The Santa Suit

The best Christmas movie I have seen in decades. Kevin Sorbo does and exceptional job in the role of Drake. Sorbo's character is realistic and believable and not over the top. I laughed and cried and can't wait to watch it again and again. If it has been ages since a movie has touched your heart then this is a must see. If you want to watch a Christmas movie that makes you feel you have not wasted 2 hours of your time, then this is the one to see. If you want to watch a movie that you can't walk away from even on the commercials then sit back and enjoy this ever so worthwhile movie. This is a movie that should be watched year long and not just at Christmas. Honestly, I can't say enough about this movie, except "Watch it!"

I'm always dubious about TV movies on these kind of channels, but this one actually drew me in. I only started watching it by accident, stood there with a coffee just staring at the TV, the found myself drawn in to the amazing Christmas message. It's cliché, it's obvious what happens and we all know where the story is heading but how it gets there is very well done and makes for a really watchable and entertaining Christmas film. Well worth a watch.

This is a fine little Santa movie as Drake Hunter, the scrooge-like owner of a toy company, finds himself mysteriously transformed into a Santa lookalike for the Christmas season -- he looks and feels like himself in his own mind, but everyone sees him as the jolly old elf in the red suit, even himself in mirrors -- and comes to recognize how empty his life is. Although this sort of body-switching device has been used many times before, this variation on it is well handled in the script department and well worth your time.

I do have one issue: Kevin Sorbo plays the role for as understandably depressed and low affect for the first hour. As I have commented in many another review, this is appropriate but uninteresting but there are enough interesting performances around him to sustain the movie until he begins to slowly work his way out of that state and into a decent person in the second half. That pay off makes the movie.

Every year we are exposed to different takes on traditional stories. There are rarely new concepts, just different ways of interpretation.

Kevin Sorbo has a dozen screen appearances this year, and it is a welcome break to see him in something other than Hercules or Syfy.

He is perfect as an unloved CEO - no wife, no girlfriend, no friends of any kind. He pushed cheap toys and is only interested in sales, not people.

Of course, he runs into the real Santa, who decides to teach him a lesson. He is now broke and in a Santa suit. What else is going to do but work as Santa for Christmas? Of course, there is a sad, cute little girl (Brianna Daguanno), and a perky social worker (Jennifer Gibson).

This one will tug at your heartstrings even if you know how it will end.

I was expecting a silly Christmas comedy, ha ha, a Scrooge executive is changed into Santa, learns the error of his ways (while making us laugh at his predicaments) and of course is magically transformed into the reformed Scrooge by the end. I expected nothing really special, but since it's rated 6.7 I expected to enjoy it.

Wrong. I laughed and smiled a few times early on, but basically I found this to be a very touching movie as Kevin Sorbo more and more saw himself as others saw him, and he didn't like it. That his singular focus on the bottom line hurt others, and worst of all, that he didn't even care. I was especially moved by his retelling of his Christmas bike story. I liked that his transformation was gradual, and not a light switch. I would only say that I wish Hallmark had sold 2 or 3 minutes less of commercials, so that the exposition of the new person he had become could have been more gradual.

I liked it a lot, I highly recommend it, and can't wait to share it with my wife.