User reviews

'12 Wishes for Christmas' (2011)

Opening thoughts: Have seen quite a few films in the past few years with this type of story, which has been familiar territory for most holidays (all holidays not just Christmas) for a while now, and they have varied in success, some are very charming, sweet and engaging while others are too simplistic, dull and silly. '12 Wishes for Christmas' has elements of both extremes, leaning sadly more towards the more negative category though for other reasons. It is not a terrible film and is semi watchable, but it really did have potential to be a cute and charming film, even with some potential cheesiness, but both only come in spurts in '12 Wishes for Christmas'. Which turned out to be rather mediocre despite a few quite major good things, sadly outweighed by numerous big flaws.

Good things: There are good things. Fred Willard and especially Michael Gross give good performances, Gross being in a role that really plays to his strengths that he brings amusement and charm to. Willard relishes his character's meanness without being too one dimensional. The best performance comes from the absolutely adorable dog, who is immensely rootable throughout.

Did also think that the production values were at least professional and easy on the eye.

Bad things; However, a lot is done wrong. Personally found the main character too self-absorbed and selfish, with her wishes not showing much consideration for others. Elisa Donovan does try hard, but it did feel at times like she was trying harder than she needed to and it came over as mannered. The other characters are thinly sketched and are not much better when it comes to lack of likeability, the treatment of the main character at times is too excessively nasty. The only really likeable character is the dog. The music does not fit, with it being more suited to an action thriller-comedy or something, and is too over bearing.

Furthermore, the script never really sounds natural and has too much cheese and schmaltz. There is nothing surprising about the story, it needed a lot more energy and the charm only comes in spurts (shining only properly with the dog). Really didn't care for the dog subplot, which is not just predictable but also not very realistic and quite mean spirited.

Closing thoughts: Concluding, mediocre but with moments.

4/10.

The main actress reminds you of Amy Adams and the guy of Patrick Dempsey so you feel like you recognize them from high ticket movies.

She has a good streak in her and tries to help then messes everything up and fixes it. It's not a rollicking rise but it's fun and sweet.

I can say that Andy is the type boyfriend everyone who watches this type of movie wants the girl to end up with, and Morgan is not

There seems to be an epidemic of movies where Elisa Donovan has a dog and doesn't want to spend Christmas with her mother, in which Michael Gross plays a Scrooge. Keep in mind, though, how Scrooge turned out. Gross is very good here, and we really find out why his character has developed such a negative attitude.

This is by far the better of the movies with Donovan and Gross, though. Donovan actually does better in the other one, but she is quite charming and appealing here too, and not overly perky, not to mention pretty. And I do like her clothes. Well, of course if she works in fashion she'll have pretty clothes. They are clothes normal people would wear, though, not the FABulous stuff you see in New York.

This movie has a lot of good writing and acting, even if it does stick to a formula. But it's a very good formula, with a lot of lessons about responsibility and making your own dreams come true.

I didn't recognize Gabrielle Carteris, but she does a good job with a role that turns out to be a challenge. I mean for this type of movie.

Most of the other leading actors do a good job. Fred Willard is, of course, Fred Willard. There's no one better. He can do nice and mean both. He's mostly mean.

This is a family movie, even if it has a few minor curse words and some dialogue about adult issues. It would be fine for kids to watch, though I doubt they'd be that interested.

About the music: it doesn't make me happy for the most part. Loud rock with lyrics that happen to be about Christmas does not qualify in my book as Christmas music. Classic holiday songs, even celebrating the real meaning, do not work if they are even louder rock. Or even if they are soft and sound like they are being sung by a robot. And of course there is the fashion show, with fashion show music (for lack of a better word), and not a hint of the holiday that I am aware of.

I did mention the holiday's real meaning is celebrated, and Noel makes a point of saying who her boss is. And Faith only believes in things she can see, though she DOES go to church ...

We do get to see Laura's family celebrating with her mother when she calls. But Laura doesn't want to be there. I can say she has the family she needs where she is.

This is really worth seeing.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. TRUST ME THIS FILM IS TERRIBLE. NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 Christmas MOVIES. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM FARE.

This is a good film. I don't care what others say. This film is charming. Young children and men under 30 will most likely hate this (They are ones posting nasty reviews) however most people over 30 will love the simple story with a heart of gold.

In this story a woman has a life coach that is really a guardian angel who grants her 12 wishes for Christmas. AS the saying goes "Be Careful What You Wish For".

What is nice is that about this film is that what happens in this film is 80% plausible in what this woman wishes for and the reactions she has when her wishes are granted.

The film has a nice pace to it. Its very enjoyable. Be warned on Amazon the film is titled "12 Wishes For My Dog".

The film is worth buying. What is nice is when you buy these films and let your friends borrow them. Share the joy.

The previous reviewer summed it pretty adequately. I, too, wish I had those 2 hours back! We watch a LOT of Christmas movies and this might be one of the worst ones yet. For some reason, the title got changed, my feeling is a poor attempt to appeal to animal lovers, to "12 Wishes For My Dog." But the dog has very little to do with the story and the wishes are not really related to him. It would've made a better story if they were the dog's wishes!

The movie had a couple of decent actors (Fred Willard, Michael Gross), the story premise was interesting, and there were some nice Holiday shots, and the star was very sweet (but totally unbelievable), but the acting was just bad. The story had promise but failed to execute. If you want a warm and fuzzy feeling, watch the last 5 minutes and skip the rest of the movie.

"12 Wishes of Christmas" is definitely a movie for the ladies. This is as sugar-coated as it comes. This romantic Christmas comedy is molded directly from the foundry that spews out these romantic comedies by the dozens. It has everything that you could want in a movie of this type.

