12 Men of Christmas (2009)

Sadly Over-hyped

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

like many films from the same genre, it is a surrogate. romance, crumbs from classic comedies, pieces from Jane Austen, actors in skin of legends - Kristin Chenoweth as a version of Eve Marie Saint, Josh Hopkins as a form of Cary Grant. sure, very far by original, not realistic, with a story who seems far to be coherent. but nice. and this is the most important thing in this case. because it is the only thing who could be expected. the subject is so old, the performances are far to be bad and the idea has the chance to seduce. the war between E. J. and Will is fake but the aspects from a small community from Montana looking the work for a noble cause is not real awful but could be useful. so, a film for Christmas. and it is enough !

Okay this is a typical Christmas time movie. It is cutesie of course but still good. A New York super advertising woman finds her man going to town with the boss. At least the boss is a female. So she quits her job, can't find another one for months. Then a small time job opens up in a small town in Montana. Her job is to put this small town on the corporate map as a destination place for retreats. To get this done she hits on the tried and true semi-nude calendar using the regular everyday men of the local search and rescue squad. She calls in a big time photographer and the shoot takes place. It turns out very well, sales take off and so the squad gets its new equipment. A side light of this film is the relationship between the New Yorker and the local stud. It is detestation at first meeting that eventually develops into the inevitable, tis' the season, love affair. Like I said it is cutesie but I liked it.

Petite blonde public relations expert Kristin Chenoweth (as Emma Jane "E.J." Baxter) catches her boyfriend in the bathroom stall with her boss. Deciding to give them both more space, Ms. Chenoweth leaves the hustle-bustle of New York City and moves to a smallish-looking town in Montana. She doesn't become a dental floss tycoon; that's already been invented. Instead, she works for the mayor. Chenoweth becomes acquainted with the volunteer men of the search and rescue squad. They have a lot of fund-raisers and do good work – like rescuing petite blonde mountain climbers. Chenoweth decides to contribute by creating a calendar featuring "12 Men of Christmas" and sell it for the holidays. The problem becomes how to get the local men to take off their shirts for sexy poses. Somebody must be pulling our legs because a few of the coy, well-built men look shaved, waxed, plucked and/or ready for action. One of the many handsome men in this movie, Josh Hopkins (as Will Albrecht), gives Chenoweth an especially hard time. Photography by Peter Benison is an asset.**** 12 Men of Christmas (12/5/09) Arlene Sanford ~ Kristin Chenoweth, Josh Hopkins, Anna Chlumsky, Jefferson Brown

12 Men of Christmas is a romantic comedy television film made for the Lifetime Television network. The TV movie stars Kristin Chenoweth together with Anna Chlumsky,Aaron Abrams and Peter Mooney.It was directed by Arlene Sanford.It is based on the novel Decent Exposure by Phillipa Ashley about a publicist and life-long New Yorker that loses her both her fiancée and her job on the night of her holiday work party and then decides to retreat to Montana.The story is about E.J. Baxter,who is a headstrong and popular New York City publicist. She seemingly has the "perfect life": a beautiful condo, a loving fiancée, a great job, and an excellent boss. But E.J.'s world takes a turn for the worst when she catches her fiancée Noah having an affair with her boss Lillah at the office Christmas party. Resulting in E.J. breaking off her engagement with Noah.Now, having no one to spend Christmas or New Years with E.J. starts to look for a new job, though with Lillah account black balling her all over the city, E.J. has no one else to turn to except her sister Roz. Feeling sympathy for her, Roz pushes E.J. to take up a job offer in Kalispell, Montana to lure corporate retreats for a year.Upon arriving, E.J. is extremely disappointed to find that her "job" is working at a travel agency bureau with no secretaries or office, except her cheerful co-worker Jan Lucas. Upon working, Jan invites E.J. to the town's barbecue where they raise money for equipment for the Kalispell Search & Rescue team. To show respect E.J. reluctantly goes and meets Dr. Marci Hempel and Eric, members of the search and rescue team. Marci tells E.J. that they raise money by holding various events,pancake breakfasts, bake sales, etc. and if they don't raise enough money all of the tourists will go to more popular destinations such as Aspen.Thanks to a sizable lack of funds, the Kalispell search and rescue team is in danger of being disbanded. Recognizing that the guys on the team are all bona fide hunks, E.J. works alongside her new colleague Jan to produce a Christmas calendar that will make the ladies of Kalispell swoon. Unfortunately for E.J., the men in Kalispell aren't too enthusiastic about the idea. If she can just convince them that it's all in good fun and land the perfect Mr. December, however, E.J.'s sexy calendar is sure to sell like hotcakes.Will she go back to New York after this activity or will she find happiness in Montana and stay there forever?The performance of Chenoweth uplifts this film from a predictable, unoriginal and clichéd Christmas love story.She makes it interesting and highly entertaining.The other actors/actresses in the TV movie were decent though.As for the story of the movie,the concept of having a Christmas calender was pretty funny for it had some good moments.Also,the character development of E.J. was a good presentation.But unfortunately,the other supporting characters served nothing but only decorations in the background.But nevertheless,12 Men of Christmas is still a guilty pleasure for a viewer if high expectations aren't being required for satisfactory viewing.