Saving the Photo Shoot: The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

Most Romantic Moment #10

So I love this movie and try to watch it every Christmas and it is totally Pride and Prejudice (so if you haven’t seen it, you should totally check it out.

E.J. Baxter is a genius New York publicist that after being betrayed by her fiance, leaves that life to move out to Montana. When she gets there she clashes heads with good-looking bad boy, Will Albrecht. She hears the plight of the volunteer search-and-rescue team, as their lack of funds are causing them to use out-of-date equipment. E.J. comes up with the idea of creating a “naked” calendar (nothing is shown but bare chest) to raise the money.

The calendar is a success and both Will and E.J. realize that there is more to each other than meets the eye and they fall in love. After some misunderstandings the two break up, and E.J. returns to the big apple. But will she stay in NYC, or will she realize her heart is in Montana?

Most Romantic Moment: Saving the Photo Shoot

So this comes about 2/3 of the way through. E.J. has pitched the idea of the “naked” calendar, and with a little help from the officer who is Mr. May, everything is going great. That is until the guy for Mr. December drops out.

Everything is set with the printer, photographer, release, and they are out a person. Someone suggests they do group pic, but the guys don’t really want to do it again (one pic was hard enough to get out of some who were very shy) and there is no one left to ask. The clock’s ticking, and E.J. is looking at having to scrap everything and be out all the time, effort, and money.

But then Will shows up to do the photo. Now Will was against this from the very start. He thought it was a dumb idea and tried to convince others to be against it. He even told her he would never, ever do it. But, because he loves E.J., he swallows his pride and he takes the last photo, saving the day and the project.

So romantic!

For more on The 12 Men of Christmas, go to On the 12th Day ’til Christmas: The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

For more Pride and Prejudice, go to Modesto Jane Con: Defining the Definitive Darcy and Lizzie

On the 12th Day ’til Christmas: The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

On the 12 Day ’til Christmas my blogger gave to me

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The 12 Men of Christmas (2009)

Now this is a film that is very pleasing to any woman out there. E.J. Baxter is a genius New York publicist that after being betrayed by her fiance, leaves that life to move out to Montana. When she gets there she clashes heads with good-looking bad boy, Will Albrecht. She hears the plight of the volunteer search-and-rescue team, as their lack of funds are causing them to use out-of-date equipment. E.J. comes up with the idea of creating a “naked” calendar (nothing is shown but bare chest) to raise the money.

The calendar is a success and both Will and E.J. realize that there is more to each other than meets the eye and they fall in love. After some misunderstandings the two break up, and E.J. returns to the big apple.  When she gets there, she realizes how dissatisfied she is and goes back reuniting with Will; the end!

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However, when I was watching it I realized that a lot of the storyline was just like Pride and Prejudice

1) Their Names

  • Their names are
  • (Main Guy) Will = Fitzwilliam Darcy
  • (Main Girl) E.J. = Elizabeth Jane
  • (Main Girl’s BFF) Jan:  Jane -E = Jan
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2) Comment Trama

  • Will Albrecht says something to E.J. and it causes them to hate each other. Just like how Darcy makes that comment about Elizabeth. In this film Will was the one who was prejudiced while E.J. was the one who was prideful.

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3) Water Scene

  • They also do a water scene [copying Pride & Prejudice (1995)]. E.J. visits a fancy manor house and happens across Will who is swimming in the pool. Of course this scene is taken much further than P&P. In this version Will is in his birthday suit, but because it is on TV, we don’t see anything.
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4) Wickham Surfaces

  • E.J. starts dating this guy Mike who hates Will. He tells her that Will is a horrible guy as he dumped his fianceé on their wedding night, leaving her stranded at the altar. He also goes on about there was this perfect modeling job that Will had for his store, but Will kept Mike from getting it because he was jealous of him. This is just like when Wickham goes on and on about Darcy being awful and taking away his inheritance and chance to become a minister.

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5) Persuasive Person

  • E.J.’s friend, Jan, has been in love with Will’s best friend Eric forever and has been waiting ever patiently for him to ask her out. He is about to, but Will convinces Eric that Jan doesn’t really care for him. Eric listens to his friend and drops all of his attentions to Jan, completely breaking her heart. Just like Bingley was easily swayed by Darcy; Eric is swayed by Will.
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6) Terrible Proposal

  • One random day Will decides to go to E.J’s office and tells her that even though he fought it and is disgusted with himself, he is in love with her. He goes on and on about how displeased he is, just like Darcy does to Elizabeth when he asked her to marry him. And just like Elizabeth Bennet, E.J. turns him down cold; claiming that he was the last person in the world she would ever get with.
Mr.Darcy Pride&Prejudice

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7) Disgrace Be Gone

  • So the calendar is going well and they have finished the first 11 months and ready to start on the 12th when the last guy drops out. They can’t find anyone to replace him and don’t know what to do when Will steps forward and fills in their empty slot. Not only does Will save the day, but E.J. realizes that she loves Will. Just like when Darcy saved Elizabeth’s family from disgrace over the Lydia scenario, E.J. too was saved from disgrace.

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8) Miss King-ed Out of My Mind

  • Mike stops paying attention to E.J., eventually breaking up with her. This is fine as she realizes Will is the one she wants to be with. Later we find out that just like Wickham tried to go higher than the Bennets by attempting to get with Miss King, Mike traded up. He gets with a rich, recently divorced woman. Unlike Wickham, he ends up with her.
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9) Wickham’s Wicked Reveal

  • At the end we find out that Will wouldn’t give Mike the job because he stole his fiancee. His fianceé cheated on him with Mike, and left Will stranded at the altar, not the other way around. Just like in P&P as we find out that the lies spread about by Wickham to the whole town are untrue, we find out the lie spread by Mike about Will dumping his fiancé is also false.

Darcy Wickham Pride&Prejudice

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10) Reunited Couples

  • In the end Jan and Eric have finally gotten together; along with Will and E.J. working through their pride and prejudices. Just like P&P, we have a very happy ending.
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It’s a great film and you should watch it. You definitely should check out the calendar. Mr. May is my favorite, I’d keep him up all year long.
the12menofchristmas mr. may
If you’re wondering Mr. December, as I said earlier, is Will and  Mr. July is the very uncute Mike (I don’t see how anyone would find him attractive).
I think it is a great movie and I highly recommend you watching it! To find out when it will be playing on Lifetime go here.
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For more modern works based on Pride and Prejudice, go to Definitely Not Mr. Darcy
For more Pride & Prejudice posts go to Let’s Hear it For the Boys
For more of my fav quotes, go to It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year