This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Blistering performances.

The dead end clerical life of lovable loser Barry Thomas (Jonathan Silverman) literally goes for a loop when an atomic mishap at work traps him in a time bubble. Every morning the alarm clock announces the same Tuesday and every afternoon Barry is forced to witness the murder of Lisa, the brilliant co-worker he adores from a distance. Like other TV movies of its time, this one hedges its bets with the kitchen sink approach of hinging the resolution to both misfortunes on an industrial espionage mystery. 1993's leaner 'Groundhog Day', from which 12:01 borrows much, demonstrates the pitfalls of tripling down. The plot is as credible as Barry's predicament. Helen Slater as the love interest is appealing if slightly bland and confused, and much too trusting of "I'm a time traveller, baby" advances. The bigger problem however is Barry. On the surface a cloying, goofy good guy recognizable from dozens of 90's sitcoms, he expresses the most distress about Lisa's death that he missed the chance to sleep with her. His reaction to the world altering realization of time travel is lame humour and he's frustratingly slow on the uptake. The writers seem to forget only Barry recalls his previous Tuesdays with Lisa. Real coworkers would respond with repulsion and disciplinary action to Barry's approaches later in the movie. The result is a confused, unconvincing mess mixing phony love-at-first-sight platitudes with uncomfortable sexual pursuit. Solid performances from Hollywood stalwarts like Martin Landau go wasted.12:01 is a very forgettable time waster for those hoping for a return to formulaic 90's TV plots, an exercise in prime-time déjà vu minus the laugh track. Watch Groundhog Day over instead.

It's not a bad concept, it could have been pretty good, but – poorly plotted, poorly scripted, poorly acted. The lead is just chanting his lines, the only actor with any believability is the always amazing Jeremy Piven. Too many places where I groaned and thought "Oh no!" Every time he connects with a previous day, you see it coming - the jail scenes, for example. Pathetic. Too predictable, too unimaginative – I mean this guy is so obsessed with the girl - he never considers the other possibilities. If you knew you would be living the same day over and over until you found a way out, wouldn't you look for a way to profit? There's obviously no reason to hurry. Too made-for-TV. It focuses entirely on the love story, never on the philosophical and intellectual implications. A total let-down. Skip it.

Whatever happened to Joanathan Slverman? He made some mildly entertaining movies for cable in the 1990s and then. ... Well, anyhow, here he is in a reasonably decent knockoff of GROUNDHOG DAY, only this one involves murder and a faulty particle accelerator that could spell doom. Silverman plays a mild mannered office worker who falls for a curvy scientist played by Helen Slater. (Get in line, Jonathan.) Problem is, he no sooner meets her when she's shot dead. And he wakes up the next morning to find it's the same day all over again. He tries to save her but fails. On the third day, he starts to get smart. She of course finds it hard to believe they are in a time loop, since she doesn't recall any of the things he does. The movie is actually lighthearted and lively, thanks to Silvermaa and Slater and a script that doesn't take itself too seriously. Jeremy Piven has a supporting role as Silverman's wisecracking office buddy, and Martin Landau plays an obsessed scientist. 12:01 is breezy and easy to take, if a little too much like GROUNDHOG DAY.

Anyone foolish enough to try to compare 12:01 to Groundhog Day is not really paying attention. Don't watch this movie and expect ANYTHING like Ground Hog Day. 12:01 is an action movie, a mystery, and a romance. The only similarity with Groundhog Day is that the same day is repeated. There is NO comedy in 12:01. There is a very DIFFERENT message in 12:01 than in Groundhog Day. It is a movie about love, pain, loss and misplaced trust. NEVER make the mistake of comparing there two movies. 12:01 is a dark movie. Groundhog Day is crazy comedy featuring Bill Murray.Choose wisely, my son.