lot of the holiday boxes - cute, festive, and filled with romance. The concept is quirky and fun: a woman, Kate (played by the lovely Amy Smart), gets to relive Christmas Eve over and over until she figures out what she wants in life, especially when it comes to love. It's got that sweet, Groundhog Day vibe, but with a holiday twist.

What I liked most was the warmth it brings. Kate's character is super relatable-her flaws and uncertainties about her future hit home. The romantic tension with her on-again-off-again beau, Miles (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), gives you all the warm and fuzzy feels. Their chemistry definitely carries the movie, even when the plot gets a bit too repetitive.

However, I couldn't ignore how predictable it became. While the whole "repeating the same day" gimmick is fun, it eventually starts to feel like we're just watching Kate make the same decisions over and over. I mean, we get it-she's learning, she's growing. But after a while, it does start to drag.

The supporting cast does a great job, though. I especially loved the character of Zane, Kate's friend who gives her sage advice and adds a nice comedic touch. Some of the holiday antics, like the Christmas tree mishaps, are funny, but I did find a few moments to be a bit forced. I could've done with a few less cheesy lines, but hey, it's a Christmas movie, so they're kind of expected.

The ending, though, brought it all together nicely. There's a moment of clarity and understanding that felt earned, and it made me smile. A perfect little bow on top of a film that was, at times, too predictable but still managed to make me feel good. Would I recommend it? For sure, if you're in the mood for a light, festive rom-com that doesn't ask too much of you, but don't expect it to knock your socks off.

I choose to watch this movie because (1) Amy Smart - who I have liked in everything I have seen of her (2) Christmas movie - which I generally enjoy even when a lower standard (3) good IMDb reviews.

I didn't have big expectations are anything. I just wanted something close to average with a Christmasy feel to it with Amy Smart as the headline attraction.

But this movie could not even meet those low standards.

Despite only being 1hr 25min, the movie dragged on and on. The Groundhog Day stuff where Amy Smart relieves the same day over and over got very irritating. I rarely felt like Smart was making progress from Day to the next.

None of the characters were the type you would adhere to. You were never rooting for anybody. The love interest was a paper thin character who was too perfect. Smart was the only other character developed in the story. Nothing about her was particularly interesting beside how pretty she was.

I would never watch this movie again. It was a struggle to get through even once and would be even harder a 2nd time. I have been flip-flopping between 1 or 2 stars.

I have pretty low expectations for movies of this genre, but this one really surprised me. The script wasn't cringeworthy, the acting wasn't cringeworthy, and the story, though it's pretty predicable, wasn't littered with clichés. Not only I was able to watch past the first 20 minutes, but I would actually watch this movie again.

The 6 stars are barely achieved in this christmas film in which the theme of groundhog day is copied very literally, actually that theme is in itself quite ideal for a nice christmas story, but then it has to be executed well and the main character has to make logical decisions with good edits to make the story run smoothly.

Unfortunately that does not happen or sometimes even much too confusingly with bad cuts.

Also the humor that groundhog day uses so effectively with this theme is largely missing here, it all becomes a lot more serious and that does not make the film any more fun.

When kate suddenly goes on the I don't care anymore tour the film almost completely goes off the rails.

The atmosphere is there and that saves the film a bit but the theme is used poorly or far too insufficiently.

Miles is handsome and Amy Smart is pretty. Acting is good. The dialogue at the start is clever. Other reviewers have done a good summary of the story.Too bad the script writers lost their way and copped out for 12? replays of the same scene as a vehicle to carry the story. Mercy! I refuse to watch it again so I can count them.

We like to watch Christmas movies as a family. Not at all happy to hear some foul language in it in front of my kids. I did forget to look it up here on IMDB first but it is not on their parents guide as a warning anyways. It was a great movie but we will not watch it again unfortunately.