Holiday Miracle

The movie sure deserves a better rating! It is a low budget production but it captures the mood of Christmas so well and keeps one entertained for the 1.5 hours.

It has this typical Christmas spirit. There is romance in it as well but it isn't just some Hallmark romantic comedy. Romance is just part of it, part of showing how human relationships matter on Christmas, and one doesn't dwell too much on it. Besides that we also get to see friendships, child and parent relationship and just small townees being there for each other.

The movie doesn't have a very complex plot, but it is a joy to watch. And there were so many times when I literally laughed out loud from some pretty innocent joke.

The only actor I knew in it was Dean Cain. He is great as a main character who is dealing with being sad in life without seeing happiness right near him. The rest of the actors for the most part don't have much experience judging by their imdb lists but they do a good job. The kids seem to act too amateurish but somehow this adds to the charm of the movie so maybe it is also done on purpose.

I recommend to watch this movie for people who love Christmas in the next Christmas season and enjoy the charm, sweetness and magic of the time we loved as kids and that such movies can make us feel again.

This is no Hallmark movie, thank goodness. Some of the lines in the movie are "insider joke" references. Such as the poster that says "real heroes don't wear capes" which I believe is relating to Dean Cain's years as superman in Lois & Clark. I liked that it is not heavily into the romance side of things. A nice lighthearted movie and well worth your time.

Honestly, I don't know why this film has such a low rating (just 3.9 as I'm writing this). I mean, sure, it's obviously an ultra-low budget film, but it's adorable! A very sweet film. Dean Cain is, of course, fantastic as the lead character. I assume he did this on a volunteer basis (maybe as a favor to a friend?), because I'm pretty sure his salary alone would've been more than this film's entire budget. Santa and the town drunk are also wonderful. The only 2 REAL faults I can find are some overacting on the part of some of the female roles, and I'm not quite sure what the point of Tom's drunk mother-in-law was. She's just generally very bratty, not adding comedic value, and doesn't really seem to have a purpose in the plot, either.

Part of me really wanted to like 'Small Town Santa'. Despite the low rating and that it did not look great, because Christmas is my favourite holiday and Dean Cain is a very watchable actor deserving of far better projects to star/feature in it was still seen anyway. Part of me really wanted to join the more positive reviews here, and have been known to have contrarian opinions in the past so watched it with an open mind aiming to know what to expect.

Even when really trying to not take things seriously and trying to take it for what it is, 'Small Town Santa' has a few redeeming qualities but overall it didn't work for me. Do have to agree with those that are more critical of the film. 'Small Town Santa' is not one of the worst Christmas films in existence, many others are far worse. Many other Christmas films though are far better and if looking for a festive classic to me this is not one of them.

'Small Town Santa' isn't a complete loss. Cain, despite bad dialogue and a stock character, brings a good deal of amiable charm and doesn't overdo or mail in (unlike the rest of the cast). Some of the scenery is attractive enough.

There are some nice nostalgic moments on the soundtrack.

Unfortunately, there is so much that works against 'Small Town Santa'. When it comes to the acting, only Cain is tolerable. Everybody else overacts to an unintentionally campy degree, with the worst offender being Janet Caine. None of the characters feel like real people or are likeable (yes even Santa), instead they were one-dimensional caricatures and ones that had not much personality or were annoying. The character of Diane especially for me was insufferably irritating. There really was not that much of a script and all the dialogue sounds like bad corny improvisation.

Low budget is evident in the visuals as there was a very rushed look throughout, especially in the flat and quite haphazard photography. The story is also thin as near melted ice and has no real charm or heart, just non-stop cheesiness, excessive schmaltz, convenient contrivances and a dreary pace. There could have been a chance to slightly overlook the predictability but the other story problems are far less easy to forgive. The odd pleasant moment aside, the music generally is forgettable at best.

In summary, very weak. 3/10

I think we can all predict the various events that will happen. And, yes, there are multiple Christmas miracles in this corny but family- friendly story.

Paul Hopper makes the perfect Santa Claus. He never says his name, but at least one person knows that's who he really is.

James Cowans playing Mr. Harold gives another standout performance. Mark Boyd as the town drunk is quite good too. These are the only acting performances really worth mentioning, but this a corny family holiday story and that's what you would tend to expect.

At one point Rick dreams everyone in his life is Santa Claus. This is funny.

The Christmas pageant is not shown in its entirety but in what we do see, the kids seem to understand the important messages. And there is a hilarious moment that Alfonso Ribeiro should be introducing. Not that the pastor agrees; he is a Scrooge himself, saying The Lord has no sense of humor and never has.

I wish there had been more good music. There's not a lot of Christmas music, or if there is it's not recognizable as Christmas music to me. Most of the so-called "music" is the sort of thing young people enjoy.

I am curious about the V-chip rating used when I saw this. No one (except for one time) curses except the pastor (who apologizes) and even Clark Gable was worse than that, if you know what I mean. Most of the time when a person is about to curse the person is admonished not to. The words "cram it" are quoted from a message from Diane about Kara, but the quote is quickly stopped because no one needs to hear any more.

It's a wonderful family film if you don't have really high expectations. If you're turned off by formula feel-good fluff, turn somewhere else.