12 MEN OF CHRISTMAS
(not rated)
MOVIE: *** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Kristin Chenoweth stars as E.J., a high-powered Manhattan public relations manager with the perfect job and the perfect fiancé. However, when her fiancé cheats on her and she loses her job, she’s got to start over. This leads her to Montana where she takes over the P.R. for the town and tries to convince the local fire and rescue workers to release a sexy calendar in order to raise money.
WHAT I LIKED
There’s something about Kristin Chenoweth that is so adorable, you could put her in almost anything, and it’s instantly at least somewhat likeable. (I say “almost” because the poor dear has been in her fair share of stinkers, and no amount of Chenoweth bubbly will save the day.)
“12 Men of Christmas” is exactly what you’d expect from a fluffy holiday movie for Lifetime television. Knowing this going in (and if you don’t figure it out from the cover art and title, you’re a fool), you don’t expect deep plot and characters. Instead, what you expect is a cute little made-for-TV rom com, and that’s precisely what you get.
Where this goes beyond most of these candy-coated TV movies is the effervescence and cuteness that Chenoweth brings to the project. She definitely adds some class and makes it cute and enjoyable to watch. The rest of the cast is decent, including some notable TV stars and a surprise appearance by Anna Chulmsky as E.J.’s assistant.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
For all the cuteness and holiday cheer, “12 Men of Christmas” is still just a fluffy made-for-TV movie. Sure, the locations are beautiful and the stars bring their own flair, but it’s nothing more than a formulaic movie like “Santa Baby” and “Holiday in Handcuffs.”
So, if you’re a dude like me, you’ll probably get easily distracted watching this. If you’re like my wife or mother-in-law who will DVR all these movies each season, you’ll eat it up.
DVD FEATURES
There are no special features playable on the DVD itself, though if you put the disc in your DVD-ROM drive of your computer, you can make your own “12 Men of Christmas” calendar.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Ladies who DVR these Lifetime holiday movies every year.