From The Tool Man to The Big Man
Before I go into the review for "The Santa Clause", I should tell you that I didn't intend for this to be the movie I would watch tonight. I originally wanted to rent "Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 3" only cause I'm curious since I seen Part 2 and wanted to see how stupid it was. But there was a problem. All the video stores I went to seemed to stop carrying the movie, which is baffling and quite annoying.
But I was prepared for times like these. For each set of movies I plan on watching, I make up a backup list of similar movies. What's on the backup list? Pretty much any movie I find in the store. And I found the Tim Allen movie "The Santa Clause".
Tim Allen stars as Scott Calvin, a toymaker who's company just successfully sold a gazillion dolls worldwide. Scott is divorced and he shares custody of his son, Charlie, who doesn't seem to like him a lot, but likes mom's new boyfriend, Neil, played by Judge Reinhold, who is a psychiatrist. Neil put it in Charlie's head that there is no Santa Claus, which makes Scott so mad that he insults Neil's choice of sweaters. Imagine what Bill Cosby wore on "The Cosby Show" but maybe 5 times more colorful.
Charlie comes over to Scott's house for Christmas and when Scott burns the dinner, they go out to Denny's, much to Charlie's dismay. Later that night, Scott reads "The Night Before Christmas" to Charlie and then they all go to sleep. Charlie wakes up hearing such a clatter and wakes up Scott. They go outside to investigate when they find good ol' St. Nick on the roof. Scott makes Santa fall off the roof and, well, I guess he dies.
But before you get all sad and think this is demented, there's a card on Santa's body that says if anything happens to him to put the suit on and just pick up where he left off. Charlie begs Scott to do it and he finally gives in and delievers all the toys around the world. Then the magical reindeer take them up to the North Pole.
There, some elves who look like children but are about 2000 years old, explain to Scott that he is now Santa. A tallish elf named Bernard explains in detail the "Santa Clause" and that children are depending on him and all that stuff.
Scott and Charlie wake up back in Scott's house the next morning, thinking it was all a dream, but Charlie remembers it in detail and he is just too eager to tell everyone about it. Unfortunately, everyone things Scott is crazy and put the entire idea in Charlie's head. And Neil thinks Scott is insane.
Over the course of the year, Scott gains weight and grows a white beard and white hair and starts to slowly resemble Santa. Neil and Charlie's mom are concerned for Charlie's mental health thinking Scott is doing this to win Charlie back.
Of course they are just wrong.
Scott grows into the Santa gig (No pun attended, I swear) and he makes a list, which includes Armond Asante (Don't ask me why). Then Christmas times comes and when Scott goes on his trip, Charlie comes along for the ride. Mom and Neil thinks he was kidnapped though and calls the police.
Charlie and the elves rework Santa's suit and sleigh to make it better...stronger...faster... But when they stop at Neil's house, Scott/Santa is arrested and the police think he is just insane. Then some hardcore S.W.A.T style elves come and save him and before the cops shoot Scott/Santa, he convinces his ex-wife AND the hardnosed anti-Santa thinking Neil that he is indeed Santa and they get the gifts they always wanted: Her a Mystery Date game and him a Oscar Meyer Wienny Whistle. Bernard the elf explains to Charlie that if he shakes this magical snowglobe that he gave him, he can call Santa anytime he wants, which he does and he helps Santa finish up the route.
I must say I was surprised, I liked this movie a lot. I'm not one for mushy kid/family movies, but this one was funny and touching that I couldn't help but like it. I was against this movie cause I don't see why they got Tim Allen to be the part, but he did it rather well. If I can't find "Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 3" next week, I'll be renting the sequel. And if you like touching Christmas movies, and you should dammit!!!, then you should check this movie out.
3 stars.
"The Santa Clause" on IMDb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111070/