I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

So, I was surfing Netflix and found this film. I really enjoyed the film and would watch it again. I am a sucker for the romantic comedies, especially if they have a fun Christmas message! In this film, she is initially overwhelmed and obsessed with her ex boyfriend, who she is convinced will come back to her. She has to relive Christmas eve over and over until she is gets it right. She is pretty self absorbed in herself and fails to see the needs of those around her. But as she has a chance to relive the day over and over, she starts to get to know those around who she would normally not notice. She also has a chance to spend more time with a first date and really gets to know him as she goes through the day over and over. There may be some who think the film is predictable, but I loved to see what was going to happen the next day! I always love a fun and positive message film! Love it and would watch it again!

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.

I love a great Christmas movie and this year while cooking I discovered the treasure trove of ABC Family Christmas movies. I have no doubt that giving movies like this a high review will bring all sorts of criticism but I don't care. I review films according to how much they entertain me and 12 Dates of Christmas was awesomely entertaining!! I loved it!! I can really only think of a single criticism for the film and that was that it ran just a shade too long. Obviously a film with this type of story, the "Groundhog Day" schtick is in danger of feeling repetitive and it does but just barely. It certainly isn't enough to take away from the enjoyment of the film. It is sort of the perfect "magical" Christmas movie to have someone relive Christmas Eve over and over again until they learn a lesson about themselves and their life. The film has strong morals, it has a strong lead female character with a great message and will make you laugh and even brings tears to your eyes in the end. As far as a great Christmas film this one nails every category you can think of from magic, to romance, to laughs.This is certainly and easily one of the best performances I have ever seen from Amy Smart. I've never really seen her do anything spectacular despite popping up in so many films. She really gets a chance to shine in this film as the focus of the movie. Her character is shy and lost and looking for love in all the wrong places and watching her change throughout the film truly puts the magic into this and she is fantastic. Mark-Paul Gosselaar is absolutely perfect in this movie as well. Him and Smart together are just fantastic. They have the best chemistry of any of the ABC Family Christmas couples I watched. The supporting cast are all familiar character actors and they all do a great job in their parts. Some particularly strong roles were Jayne Eastwood, Mary Long, Benjamin Ayres, and Peter MacNeill as Smart's neighbour, step-mother, ex-boyfriend and father respectively.With a long history in Television director James Hayman clearly knows his way around a good script. Obviously comparisons to Groundhog Day are not unwarranted nor is that a bad thing. The concept is almost identical but the fact that its Christmas Eve and she spends so much time trying to make things go the way she thinks she wants makes for a sweet and heartfelt movie. I would watch this again and again because its a feel good movie with really terrific characters, good acting, a beautiful romance and just a very sweet story that will satisfy any Christmas movie fiend or romance addict. ABC Family clearly knows how to put together these movies and I for one and am a huge fan. 8.5/10

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.