The Santa Con

The story revolves around con artist Nick DeMarco (Barry Watson) who is forced to take a Santa job at a department store (sound familiar?) after getting out of jail. During his Santa stint, he promises a kid that he (Santa) will bring his estranged parents back together by Christmas. Nick gets chastised for making the promise and he has to use all of his con-artist skills to make good on Santa's word. Along the way he falls in love with the kid's mom (Melissa Sagemiller). It sounds like the typical rom-com formula Christmas storyline…..but it's not.

Don't let the first 15-ish minutes of the movie fool you. It's after Nick/Santa makes the promise to the kid that the movie takes a sharp turn from lame comedy to drama and becomes something very different. If you make it to this point in the movie, it will unfold as a serious story about a con finding self-redemption through the rebuilding of a broken family.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

A small-time con man ordered by his parole officer to take a job as a department store Santa promises to reunite a young boy's estranged parents.

What is nice about this film is that it is full of tiny surprises. All of them are nice surprises. Its a film that (mostly) avoids the trappings of Christmas Theme Movies.

The greatest thing about this film is the fact it shows that everyone has "Value". This film may not be 100% original however its 100% enjoyable and worth watching.

So far this year this is my top pick.

The first temptation was to define the film as really great. A predictable reaction when you rediscover actors as Barry Watson or Melissa Joan Hart , each performer for series of your youth. Or for the admirable work of Wendy Williams. Or the proposed bizarre relation between a jail director and his "guests". In same measure, the story is so unrealistic than it becomes...charming. And it reminds, a little a good slice of Charles Dickens. But the lead virtue is result of the courage to be more than a nice Christmas film. To be a lovely film about family, duty and faith. And that defines it, real, as a great film.

This is a bit of an unusual story for Christmas. It's not about snowmen and trees and skating. It is about two men who try to straighten out their lives as they help each other, one more than the other.

The con man is slick, but he comes to realize that his lies hurt people, especially the one he told a little boy.

It's not a typical romance story and in addition to that it takes a few turns along the way. The acting is OK. There's a few good humorous moments but also some drama.

Try this movie for something different in the way of a Christmas story.

Typically missing about ten minutes of the beginning of a movie does not make for a complete movie review, but since this film does not seem widely available except when it is streamed, to seize the opportunity to make some comments here seems appropriate. The name of this romantic comedy drama can be a little off-putting and confusing as it does not refer to the act of Santa committing a con game but refers to a recently paroled con playing Santa and who initially regrets promising a little boy of getting his separated parents back together before Christmas. Maybe it is because the director is the actress Melissa Joan Hart that this movie has some deeper, dramatic elements than typical of a Christmas movie and who has 16 directorial credits to her name. The fascinating balance of comedy, drama as well as the unsettled romantic relational question that develops, and even the mysterious lighthearted but poignant religious element makes for a memorable movie experience if one can even find the opportunity to watch.