We’re so close. Can you taste it? Can you taste the eggnog? Of course you can. Christmas is coming at us faster than a cheetah after a coffee enema. I hope you’ve been keeping up because we’ve had a great set of movies this year. If you missed any, they are as follows.
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
- Gremlins
- A Christmas Story
- Krampus
- Office Christmas Party
- Scrooged
- Fred Claus
- Jingle All The Way
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
Today we go back to the good old 90’s once again for another Christmas comedy, but I think this one is more than likely to already be on many Christmas lists. This is a classic movie that spawned two sequels and captured the hearts of a generation of fans.
The Santa Clause is one of the films I make sure to watch every Christmas. Some of the movies on this list are new additions, some are just new movies in general, and others I enjoy but skip them on the odd year. This film always makes the list. If it doesn’t make the Billiam’s 12 Flicks list next year, you’ll know that it’s on my personal list. Part of my love of this film comes from the fact that I love Tim Allen. His style of comedy has always resonated with me, even back in his Home Improvement days. Galaxy Quest is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love me some Tim Allen. Another part of my love stems from the fact that I was 11 and very proud of myself that I got the joke. Clause and Claus. That may seem dumb now. But 11 year old me felt very smart. And finally it’s a truly enjoyable movie.
If you’ve never seen this movie before, let me first scold you. Bad nerd! Bad! Okay, now that’s out of the way. I’m sorry. I offer tough love, I know. Second, allow me to briefly sum it all up. Scott Calvin accidentally kills Santa. The only thing left behind is the clothes. Calvin takes the coat, puts it on, and now he’s Santa due to a rule called the Santa clause. He now must save Christmas. Christmas passes and Calvin thinks its all over. But it’s not. As next Christmas grows closer, he grows as well and finds himself turning into Santa. He must do the job once again. This movie stars Tim Allen (Galaxy Quest), Judge Reinhold (Beverly Hills Cop), Wendy Crewsong (Air Force One), Eric Lloyd (Dunston Checks In), and David Krumholtz (Serenity, Numbers).
This is another movie on this list that has a lot of it take place at the North Pole. Each film has it’s own take on the wonderful land full of elves and toys, and I particularly like this one the most. I like world they create. It’s magical and even adult me would love to go there. Of course adult me still loves toys so that probably says something.
The film has three acts. Okay, most films do, but follow me on this. The first is the first night as Santa when Scott puts on the suit and must finish Santa’s job. The second act is him going back to life as normal, or so he thinks, and how he slowly becomes Santa again as his bitchy ex-wife goes bonkers and tries to take Scott’s son away. And the third act returns to the North Pole and the Santa life and thus we get more Christmas all up in our collective grills.
I’m pretty sure the picture above is from number two, but at this point I’m too tired. You get the point. The characters are the same. Another point you should get is that no matter how you feel about 2 and 3, the first movie a wonderful Christmas film with a great message that shows a different take on the North Pole and Santa’s Workshop and has it’s own little jokes and fun unique things about it. This is a feel good film. This is a movie for all ages. I would show this to any of friends’ kids. I would show this to my parents who are officially elderly. I would show this film to anyone who has any Christmas spirit left in their heart because it’s a fun movie that should be watched by everyone.
I enjoyed the sequels, but I always come back to the first film. Tim Allen is one of the best on screen Santas and does a great job humanizing a mythical figure while still making him magical. Enjoy this film and watch and the last bit of sand passes through the hourglass and it’s Christmas once again. I’ll see you tomorrow.
