Dear Santa

I am not one to generally watch or like Christmas films, but Dear Santa had an intriguing premise and so I decided to give it a try. I was honestly surprised by how much I liked it.

I was concerned the film might lean too hard into slapstick or over-the-top silliness, but only one literal toilet joke dragged on a bit too long for my tastes. It focuses more on witty dialogue/situations and has some surprisingly touching moments.

This film will no doubt get flak from the religious crowd for invoking the devil, which likely explains part of the low review score. However, I thought it brought something fresh to the table without feeling disrespectful (It even lightly touches on some theological arguments).

The one downside for me was the acting among the child actors was a little rough in parts, but it is a minor issue and a common complaint in films with younger actors.

Whatever the case, I'd definitely recommend giving Dear Santa a chance if you're looking for something heartfelt and unconventional that is still very much a Christmas film.

Think Adam sandler and little Nicky when you think about Satan as I know religious groups aren't best pleased but it's just a bit of fun. Great acting the two main kids are brilliant. Jack Black is perfect for this role and with all together it was worth watching. Both sad and funny moments.

The story is a little bit all over the place at times and there is a part that you are trying to work out as to why the family had to move. When you do find out it's pretty upsetting. It does feel like an important of school Adam Sandler film without Adam sandler anywhere near it. Great to see Post Malone cameo which was my favourite part.

I mean, it's not winning any awards, but the movie is pretty adorably silly. The laughs are consistent enough, and Jack Black as Satan with a heart of bronze is inspired, if not on the nose, casting.

The rest of the cast knows exactly what kind of film they're in, and all of them are having a good time being in a Farrelly brothers flick. Think more along the lines of a Shallow Hal, which also stared Jack Black, in terms of tone and cadence of jokes.

Some pacing issues towards the end aside, Dear Santa does not over stay it's welcome. It's a goofy Christmas movie for anyone who doesn't take the holiday too seriously.

The movie feels disjointed at several points with the ending appearing to be haphazardly thrown together. That didn't make sense to me until I looked at the cast list and realized there might have been a major re-write, re-shoot. Jack Black's partner from Tenacious D, Kyle Gass, plays an English teacher that is in the far background of one scene.. and looks very much like Santa Claus. Now this is just my speculation, but I don't imagine he would have had such a small part in the film initially (historically he has always had much larger roles). After his controversial statements on the attempted assassination of Trump I have a suspicion the film went through major editing and changes.. making the ending feel out of place. It's just a guess at this point, but it's the only thing that seems to explain why professional actors and directors would release something this horrible.

Just because I gave it a 5 star review doesn't mean the movie isn't watchable or worth watching. It left me entertained and I watched the movie from start to finish. Overall it just wasn't a good movie but that doesn't make it a bad movie.

Jack Black is Jack Black and he helps make the movie funny and enjoyable. The story is solid and the children interacting with Jack Black do a great job keeping up with his comedic timing and energy.

You'll only watch this movie once a year or maybe only once in your lifetime. With all the Christmas or Holiday movies out there it's refreshing to find some new ones that can fill a much needed space.

I say enjoy it for what it's worth!