The story is about Laura Lindsey (played by Elisa Donovan) whose life comes crashing down in a series of events, and she is given a second chance at a mystical life coach which grants her 12 wishes. But with these wishes comes responsibility. Will Laura be able to rise to the occasion and make the changes in her life and in the lives of those around her?

"12 Wishes of Christmas" does prove entertaining enough the first time you watch it, despite it being so sugar-coated that your teeth literally hurt while you watch the movie. However, I will say that this is not a movie that I will be watching again. Perhaps because I am not a woman, so I am not a sucker for these particular types of movies.

It was actually quite nice to see Michael Gross in this movie, despite him not having that big a role. He actually did bring something nice to the movie, and he was one of the more interesting of actors to behold in the movie. Of other notable faces in the movie, you have Gabrielle Carteris and Fred Willard.

If you enjoy sugar-coated seasonal comedies with a pinch of romance, then you will most definitely enjoy "12 Wishes of Christmas".

I just watched it and liked the movie somewhat, especially the beginning. A bit corny which I expected. Through the entire movie I kept waiting for her to get her poor dog out of the (dog-friendly) shelter. Of course it eventually happens but it wasn't even one of her regrets or bad choices, which is what the movie was about. She loved the dog so much, was granted 12 wishes and didn't even wish to have her dog back. That would have been my 1st wish. If you watch it, I'm sure you will agree. She won a car, got a new wardrobe and even won the lottery and still stayed in the rented apt that did not allow dogs. Maybe I missed something, since I was not paying 100% attention to the movie .... if so, someone please let me know. It could have been a great Christmas movie if written a little better. It was okay ... I would watch it again.

This is not one of the best productions I have seen. It's lacking a final polish, but the idea is at least a bit different. However I think it needed a bit more focus on the romance element, as the gorgeous David O'Donnell was hardly even in it.

I have to say I did complete a jigsaw puzzle while I watched it, so it didn't completely grab my attention, but I wouldn't turn it off if I saw it on again.

It's a typical film in the genre of "Careful what you wish for". Every action, has a consequence and you should think before you act. It's a good message for any time of the year, but I think that the Christmas message got a bit lost in the process along with the romance.

It does have cute dogs in it though!

This is about a lady, who ends up having a really bad time, So with many things going wrong and her Friends tells her to see a Life Coach.

Which tells her to go to a website, which give her 12 wishes, so she makes them and they do come true, they seem to be fine at first but soon after the Wishes takes a really wrong turn.

She thought her life would have been better, if she never made a wish, as she messed up her life, more then before.

There some very nasty people at her place, can people really be that nasty, some one getting fired every time was just silly , it wasn't funny.

Some parts of the movie had some really good funny moment, i Thought it would have been a lot more funny then it was , it was more of Drama then a comedy.

The acting was really good all around, This movie had really nice Christmas feel to the movie.

For a really safe, toothpaste commercial type of holiday family movie, I suppose this was okay. But, for those of you who enjoy believable acting, and a storyline that is at least somewhat decent.....steer clear!

The acting is so unbelievably awful, I found myself laughing out loud all through the movie. It was so bad in fact, that I almost felt at times like it was intended to be that terrible....like the actors were mocking a lifetime flick.

Can I have one Christmas wish? Can I get back those two hours of my life? If like to do something more interesting, like watch some paint dry or something.

Very predictable plot, with an unimaginative story line. Ugh...the conflict of the story is very predictable and hard to stomach. The heroine is plays the stereotypical woman(fashion designer, drama queen, all that jazz). And the problems that the heroine go through, (wishing for only selfish things instead of good things) are not very well thought out. The script is very corny and predictable. Linsey also is a total drama queen, calling all of her petty problems in disasters and refers to her life as a colossal disaster. Worse wasted hour of my life. If you see this movie coming on, CHANGE THE CHANNEL!

One word to describe: Awful

12 WISHES OF Christmas is about a woman (Elisa Donovan) who calls a life coach for help after she's fired by her boss (Gabrielle Carteris). The life coach helps her by granting her 12 wishes to help fix her life. Predictably, she wastes the wishes on things like winning the lottery, and a new car. She also selfishly wishes for her boss to be fired and her annoying neighbor (Michael Gross) to get kicked out. The twist is, once she's out of wishes, she has to go back and fix her mistakes without the help of magic.

I thought this was a great Capra-esque fable with a strong message and great cast. It's a lot deeper than I expected and takes some unpredictable turns along the way. There's also a touching love story with a surprise outcome I won't ruin, but you won't see it coming. Fun script, great direction, I highly recommend this movie!

Such a cute Christmas movie great cast except Fred Willard never cared for him. Noel Chonda Pierce is adorable.

Elisa Donovan and David O'Donnell too cute .

All the dogs added to the cuteness.

Enjoyable Christmas movie. We see how Laura handles the 12 wishes she's able to make. Make sure to always read the fine print.

Great performance by Chonda Pierce as Noel the life coach angel.

Excellent actors and a feel good movie.

Eve's Christmas (2004) also starring Elisa Donovan is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Elisa is a bit older here (40) but she is great- what a wonderful smile. The 5.7 rating would normally make me pass a movie over, since it starred Elisa I made an exception. Glad I did. All the main cast were well recognized. Chonda Pierce is also in this movie and it was fun to research her and see her recent increased popularity as a comedian (she performed at some inaugural events). The friend who played Faith- I must recognize her from 7th Heaven. Always like to see David O'Donnell. Movie is well done. I enjoyed it and would watch it again. Movie was well done.