As Christmas movies go, this is a very good one. I always try and watch my favorites during the holidays, and this is one. The main character is very likable, but flawed and Steven Weber as Calvin does an excellent job driving the flick. The supporting cast is well above average as well. Molly Shannon stands out, and so does Patricia Velasquez as the BiG Business WOMAN from South America that represents BiG $ if handled well. Calvin has an interesting family dynamic as well, with siblings, children, and a father with Alzheimer's onset. The music is excellent as well, setting the tone for this offbeat Christmas film. I laughed many times and the payoff at the End, a MUST for Christmas flicks, was very satisfying.

12 Days of Christmas eve (2004)Yet another person who seem to wake up and the same day again!And I thought Christmas do over was poor, this one was the worst of the lot so far, I found Do over better then this, it least Do over was a bit more funny then this as the same said for Christmas every day.This times the man keeps waking up on Christmas eve, this movie did have There few laugh out moment in and there, the rest felt like they didn't move on to the next lever, it sound like Scrooge meet Groundhog down on Christmas eve.The only think l like about this movie, How he get killed off for 12 different ways in 12 days, which is the same day.The acting was decent from the whole cast. 4 out of 10

Not a bad movie. But not a great one, either. Do not look to this movie thinking it will break new ground. It is a somewhat "safe" movie (only a few scenes implying adult behavior), but the characters don't really explore much about themselves. Calvin (Steve Weber) is given a limited script and limited direction. Rather than explore the absolutely wonderful idea that you can learn what matters at Christmas by repeating your day until you "get it," Calvin is sardonic and removed. *** SPOILER *** Calvin does learn his lesson. He realizes he doesn't "love" his bedmate; he doesn't need to meet for business on Christmas Eve 'cause it takes him and his executive assistant away from their families; he needs to spend quality time with his son (who shuttles between Mom and Dad after a divorce); he needs to be aware of his brother and dad; and he needs to make it better with his former wife. Not bad in theory, and not terrible in execution, but just not very fresh, witty, or interesting. I wanted to see Calvin go through a little more thought about his choices instead of being shallow and predictable. Yes, I knew that he'd learn his lesson - it's a comedy - and I knew that he'd do the right thing, and that everything would work out. But really, there was so much more to explore here. This was a Stage One movie that could go to Stage Three just with a little more thought and intention. Steve Weber is so much more than this movie lets him be. Get it for the kids, watch it with the kids (cover their eyes if you don't think non-married adults naked under the covers is kid-friendly), and maybe keep it around for those long Christmas vacations when you've already watched all three sets of Lord of the Rings, Extended Editions.

It is inevitable that people would compare this movie to "Groundhog Day" because of the time-loops, but there are significant differences. The main character in "Groundhog Day" was looped for reasons and by forces unknown, with no set time limit or even requirement for getting out of it. The main character in "The 12 Days of Christmas Eve" dies but divine intercession gives him another chance (12 actually) to find real meaning in his life before his premature demise becomes a final judgment. Murray plays a shallow, self-absorbed, and self-important reporter lusting after a co-worker, whereas Weber (Calvin Carter) plays a successful entrepreneur driven by guilt to provide for his family. Both need a character adjustment, but for different reasons. Murray's character must learn to give, but Carter must learn the meaning for giving for it to mean anything.And, pleasantly enough, the movie is not as predictable as some would indicate. The gallows humor of Calvin Carter dying each day in some bizarre way, and his increasing fatalism when it happens, is in itself entertaining. His failure to escape the loop by giving money, presents, service, and time to others also avoids the trite and shallow message that simply giving to others is the answer. At the end he finds that even then he does not have the full answer, evidenced by Angie's (Molly Shannon) admonition that the perfect Christmas Eve is a journey, not a destination - not simply something you make, but something you live.