Le père Noël a disparu

Fairly good Christmas yarn in which S.C. has an accident which robs the old boy of his memory. He is aided in his recovery by a cynical newsman, a starry eyed little boy, and a cadre of dedicated elves intent on not seeing Christmas go down the tubes. Kids would probably go for this more than I did.

Leslie Neilson is wonderful as usual and Max Morrow is very charismatic and great chemistry between the two. A very enjoyable movie. Lots of laughs for the whole family.

It looks like Disney is starting to understand that animation is not the only entertainment people desire! This is a pretty good little flick! I can not say this movie is outstanding, but it is enjoyable (in fact it is pretty funny).

The afternoon TV schedules seem to clog up from mid-November on with usually made- for-TV Christmas movies. This one I found a pleasant enough watch, even if Leslie Nielsen in switching from an airplane to a sleigh, isn't the first person I'd think of to play Santa Clause. The story's formulaic enough, with an orphan kid growing up to be a festive curmudgeon, even in his day job as a roving TV reporter on the look out for happy, "and we end tonight with..." stories. Because Santa apparently ignored his childhood letter asking him for a family, he won't commit to his pretty co-worker single-parent girl-friend and her young son.

However when old Santa falls out of his sleigh right on top of his car, gaining amnesia in the process, from there you can pretty much predict the minor twists and turns in the plot before the expected happy ending shows up. There's a sub-plot of a fairly eccentric bunch of elves trying to track down their boss in time for the Christmas deliveries, but the main fun is how humbug Peter re-connects with his inner child and in so doing makes things right in his private life.

The lead boy and girl are nice enough in their lovey-dovey parts and even the kid playing the young son holds back the sentimental-come-smart-aleck routine so commonplace with child actors in films like this. Neilson tries reasonably hard but with little in the way of comedic lines to deliver, comes across almost anonymously, especially hidden under a bulked up Santa costume and of course snow-white beard. You almost think it's a contract stipulation when he loses his beard for a time late on just so you can see it's really him.

The effects are okay and there are lots of nice Christmas decorations in the background to push home the festive feel-good factor.

Like I said, the film was pleasant, undemanding seasonal entertainment. Half way through there's a mini roll-call of Christmas classics like "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street". "Santa Who" is well below the quality of those two evergreens, but its heart is in the right place and from where I was sitting filled up this particular spot in the schedule well enough.

I would love to see a documentary exploring candid opinions in the film industry of holiday flicks. What do actors, writers, directors, set decorators, costume designers, and everyone else think about a genre which from one movie to another, from one year to another, trades on the exact same themes, ideas, and aesthetics? No matter how the details might change, the primary thrust hardly does; are such titles considered a rite of passage, or an obligation, or an easy paycheck, or do folks earnestly enjoy making cookie cutter Christmas fare? Is there ever a point where the hard work and commitment that one makes for any such flick is less than what is borne out in any non-holiday flick? Well, in this instance, I think we have a fair answer for at least that last question. A line given to Leslie Nielsen in the first scene where we meet Santa seems all too appropriate as Jolly Old Saint Nick opines that "The people go through the motions but the spirit isn't there, the magic is gone." I don't know what concatenation of circumstances led to this precise iteration of 'Santa who?' - but while it's not bad, nor does it inspire as anything that one ever needs to specifically seek out.

We get all the expected themes about the meaning of Christmas, childhood belief, family, gratitude, commercialism, and so on and so on. The actors act, the location scouts found filing locations, the art director created some festive visuals, the effects artists whipped up computer-generated imagery on par with other contemporary works, and so on and so on. In fairness, there is some definite cleverness here and there, and a few laughs to be had, among all the situational comedy, jokes, gags, and silliness. It's a credit to the screenwriters that there are some meaningful, thoughtful storytelling on hand, too, in the last act. At its best it's mildly enjoyable; at its worst, it's emptily ham-handed. Of course, one considerable issue facing this feature is that between those ends of the spectrum, the lion's share of these ninety minutes is something that we can safely "watch" without actively engaging, and without even necessarily keeping our eyes on the screen. The material could hardly be more light, fluffy, and tried and true - and defined by the logic of Movie Magic - and while the sum total is decent, there's also nothing so special about it as to necessitate viewing. We've seen this before, and we will again; there's nothing wrong with that, but also, so what?

If you're looking for something uninvolved to put you in the "Christmas spirit," there are far worse ways to spend your time. Just don't raise your expectations or expect a revelation; save it for the holiday season, and that is surely the best way to get the most out of 'Santa who?'