I remember The Santa Clause from 1994 and the good vibe it generated and the money it made. But at the time I gave it a pass; my children were teenagers and didn't have much interest in kids movies. Nor did I. But this holiday season I felt like feel-good movie. Something akin to A Christmas Story, one of my all-time favorites, but one I've seen too many times. I needed a new Christmas movie and The Santa Claus seemed like a promising candidate. Wrong.
Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, a workaholic divorced parent who cannot connect with his young son. And he desperately wants to, both for his son and to offset the influence of Mom's new boyfriend. But Scott can't do anything right. Then on Christmas Eve Scott accidentally kills Santa Clause. Funny, huh? The clause in the title is not a misspelling, but refers to the legal clause that requires anyone who offs Santa to take his place. This is cleverly done, although it is a bit maudlin. Well guess what happens? Scott learns the (non-religious) meaning of Christmas, bonds with his son, discovers himself make that a lot maudlin.
In 1994 Tim Allen was riding high with his hit TV show, Home Improvement, and in The Santa Clause he plays Tim Allen playing Tim Allen playing Santa Clause. No stretch here. And the rest of the cast is just there as a foil for Tim. And the plot, however clever, just wasn't very entertaining to this reviewer. Actually, this minority commentator didn't like The Santa Clause very much at all, and certainly can't recommend it to anyone.
Tim Allen plays Scott Calvin, a workaholic divorced parent who cannot connect with his young son. And he desperately wants to, both for his son and to offset the influence of Mom's new boyfriend. But Scott can't do anything right. Then on Christmas Eve Scott accidentally kills Santa Clause. Funny, huh? The clause in the title is not a misspelling, but refers to the legal clause that requires anyone who offs Santa to take his place. This is cleverly done, although it is a bit maudlin. Well guess what happens? Scott learns the (non-religious) meaning of Christmas, bonds with his son, discovers himself make that a lot maudlin.
In 1994 Tim Allen was riding high with his hit TV show, Home Improvement, and in The Santa Clause he plays Tim Allen playing Tim Allen playing Santa Clause. No stretch here. And the rest of the cast is just there as a foil for Tim. And the plot, however clever, just wasn't very entertaining to this reviewer. Actually, this minority commentator didn't like The Santa Clause very much at all, and certainly can't recommend it to anyone.