12 Men of Christmas

             I can’t believe how many Christmas movies I watched over the Thanksgiving weekend.  There are some I like here and there, but Christmas movies are not usually my thing.  The fact that I did watch so many in such a short spans of time shows just how little there was on TV.  Some of the movies shown were the ones I like, but there was a specific one I enjoy that I did not find.  That movie was 12 Men of Christmas.  It was aired earlier in November and I haven’t noticed it on again since.  I certainly hope it will return before Christmas comes around.  It’s a great movie and I don’t want it to get lost amongst all the new ones coming out.          

                E.J. Baxter (Kristin Chenoweth) believes she has it all; a powerful job, a high priced condo, and the perfect fiancé.  Life is pretty much perfect.  Then E.J. discovers her fiancé having a fling with her boss in the woman’s bathroom at a party.  After this, everything in E.J.’s life comes tumbling down.

                In retaliation for the encounter E.J. has witnessed, she takes her boss’s shoe and breaks off the heel.  This does not go over well with her boss and E.J. ends up getting fired.  E.J. is certain she’ll get another job quickly (the fiancé is also gone, thank goodness), but after a few months the only job offer she receives is in Montana.  For E.J., someone used to New York City life, any job in Montana would sound horrible.  This one, however, is even worse because it’s not even in one of the major cities.  It’s in a small town, where nothing is like the life she is used to.

                Without any other choice, E.J. moves to Montana determined she will only be there for a year.  Her job is to figure out how to bring corporations to the area for retreats.  Once she does that, E.J. plans on being on the next plane out of there.  That’s if everything goes according to plan, of course.

                While resistant to the town at first, the more time she spends there the more E.J. gets to know it and the people.  Most of them are very welcoming from the start, which is not something E.J. is used to, and she finds herself warming to the area.  The one exception she encounters is Will (Josh Hopkins).  He does not care for E.J. and her superior attitude.  Their first meeting was when E.J. tried to rudely cut in front of everyone in line at the post office.  To be honest, after this action, I was completely on the side of Will.  If that was how I first met someone, I wouldn’t be particularly fond of them right away either.

                Fortunately for E.J., she has made a better impression on others, especially her sort-of assistant Jan (Anna Chlumsky).  Well, maybe better impression is not the right term.  It’s more like Jan is more willing to give E.J. a chance than Will is.  Jan has a good heart and is a nice person who does not want E.J. to feel left out.  She invites E.J. to a bake sale that is raising funds for the local Search and Rescue team.  The town does whatever it can to raise funds for the team, but it is never enough for them to get all the tools they need.  E.J. realizes this is a problem for the retreats because without all the proper tools the corporations won’t feel safe and won’t come to the town.  She figures out the best way to get the corporations to the town is to guarantee their safety.  The way to do that is to get the team their tools.  How she will accomplish that is with a calendar of men.

                The calendar won’t be of just any men.  It will be of the Search & Rescue team men ... partially naked.  That partially naked detail is what does not go over very well with everyone.  The men are not comfortable over the fact that they will have few, if any clothes on for a calendar that could go up anywhere.  Will in particular is opposed to the calendar, but as there are thirteen men on the team, E.J. only has to convince the other twelve to go along with her plan and she is all set.

                With twelve men convinced to get on board, E.J. moves forward with the calendar, much to the irritation of Will.  Then one of the men pulls out at the last minute and Will comes in to save the day.  This starts to ease the tension between E.J. and Will, tension that was worse than normal because they were actually attracted to each other but neither wanted to admit it.

                The calendar is a hit.  The news of it even gets back to E.J.’s former boss in New York.  She calls E.J. and tells her she wants E.J. to work for her again.  Finally happily settled in Montana, E.J. now has to figure out what she is going to do.  No matter which direction she chooses, it will mean big changes in her life. 

                This is a sweet movie, plain and simple.  There aren’t many surprises, especially since it has a lot of elements similar to Pride and Prejudice, but it is great fun to watch.  The photography scenes with the men are especially funny, and the scenery (the actual scenery, not the men) is absolutely beautiful.  Then there is the house E.J. is able to rent while in Montana.  It is gorgeous, and only cost her $525 a month.  I would love to live in a house like she had, especially for the price she paid.  Unfortunately I don’t think that is going to happen any time soon, but I can hope!

                Something else I liked about this movie was the other romance that was going on.  Jan and Will’s best friend Eric (Jefferson Brown) have been dancing around each other for quite awhile.  They continue to do this for most of the movie, but not in an agonizing way.  Jan is a patient person and she believes Eric will get over his shyness one day and ask her out, which he does.  The romance between these two is really sweet and it’s a nice contrast to the tension filled one of E.J. and Will. 

                If more Christmas movies were like 12 Men of Christmas maybe I would watch them more often. There were clever moments throughout and it never got too sappy. It was actually more of a romantic comedy than a Christmas movie, making it easy to watch at any time of year.