L'arnaque de Noël

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.

Con-man Nick DeMarco (Barry Watson) sweet-talks his way into parole. He's picked up by his sister Rose (Melissa Joan Hart) who is tired of his antics but must fulfill their mother's dying wish. She works at the mall and gets him a job as the mall Santa. Little Billy Guthrie wants Santa to bring his parents (Melissa Sagemiller, Scott Grimes) back together after his father's many drunken outbursts. In a rush to get out to the race track, Nick agrees to the wish without listening to the boy. Rose is infuriated and confronts his callousness. He is called to fulfill the wish and he uses all of his con skills.

I really like the premise. It has loads of wacky possibilities. Being a bad contractor is not one of them. It's trying to be wacky fun but it is more off-putting than anything else. It's the start of a downward spiral. Nick stops being likeable as the constant lying takes a toll. I don't want to go back to her drunken husband or the lying con man. It would nice if the husband's problem is something other than alcoholism. The serious condition really clashes with the attempts at lighthearted humor.

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.

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.