Le jackpot de Noël

I was warned by the reviewers on IMDb not to see this film, but I did decide to give it a chance for two reasons; Patrick Swayze and Tim Curry. My thoughts on watching Christmas in Wonderland were that while there were some good moments, the film could've been much better. It is a long way from being the best movie ever and from being a Christmas classic like Scrooge(1951), Miracle on 34th Street, Home Alones 1 and 2 and It's a Wonderful Life, but personally I do not think it's the worst ever either, Disaster Movie, Home Alone 4, NeverEnding Story 3, Cat in the Hat and Superbabies:Baby Geniuses 2 were much worse.

So what were the good things? Well the soundtrack was one. The incidental music was not bad, but I liked very much the song choices. Christmas in Wonderland is certainly memorable, same with Not So Zen. But my favourite is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, the timeless tear jerker, immortalised by Judy Garland in the musical Meet Me in St Louis. It was nice to see the West Edmonton Mall too. Also Mary's conversation with Santa twenty minutes into the movie was the closest to heartwarming Christmas in Wonderland got, likewise with the moralising between Wayne and the imaginary Santa in the bar. While I do agree that the writing was not very good at all on the most part, there are one or moments of inspired physical comedy. No I am not talking about the crooks chasing the kids on the escalator, I am chiefly talking about Carmen Electra's character Ginger after falling into the water having a hard time with the seal. That was funny, shame the whole film, while starting off ever so promisingly, didn't have the same kind of momentum.

Before mentioning the cons, I am going to talk about the performances and start with the good ones first. Most of the acting was terrible, and while the more decent performances were anything but outstanding, there were one or two bright spots in the cast, particularly the two lead kids. Matthew Knight is quite appealing as Brian, and his sister Mary is played by the adorable Schlagel twins Amy and Zoe. And Tim Curry, the wonderful and underrated actor he is, is actually quite entertaining as the memory-challenged McLoosh. Critics were divided on Curry's performance, others praised him as one of the few bright spots of the movie, others complained of his performance being full of sheer pantomimic excess. I would be inclined to agree with the former, while he does overact a bit, and his Scottish accent leaves much to be desired(though the accent is infinitely better than Jon Voight's German accent in Superbabies:Baby Geniuses 2), he at least makes some effort to make the most of the questionably meagre material he was given, and his facial expressions were priceless.

However, the other performers weren't that much better. Whereas in general I enjoyed Tim Curry's performance, I was disappointed with Swayze. Perhaps this movie would have been forgotten, if it weren't for the fact that it was one of Swayze's last performances before he sadly died. He wasn't terrible, but the script gave him very little to do so no matter how hard he tried it was a bit of a wasted effort. Cameron Bright as Danny gives a very lifeless and monotonic performance; there were times when I wanted to give him a kick up the backside. Chris Kattan and Preston Lacy step into their roles with enthusiasm but like Swayze they weren't given that much to do. That leaves Carmen Electra. While I wanted to see this movie for Swayze and Curry, I was hesitant as well because of Electra. Sorry, I can't stand her, I just don't think she can act, and a lot of the characters she plays are more of the same. She was marginally better than she was in Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans, both movies in which she was truly terrible, but that is not saying much.

Other problems I had with Christmas in Wonderland was that the script, no matter how physical-comedy engineered it was, was clunky and devoid of humour, and gave the actors little to work with- a lot of the "funny" lines just weren't funny. The repeated gag about McLoosh forgetting everyone's names was funny the first couple of times, but it got tiresome, an oft-danger with repeated gags. Then there's the formulaic and utterly predictable plot and the fact, it looks like in terms of camera work etc. direct to video quality. The direction from James Orr ranged from sloppy to non-existent, the love story between Danny and Shane was underdeveloped and out-of-the blue and the CGI I agree was rather fake and amateurish. All in all, has some good moments, heavy emphasis on the some, but it is mediocre. Showed good promise, but didn't deliver in most aspects. 4.5/10 Bethany Cox

