"The Santa Clause" begs to be loved. It wants to be loved by grown-ups who still remember waiting up to hear Santa's reindeer dancing on the roof, by children who dream of going to the North Pole, by sentimentalists and by smart-alecks. It tries so hard, the best it can do is please some of the people some of the time.
The best it can do is still pretty good.
"Home Improvement" star Tim Allen, as Scott Calvin (convenient initials for a man about to become Santa Claus), plays a likable toy company executive and divorced dad who gets custody of his son for Christmas Eve. Little Charlie (Eric Lloyd) isn't too happy about spending the big night with his grumpy dad. They end up at Denny's, where a bunch of other dads are feeding
their forlorn young 'uns. It would be funny if it weren't so depressing.
Things pick up that night, when up on the roof there arises a clatter and Allen runs out to see what is the matter. It's Santa, of course, who takes a header into a snowbank and vanishes right out of his suit, leaving his job to an understandably reluctant Allen. The "Santa Clause" is that once Allen dons the suit, he is Santa. Egads! Charlie is thrilled, though, and he finally learns the answers to timeless Santa questions as the reindeer haul them from house to house: How does Santa fly around the world in one night? How does he get into houses without chimneys? How do all those toys fit in the sack? And is Darth Vader really Luke's father? Oh, wait, we already know that one.
Allen's foray into the real world after his transformation begins is the funniest part of the movie. Kids flock to him. There's a hilarious business meeting -- hilarious for adults, anyway. Little kids probably won't get much out of it. And what the little kids will like -- a flying team of elf commandos, for instance -- isn't that exciting for big people.
There's also a custody battle between Allen's character and his ex-wife (Wendy Crewson) and her psychiatrist husband (Judge Reinhold) that gets tiresome.
Director John Pasquin's comedic timing doesn't help: He tends to dwell a little too long on the film's visual jokes. The parts between the laughs are slow, and the film's sentimentalism starts to taste like an overdose of candy canes.
The magic doesn't cast much of a spell, either. The flat depiction of the North Pole adds little to popular images of Santa's sanctuary, and even the elves aren't that cool. They look just like kids (except for pointy ears), but are actually hundreds of years old. It's a mildly intriguing idea, but it really looks like an excuse to be cheap on makeup. (Speaking of makeup, Allen-as-Santa's nose seems to be red in all the wrong places, as if he's been fighting a bad cold with cheap tissues.)
The primary theme of "The Santa Clause," of course, is belief in Santa Claus. You heard it years ago in "A Miracle on 34th Street," and you'll hear it again -- in the coming remake of it. Of course, one might be called a Scrooge to suggest that that theme isn't fresh enough, so this reviewer isn't going to risk getting coal in her stocking.
F: That said, there are still some ho-hos to be had here.
"The Santa Clause"
Starring Tim Allen and Eric Lloyd
Directed by John Pasquin
Released by Walt Disney Pictures
Rated PG
** 1/2