The 12 Days of Christmas Eve

Now, when I sat down to watch the 2022 Christmas movie "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve", I must admit that I was expecting something good, since the movie had Kelsey Grammer on the cast list, and he is usually quite good in movies such as this. I have not heard about "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve" prior to sitting down to watch it.

Writer Eirene Donohue managed to put together not only a very wholesome storyline here, but also a script that proved very entertaining and enjoyable. And the writer really made this feel like a proper Christmas movie, so thumbs up on that accomplishment. Eirene Donohue really gave director Dustin Rikert something grand to work with here.

The acting performances in "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve" were good, and just as I had assumed then Kelsey Grammer really made this an enjoyable movie with his performance. He is a great actor and really shines in a movie such as this. But I will say that they had a good cast ensemble in general, and the actors and actresses put on good performances on the screen.

If you enjoy Christmas movies then you definitely have to watch "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve". This does without a doubt have the potential to become a Christmas classic. I genuinely enjoyed watching this movie and was quite entertained. It is a wholesome Christmas movie that doesn't fall into that usual sappy romantic formula, you know where a man and a woman fall in love against all odds, that many Christmas movies unfortunately have a tendency of doing. This is a movie that really brings to the screen the purpose of Christmas and the holiday spirits.

My rating of "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve" lands on a well-deserved seven out of ten stars.

The 12 Days Of Christmas Eve (2022) -

I really hadn't expected to get very far in to this one because the previous Kelsey Grammer seasonal films that I've seen have not hit the right notes with me at all. However I have to say that this one really surprised me. Although there were still some very silly bits that could have been tamed slightly to make it less cheap.

A tweak on Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' story and in the style of 'Groundhog Day' (1993) Kelsey in his role of Brian was given 12 days to fix the problems he had created in his life with his family, work and his outlook on life in general. As I watched I did feel that it's a shame that these redemptions always find people so late in life. I'm 44 and need someone to show me the true meaning of Christmas already! Don't wait until I'm so old and decrepit that I can't really make a big enough difference please? Or are the powers that be waiting for me to make my fortune first? (Good Luck).

What followed was a repeated, yet cleverly not a repetitive day of working out how to rebuild his relationship with his daughter Michelle, (Kelsey's real life daughter Spencer Grammer) and I have to say that actually he should have succeeded by about day 6 if it wasn't for the fact that Michelle didn't exactly make things easy for him. I'm sure he had a long history of cocking up and not being there for her, but she did throw it back in his face when he did try so what does that say about her? Like Father, like Daughter I supposed?

It had some humour and didn't go too far with the extremities and although not everyone was an amazing performer, perhaps they were directed to be a bit over the top, it was ultimately a charming message and full of heart so that the daft bits didn't matter so much.

And it was certainly better than his actual 'Christmas Carol' (2004) attempt. I'd watch this one again.

7.59/10.

Kelsey & Spencer have wonderful chemistry acting together. Kelsey Grammer can stand alone, but his daughter working with him made this film so heartwarming. I love the story of this show. Everything about it is what Christmas should be about. Everyone enjoys nice gifts, but love and time are what matters. I loved the entire cast, and I hope more are to follow. My very favorite part was them singing The Irish lullaby from one of my favorite Bing Crosby movies, Going my way with Barry Fitzgerald. Maybe you guys can do a remake of that together? I think Kelsey sings nice and could definitely pull off remaking any Big Crosby movie from the Golden Age.

This movie had a good idea, and some mid to good acting, but it fails multiple times

The original premise is good, it goes on a route(Redemption or death) none of the movies I have seen of the type touches(Except maybe groundhog but that is not "learn or die" that is more like "Die to reset the day" kind of thing)

The whole point of the Groundhog day situations is that they learn by failing You got Murray's situation where he fails a ton and like 10 years go by in the movie(Really, google it) You got Pete's christmas(Which I prefer over "Christmas every day" to be honest, where he learns little by little, always finding new things to learn about himself and those surrounding him and the growth, as in Groundhog, is slow and steady You even have Happy Death day where she also learns little by little all that was wrong with her life and outlook

And that is where this fails abysmally, you have Santa guiding him, or even outright telling him what is wrong, that rests importance to the learning curve and makes it feel rushed by the end.

And then there is the lessons learned thing, when he realizes what is wrong, he still gets it wrong a few times.

The end goes on a high note and it is refreshing to see a character outright speaking about christ, which I find sad, but in this day and age seems to be taboo(Like speaking about christianity as a religion and talking about the nativity in that context, not in Jingle Bells context)

So that ending(and the good acting from several of the actors) saved this movie... will I see it again? Only in the holidays(Yeah, I am a christmashead, I sometimes see xmas movies outside of the season), but it could have been much better.

I wasn't expecting much when my girlfriend and I start watching "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve", but the film has pleasantly surprised us both. This movie ignited the Christmas spark in me and I am really grateful for it. "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve" does have this something which movies rarely have. Well done to everyone involved in making this film: screenwriter, director, actresses, actors, technical staff. Love for ourselves and others, generosity, kindness and being always in present time with people you love, are messages of this movie we all should remember and always have in our minds.