'Countdown to Christmas' movie review: 'On the 12th Date of Christmas'
Beyond having a fun scavenger hunt premise and the promise of holiday romance, 'On the 12th Date of Christmas' (premiering Nov. 1 as part of the Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas) is a winning story of a woman finding her voice and her confidence.
In short: Seemingly incompatible game designers Jennifer (Mallory Jansen) and Aiden (Tyler Hynes, 'It's Christmas, Eve') team up to create a romantic, city-wide scavenger hunt themed for the 12 Days of Christmas.
Jennifer is a great protagonist made all the more adorkable by Jansen's quirky performance. While Jennifer and Aiden both want the promotion to "head game creator," there's a real drive for her to nail the job, get the promotion ... or seriously consider moving back home to Iowa. She exudes an shining warmth, quick-thinking sharpness and genuine love for her job. She's absolutely in her element thinking on her feet and totally sells her ideas -- yet, she has some trouble selling herself. The heart of '12th Date' is watching Jennifer's self-assuredness blossom right before the audience's eyes. While Jennifer believe she's the best candidate for the promotion, she doesn't exactly radiate self confidence in the beginning.
Hynes brings a dry curtness to Aiden that comes off as a bit standoffish - except when he's around his sister and niece. He's a lovable grouch who isn't mean-spirited or just some guy who doesn't like the holidays for some reason. He's just a task-focused guy who works best on his own and doesn't exactly collab very well. But because he's Tyler Hynes, he excels in the role - both as the initially reluctant Aiden and the increasingly warm "funcle" (fun uncle).
From a story perspective, '12th Date' takes a while go find traction. First, the script has to establish that Jennifer and Aiden are "game creators," something that just seems pretty implausible as a career. Then it has to put Jennifer and Aiden in a corner - as a client tasks them with coming up with some crazy scavenger hunt type game across Chicago. Some of the best Hallmark movies have super linear and simple premises - yet '12th Date' doesn't trip over itself, deftly manages some exposition (that could have been clunky) and really roots the movie in Jennifer and Aiden. Honestly, the only thing preventing ‘12 Date’ from being an undeniable 5-star Hallmark movie is Aiden’s filler b-plot involving his grandfather’s fixer upper house - the plot thread just feels very tacked on and only tangentially serves the story.
Final verdict: '12 Date' is romantic and charming - and has a great and empowering message featuring capable and creative women taking charge and solving problems.
Score: 4 golden rings (out of 5)
'On the 12th Date of Christmas' is rated TV-G and has a running time of 90 minutes. The movie premieres on The Hallmark Channel on Nov. 1.
