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    The Santa Clause

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    I know what you’re thinking. What?! You’re giving “The Santa Clause” a bad review? How could you?! My question to you is, have you actually seen this movie, and thought about what it really is? Because if you did, you’d agree with me that this is a shallow, not particularly imaginative Christmas film with some bad child actors and the only reason people have some affection for it is because Tim Allen makes for a pretty good Santa Claus. The premise of the film is that Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) is a divorced father who is taking care of his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas Eve. When they hear a noise on the roof of their house, they discover that Santa Claus is real... but he has disappeared, leaving only his clothes behind. Charlie convinces his father to put on the red suit, hop in the flying sleigh and finish delivering the presents, not knowing that this means that by doing this, his father has agreed to become the new Santa Claus.

    My biggest problem with this movie is that the story’s message is a really shallow one. If you look at the character of Charlie at the beginning of the movie, he doesn’t like his father, doesn’t want to be anywhere near him and is overall being a pain in the neck. Numerous times, he reiterates that he wants to spend as little time with his dad as possible during the holidays. When his father starts turning into Santa Claus though, all of a sudden these feelings change. This kid only begins loving his father because he is magically turned into a man that gives toys away for free. Let’s look at some of the lessons or messages that we get from some of the classic holiday stories. Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” teaches even cynics that Christmas is not about presents, food or decorations, but about being together with the people you love and making the best of the holiday season. “A Christmas Carol” proclaims that the true spirit of Christmas is having good will towards your fellow man and extending a helpful hand out of generosity, and then goes on further to show that this spirit of Christmas should not be limited to only the 25th of December, but to every day of the year. “It’s a Wonderful Life” shows that kindness and generosity are their own reward and that even when things seem to be dire and inescapably bad, the people that love you can gather and make it all ok; that one life, even if you don’t think much of it, impacts countless others in a way that you can’t fathom. What is the message of “The Santa Clause”? If your kid doesn’t warm up to you during the holiday, magically transform yourself into Saint Nicholas, and he’ll change his mind. Thanks for that! Maybe I’m looking too much into this movie. I bet you’re just saying that this is a light family comedy, that’s it. It doesn’t mean to have any kind of message or deep meaning, it’s just a Christmas-themed movie. I’ll admit that it’s not all bad. Tim Allen as Scott Calvin is actually really good. He has the best lines, throws himself fully in both the role of the frustrated father and Santa Claus and he not only looks the part, he feels right. Tim Allen, more than everything else in the movie combined made me laugh. I attribute the fact that people have affection for this movie solely on his performance and you can tell that he’s having a good time. Considering he’s the main character, that goes a long way.

    Even with Tim Allen doing what he does, this movie is still wrought with problems. This film feels like it was written not around a legitimate idea, but around the pun in the title. There are so many things that are unexplained or that flat-out make no sense. If Santa is running around giving people presents, why do the adults not connect two and two together when they see all of those gifts come Christmas morning? Why is it that only children believe in Saint Nick? Does no one spot him and his flying sleigh going around? Is there some kind of evil cabal that conspires against everyone in the world to oppress the belief of Santa Claus? Why is Santa kept a secret anyway? Maybe we’ll get the answers in the sequels. Even if you dismiss these questions, there are some facts about this movie that are undeniable. First, the child actors are not very good. It’s bad enough that Charlie, Scott’s son is as wooden as a rocking horse, but every elf in this movie is played by a child (Well, one or two of them might be teenagers) and none of them are particularly convincing in their roles. I also really didn’t care for the inconsistencies in the elf’s magical powers and the numerous scenes where they feel the need to insert technology into Santa’s Sleigh. He’s been using magic for like a thousand years, and all of a sudden it’s no longer good enough so they have to gives the elves jetpacks (which leads to some big eye-rolls for me) and put all of these electronic gadgets in the sleigh. It just rubbed me the wrong way.

    I know a lot of people think of “The Santa Clause” as a holiday classic, but it’s just alright. It’s just one of the endless Christmas-themed family movies that are just churned out annually that hit that soft spot for a lot of people and families have associated it with quality and the holiday ever since. The message is shallow, the acting not particularly that good and the entire plot is based off a pun. Watch it for Tim Allen, but don’t forsake one of the better Christmas films in order to watch “The Santa Clause”. (On VHS, December 19, 2014)

    5
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    adamwatchesmovies@  25.12.2014 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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