Featured TV on DVD Review: 12 Men of Christmas

December 4, 2010

12 Men of Christmas - Buy from Amazon

A TV movie made for the Lifetime Network, that aired last year. "TV Movie" is usually a term used as an insult, while I'm outside the target demographic of the Lifetime Network. So why am I interested in seeing this movie? Two words: Kristin Chenoweth.

The Movie

Kristin Chenoweth stars as E.J. Baxter, a publicist at the top of her game in New York City, but when she catches her boss, Lillah, and her fiancee, Noah, in the bathroom at the office Christmas party, she finds herself without a job. Times are tough, and despite her track record, she is unable to find work within the city. (Turns out Lillah is blacklisting her, even though it was Lillah that was fooling around with E.J.'s fiancee, not the other way around.)

After a couple months without work, she decides to take a job in Kalispell, a small town in Montana. It's her job to attract businesses there, but first gets involved in helping fund the Search and Rescue squad, which is badly in need of new equipment and the state funds are just not there. She reasons that people won't want to travel where they don't feel safe, but it sounds like an excuse to get an easy PR win, which she can then parley into a big job back in New York. Her idea is a simple one, the men of the Search and Rescue will pose for a beefcake calendar and the revenue from that will pay for the needed equipment. However, standing in her way is Will Albrecht, who she doesn't meet in the most conventional way and they don't exactly hit it off.

And with that short description of the plot, you will likely be able to guess most of what happens in the rest of the way.

This movie is incredibly predictable; however, if I can get a little Meta, it is predictable that it is predictable. That is to say, you go in knowing what you will get and it's not the story so much as the execution that matters. (There's maybe one twist in the formula and that is when E.J. chews out Will for being less hospitable, and that's only a minor twist because in these movies its usually the small town folk that are all nice and the big city people that are cold and mean ones.) And it's not just the overall plot path that is obvious, but some pretty specific details that you see coming miles away. On the other hand, Kristin Chenoweth has more than enough charm to carry the day.

On a side note, Anna Chlumsky plays E.J.'s assistant in Montana and has a rather important subplot, one that I would have liked if it were expanded. I am very happy she's gotten back into acting in the past few years.

The Extras

The only extra is a DVD-Rom calendar maker.

The Verdict

12 Men of Christmas doesn't bring a lot new to the genre, but Kristin Chenoweth is as charming as ever and that lifts the movie's overall value. The DVD lacks any real extras, so unless you are a hardcore fan of the actress, I think a rental will be enough.


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