A lower budget than your average Christmas offering to be sure, and the cast needs a bit more experience, etc. Eh, so what? Nothing wrong with just being good enough. Plenty good enough in this case.
There are two very winning performances from Athena Baumeister (as Rubie), and Alyssa Kennedy (as Olivia), in a familiar tale of redemption. In MONSTER & ME (aka SANTA & ME), Rubie is a typical high school "mean girl", who is untypically struck with a Christmas curse by a black Santa (why not?).
Rubie becomes an "ugly monster", not as bad as it sounds, but certainly less attractive, complete with bad teeth, and moles. And she will have to remain so forever....or until she has received a Christmas present from a friend. Not so easy. In order to get such a present, she first has to be able to make a real genuine friend.
Will she succeed, and in so doing will she learn the errors of her terrible past behavior? What do you think?
Heavy-handed? Perhaps. Predictable? Certainly. But isn't that the way of all these many Christmas-themed stories. Even the worst of them (and this is by no means that, far from it in fact) have the ability to reel you in. Give this cheerful little film a chance. Its message is sincere, and the journey is worthwhile. The final scene in the cafeteria made me smile, and does so every time I remember it. Enjoy.
An unavoidable touch of sadness to the proceedings. This is the last film in the all too brief career of Athena Baumeister, who passed away (at age seventeen) a year after starring in this. The surprisingly engaging MONSTER & ME is a fine farewell tribute to a young talent.