Wayne Saunders (Patrick Swayze) moved his family from Los Angeles to Edmonton, Alberta, to take a new job. Unhappily, the company chose that moment to downsize and Wayne loses the post before he has a chance to even begin! Also, its near Christmas and his wife is back in California, tying up lose ends with her own job. Therefore, Wayne and the three kids, teenage Brian, middle schooler Danny and young daughter Mary have to get a tree and shop for all of the gifts. Needless to say, Wayne is not used to balancing the whole affair on his shoulders AND, since his job melted away and there were moving expenses, finances are extremely tight. Therefore, when the family heads to the enormous underground mall, Dad puts Brian in charge of the other two kids, so that he, Wayne, can shop for the children in private. But, Brian, downcast since the big move, likes the looks of the teen girls he sees at the mall and gives Danny money to take care of Mary, letting him, Brian, hang out with kids his age. Whoa, wait until Dad hears this! On their own, Sam and Mary stumble upon a bag of cash, which they believe is a gift from the mall's Santa. However, its really counterfeit bills that a trio of dumb thieves (including Carmen Electra) were going to use for their own brand of Xmas cheer. Now, the thieves are after the kids and the kids are out to avoid being caught and to trip up the robbers at the same time. Who will win out and will it turn into a merry season after all? This is a cute holiday film, sort of a Home Alone at the mall. The kids and the crooks are very entertaining, generating many giggles with their antics. Swayze, naturally, is nice as the harried dad, although the focus of the film is more on the young folks. Supporting actors like Electra, Tim Curry, and all of the others do fine work, too. In addition, the setting is very nice, as the mall looks gorgeous, festive, and quite, quite enormous. Those Canadians sure are lucky! The movie likewise has attractive costumes, a humorous script, and a lively direction. Therefore, although the title is easily confused with a host of others, look hard for this one at holiday time or, indeed, whenever the mood strikes you or the children. Its another fine addition to the growing number of holiday cinematic treats.

I am fully aware of the mortifying reviews most viewers have given this movie. I'm here to tell you that I found it fabulous and endearing. The themes of family and Christmas and magic are abundant, and it's an enjoyable film the whole clan can enjoy. The acting... could have been better. Patrick Swayze has definitely given better performances before, but he's such a sweet father that I managed to overlook the extreme cheesiness. Cameron Bright was a bit dull, but in all fairness, he was cast as the stereotypical "big brother who misses his life back in LA and can't stand his siblings," and I believe he played the part correctly. I have my own older brother, and he sounds just like that: a bored teenager. What more do you people expect? I found the constant switching between the actresses playing Mary a bit nauseating. Can we PLEASE pick ONE twin for the part and leave it at that? They're not Mary-Kate and Ashley; they don't look completely identical. Chris Kattan was hilarious, as always, as was Tim Curry. All in all, it was a delightful, bright comedy that teaches an important lesson about family. (For the sake of this review I won't comment on the horrid CGI North Pole fiasco. Let's just put that out of our minds, shall we? :)

Hell, I liked the film!

But I KNEW going' in, this film was going to be a piece of mindless holiday fluff, with sub-par acting. When the DVD costs 3 bucks at my local grocery store, I know I'm not going to see Citizen Kane part 2 or Gone With the Wind, the sequel. It's disposable holiday/family entertainment. The kids were lousy actors, the little girl had the worst looking wig I've seen in recent memory, and it's more conceivable to believe I will be a millionaire before I finish this review, then to actually believe the plot of this movie.

But it's a fantasy! It's Christmas! Miracles are supposed to happen. It's a holiday silly/slapstick comedy with a totally unbelievable "feel good ending".

Course it DOES help, being a fan of Tim Curry, Chris Kattan & Carmen Elcetra. It was also nice to see Preston Lacy actually "acting", as opposed to being a Jackass lackey. Also knowing within 2 years of the making of this film, Patrick Swayze would succumb to cancer, also makes me appreciate this film a little bit more.

I've seen lots of Christmas films this year, and this isn't much worse then the average "movie holiday fare."

If it's a Christmas Classic you want, steer clear of this film. If you want a lighthearted, silly, forgettable and inoffensive family friendly holiday flick, you COULD do worse then Christmas in Wonderland. In My Humble Opinion

While the cast is who's who's of B-Lists, this is a cast we expect at lest a passable performance from. This is NOT the Tim Curry from Rocky Horror. This is NOT the Patrick Swayze from Ghost. This is not the Chris Kattan from SNL. Preston Lacy and Carmen Electra gave par performances, coming from them. The most impressive acting, for both comedy and warmth, surprisingly comes from the two youngest performer. Everyone else basically phones it in.

This isn't an insult. Given the movie's low budget, the actors were probably not well reimbursed.

That said, kids, who are not looking for Oscar winning performances or knee-slapping comedy, just low impact slap stick and puns will love this movie, with a familiar feeling family and a Santa Claus who pops in and out of the shadows, in many guises.

Energy felt very similar to "Trading Mom" or "Bogus" to me, with the acting being a few marks short of both. Great kid movie.