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 She hears the plight of the volunteer search-and-rescue team, as their lack of funds are causing them to use out-of-date equipment.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

Catherine Morland’s Reading List: The Inn at Half Moon Bay

So the idea of Catherine Morland’s Reading List all came from this book.

The Inn at Half Moon Bay: A Gothic Novel by Diane Tyrrel

I was shelving books in the library when this caught my eye, as I have been to Half Moon Bay. I then looked at the cover and back and was extremely intrigued by it. I thought to myself, this is something that Catherine Morland would love to read if she existed today (and was real-of course).

And such a shame I couldn’t review it on my blog,

But then I was hit with this idea of listing out books that Catherine Morland would be interested in!

So here we go-

Kelly Redvers is a redheaded beauty and engineer that has accomplished all she has wanted in her field and is looking to do something new.

The idea of becoming an innkeeper, has captured her fancy and she has begun looking for a place. When she first looks at the Magic Mermaid Inn, she’s not interested, but the longer she looks at the place, it gets into her heart and she has to have it.

“Sprawled across a bluff overlooking the sea, the Magic Mermaid Inn embodied the simplicity and ambiance of times past. Cozy and inviting, the Queen Anne farmhouse and its surrounding cottages enchanted Kelly Redvers into purchasing the property, in spite of her better judgement…”

Spooky…

Kelly moves down and begins taking over the Inn with help from Addie and Bill O’Malley, the former owners, who treat her like their long-lost daughter.

Hmm..

Kelly begins the usual innkeeper things, but then hears that a beautiful red-haired guest stayed at the inn in the past and disappeared…

She tries to fid out more, but it seems like each path is just a dead end.

No!

Kelly also gets to know the hotel staff and regulars. For staff we have Anita and Arturo, housekeeping and chef, who are Mexican and tend to speak more Spanish than English. Anita draws Kelly’s interest as she seems to be hiding something. Kelly comes upon her and Nick McClure having a secret conversation and a lot of money changing hands. Anita also knows something about the missing girl, as she started out a guest but became a part of the housekeeping staff.

Hmmm…something’s not right

The other person on staff is Nick McClure the handyman. He is extremely annoying as he works slow, doesn’t listen to Kelly but does what he chooses, and disappears for days-not telling here where he is going or what he is doing.

Ugh, this guy!

Kelly hates him at first, but then becomes attracted to him as well. It turns out there is more to him than meets the eye as he is half Native American-his grandmother a medicine woman-the other half being English aristocracy. He also is a lead in the volunteer search-and-rescue team. Kelly wonders about having a relationship with him…but then discovers that he used to have a relationship with the girl who disappeared, Alicia St. Clair.

The guests involve all kinds of people from singles to families, young and old. One is Paula Watson, a divorced mother of two that comes A LOT! She says it is because she doesn’t have enough space at her apartment, but is she lying? She is also very interested in the missing girl, helping Kelly search for clues about her. Is it just curiosity or does she have some other “deeper” interests?

Hmmm…

Paula sets out to win Nick, but on their big night she gets too drunk to be together, insisting that someone drugged her.

That’s not the only strange thing, the wineglass that Kelly gave to Paula was originally poured for her…

Another guest is Eli Larson-smart, handsome, a gazillionaire-but engaged. He insists its over and wants to be with Kelly, trying to engage in a relationship before he’s broken the one he currently is in.

Eli is over the top in huge romantic gifts, just showering money on Kelly and ruthless in getting what he wants. They do start a relationship, but Kelly starts to feel unsure about him. He was coming when the missing girl, Alicia, was there and she realizes she really doesn’t know that much about him, who he really is.

Do I know you? Do I really know you?

Grendel is a permanent guest, as he rents out one of the cottages. He is a doctor and works at a local clinic, using the laboratory for some experiments. He likes Kelly, but she just isn’t into him. Grendel becomes a good friend, giving her romantic advice, warning her about things she doesn’t know about Nick and Eli, and always assists her as he lives there. Can she trust him or is he lying about everything? He also was there when Alicia was, could he have been involved.

Hmm…

Then there are the couple that sold the Inn, Addie and Bill O’Malley. They used to have a red-haired daughter, but she passed away. When Alicia came, she reminded them so much of her daughter that they took her under their wing. Could Alicia have wanted nothing to do with them and one of them killed her? Is that why they are so interested in parenting Kelly? Are they really as harmless and sweet as they seem?

Then strange things start happening to Kelly. Someone breaks into her cottage multiple times, the wine is drugged, creepy notes are left, someone lives a note about a cryogenics lab, her clothes are gone through, weird/creepy gifts are sent to her, the power is cut, etc.-could it be one of those people? And what about Eli’s ex-fiancé? Could she be behind it?

I don’t know who to trust!

Kelly is running out of time and better quickly figure out who to trust before she becomes the next victim.

So I was really excited about this mystery as it was gothic, spooky, and sounded great.

Spooky…

However, I very quickly became annoyed with the main character Kelly. She gets involved with Eli as he “plans to break up” with his girlfriend. Come on Kelly, get with it! He’s lying to you! And you know nothing about him other than he is rich and charming. You are smarter than that.

The other thing I had a problem with was her choices in men. I didn’t like Eli, Nick, or Grendel.

• Eli was obviously a lying cheater who wanted what he wanted sand could not be trusted-and it is “her fault” he wants to be with her while in a relationship because she is so “beautiful”. Eeyuck! Plus when she dumps him, he becomes a baby. Ugh!
• Nick was lazy, annoying, and a bit controlling. Plus he bets Kelly about whoever scores first gets dinner paid by the loser. Oh wow, what a prize this guy is. Yuck!
• Grendel was too involved and a bit of a busybody always watching and sticking his nose into Kelly’s buisness. He keeps telling her what to do about her romantic choices and its none of your business Grendel. Besides what kind of name is that? Who thought the monster Beowulf had to kill would be a great thing to name a child?

With men like these, I tell you who I would choose:

So I was really disappointed, and the only reason I kept reading was I needed to know the conclusion of the mystery.

I’m on the case! (I told you every time there is a mystery I will post this pic).

Once we got past the triangle, and the jerky guys and were nearing the end I got really into it. It was really creepy and there was a great twist.

Wow!

So most of the book was a dud, and there was no admirable romantic lead-the end was good but it wasn’t enough to save it. I’d give this book a hard pass.

For more books Catherine Morland would read, go to Catherine Morland’s Reading List

For more Gothic Novels, go to Book Club Picks: Wuthering Heights

For more mysteries, go to Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers: Suitors and Sabotage

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

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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