On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

Of all the general plots of the Hallmark movies, Christmas and otherwise, my favorite is the quiet, reserved, crushing female lead doing battle with the aggressive, flashy, or sometimes even a little bit evil, hussy for the heart of a tenderhearted prince. This movie has that plot and a Christmas theme as well.

The three key factors that make a movie like this one are, is there a real romantic story, are the supporting characters or story lines funny and/or interesting, and is the plot relatively believable and the Christmas theme well done.

This movie has all three. While not laugh out loud funny the supporting characters do provide laughs and a base for the movie. The story is told in a subtle way allowing the characters to have a little dimension. It has a nice believable backstory that adds to its charm. It ties Christmas into its plot very well.

Needless to say the result is predictable but if you were looking for suspense you will not be watching the last ten minutes of this kind of movie. However, for a nice two hours of Christmas diversion while you are wrapping some presents, this will work.

We've liked Robin Dunne since we first saw him on Sanctuary ... SO long ago now it seems. Since that series was canceled, he's been in several Hallmark movies.

In this one he's a DJ who lost his love for Christmas when his mother died in the season. Years later, "Maggie", who knew him briefly but was intrigued, comes across "Mitch" when he takes a job as a DJ in her town.

She decided to rekindle his spirit by sending anonymous Secret Santa Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, her job as a human interest reporter for the local paper complicates life when the gifts get publicity and her paper assigns her to cover the story.

The conflict on interest and the accidental secret of course make for the trouble spot all the movies need for their climax, and this is a good one. It makes much more sense than many of the forced crises in these film.

This one is definitely worth watching, and even an occasional rewatch when you're in the mood.

Was really quite surprised by 'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas'. In a very pleasant way. While there are plenty of at least watchable Hallmark Christmas films, there are very few that are great and some of them struggle to even reach mediocre. So this could have gone either way. The title was not as corny as other Hallmark Christmas titles and the premise was sort of intriguing, even if fairly typical but in a different setting/basic scenario.

'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas' is no award winner or a masterpiece, but that was not expected. It is not realistic to expect that from a Hallmark film, Christmas or otherwise. It is a very charming and surprisingly very well executed film by Hallmark standards, and to me it is easily among their best festive efforts. Proof that Hallmark should be given a chance without prejudice or scorn, because there have been times where they show they have a good film in them and 'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas' is one of them, for reasons that have been summed up already.

Sure there are not an awful lot of surprises, but one comes to expect that from Hallmark. But whether that matters or not is dependent on the execution of everything else and this executes most of its everything else remarkably well. It's all very easy to figure out and it can get corny at times.

Did feel too that the central relationship took a little too long to develop, do agree that if it was clear that they felt the same way and in love earlier it would have made the reaction to the secret coming out more plausible. The reactions came too out of left field and extreme done in the way it was in the film.

However, 'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas' a lovely looking film, particularly the photography, and the music is fitting with the atmosphere and more subtle in placement and tone than a lot of Hallmark Christmas films, that are known for intrusive music. The dialogue has some corn but takes itself more seriously than most Hallmark films, with some welcome levity here and there, without being overly so and it has flow and heart. The acting is good, with engaging lead performances from Robin Dunne and especially the ray of sunshine that is Brooke Nevin. The Christmas theme is charmingly and sincerely handled.

The story is somewhat formulaic, but is very heart-warming and sincere. Also personally don't think it's that unrealistic, other Hallmark festive films are more guilty of that to much worse effect. Actually agree with another that Maggie's motivations regarding her job are understandable and even relatable, also topical in this day and age considering the nature and increasingly negative impact of media and journalism now. It is good to find a Hallmark festive film where it was easy to care for the characters, only losing it a little with Mitch at the point mentioned above, where there is actual growth with them (especially Mitch) and where there was actual chemistry between the two leads worth investing in.

Summing up, very well done. 8/10

Hallmark hit it out of the park with this one. Dunne is a college DJ who is full of Christmas spirit and who does a fellow student (Nevin) a good turn at Christmastime, and then inexplicably disappears. 10 years later, they end up in the same town, but now he has turned his back on Christmas. She can't understand how he became so sour on the holidays and is determined to help him get his Christmas spirit back.

It's a wonderfully done story from so many angles, and the chemistry between Dunne and Nevin feels very real. I've seen Dunne in several movies now. I would guess that he is probably not considered one of the Hallmark hunks, but he has an everyman quality about him and always seems to put forth solid performances. He and Nevin are very well matched in this one. The way she goes about helping him makes a lot of sense and is very heartfelt. And unlike some Hallmark movies where the romantic feelings seem to spring out of nowhere, the two actually spend a good amount of time together and the growing bond between them feels very legitimate.

I highly recommend this. With all the newer movies that Hallmark shows, it only seems to appear now a few times during the holidays so keep your eyes peeled and set your DVR. You'll be happy you did!

Seems like I either hate Hallmark movies or love one so much I can't stop watching it over and over.

This movie is a watch over and over one for me. Loved it. The main two leads are wonderful. They are spot on in their acting and seem to get the plot and their characters exactly.

This is also a movie where several side actors are so excellent that they add a lot to the movie. For example the female lead's editor and male lead's program manager were amazing.

The plot is thoughtful, believable, realistic, and charming. It seems to have a sense of carefully constructed scenes throughout that make the entire production a joy.

There are few Hallmark movies that don't have a few glaring errors. But, you would be hard-pressed to find some in this movie. So, go ahead. Watch it over and over like me.