Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeNewest Santa Clause lives up to series' low standards
November 6, 2006 —
The last time I checked the calendar, it was the beginning of November. So why am I reviewing a Christmas movie? Heck, why is The Santa Clause 3 premiering in theaters a mere week after the Halloween spectacle Saw III?
As if the impending holiday season didn't arrive soon enough, the folks at Disney thought it would be a super idea to cram another Tim Allen as Chris Cringle flick down our throats as soon as possible - maybe they just wanted to beat Christmas With the Kranks 2 to theaters.
Whatever the reason behind such an early release, that doesn't change the fact that The Santa Clause 3 is exactly what one would expect it to be: a bright, colorful movie overflowing with holiday cheer and lacking in substance.
The plot of the movie is about as thin as the Christmas stocking of a kid on the naughty list. Basically, Jack Frost - played by a wonderfully boisterous Martin Short - is jealous of Santa because everyone adores jolly old Saint Nick while Frost is left out in the cold, so to speak. So Frost schemes to oust Santa from his post and take over the North Pole. Ho ho ho? More like ho hum.
Aside from an unusually enjoyable performance from Short, this Santa Clause is ultimately forgettable. Tim Allen's portrayal of Santa must be second nature by now as he has been around the North Pole for twelve years already. This time, though, he often appears to be going through the yuletide motions throughout the film. And as for the returning Spencer Breslin - my God, this kid is growing up more awkward than that Weasley fellow from the Harry Potter movies.
Filling out the rest of the cast are Alan Arkin, Ann-Margaret, Judge Reinhold, and about a thousand elves - and not a memorable line between the 1,003 of them.
As a family film, this works about as good as anything else Disney would have thrown out there for Christmas. At the very least, be thankful that we don't have to suffer through a holiday-themed Herbie movie starring Lindsay Lohan.
But since The Santa Clause 3 is rated G, like so few films are these days, don't expect anything cutting edge in the way of humor. The reindeer fart jokes are rehashed from the first and second Santa Clause movies, but I'm sure kids will still laugh anyway. Unfortunately though, there isn't a whole lot to appeal to adults over the course of this 90-minute sleigh ride. And while the original is agruably a holiday classic, the magic of that first installment in the trilogy is sadly lacking here in number three.
Nothing against Tim Allen, but this might have been a better movie without him. It could have been The Adventures of Jack Frost, and I don't mean that serial killer snowman from the mid-90s. No, I mean Martin Short's Jack Frost. The character is just perfect for a feature film of his own and sadly is just a subplot villain in The Santa Clause 3.
All in all, this holiday treat is too sugary and not very filling. It may possibly be a bit better than the second Santa Clause, but it certainly does not have the humor of number two.
So if like me you are upset that Borat is not showing in Saginaw and you have to choose another movie to see instead, maybe you should just go back home and watch Da Ali G Show because The Santa Clause 3 is not going to satisfy your needs.
And if you just have to have a holiday fix before Nov. 10, try renting Scrooged with Bill Murray. It has a better moral than this Tim Allen feature.