Available at Amazon.com
Directed by:
Michael Lembeck
Starring:
Tim Allen … Santa / Scott Calvin
Martin Short … Jack Frost
Elizabeth Mitchell … Mrs. Claus / Carol Calvin
Ann-Margret … Sylvia Newman
Alan Arkin … Bud Newman
Eric Lloyd … Charlie Calvin
Judge Reinhold … Dr. Neil Miller
Wendy Crewson … Laura Miller
Spencer Breslin … Curtis, the Head Elf
Liliana Mumy … Lucy Miller
Remember when Christmas movies tried to lift spirits and remind people about what the holiday season is about? What happened to those? It seems like for every It’s a Wonderful Life or Millions that comes along, we get fifty Santa Clause 3‘s in their place. Here we have a movie franchise that was once about the magic of Christmas that has been taken over to a point where it has completely removed the human element from the story. Simply making a movie based on brand recognition alone.
It’s been thirteen years since Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin character donned the Big Red Coat that would change his life forever. After accepting the task of taking over the Santa Claus mantle in the first film, and fulfilling his Santa duties by finding a Mrs. Claus in the second, there aren’t many new places his character (of this series) can go. So what do the writers come up with? A baby Claus is on the way, but there’s a twist: the in-laws are coming to town.
Thinking that their little girl married a Canadian toy maker, Santa devises a plan to turn Santa’s Village in to Canada. And how do they do this? By changing the store fronts and putting up “Canada Loves Hockey” flags. It would have been just as easy to put a Tim Horton’s on every corner if they felt the need to be that stereotypical. I suppose that’s what makes the movie so hard to tolerate, the fact that it never tries to really hone its humor. Not once do you get the sense that the writers are speaking to the audience, instead choosing the talk down at them.
On top of all that, Jack Frost has a diabolical plan in the works to usurp Santa. He plans to trick Father Christmas into invoking The Escape Clause. Which, if done, would turn back time and allow Scott to go back to his normal life and let somebody else take over the job. Frost sees this as a brilliant way of finally finding his place in the spotlight, finally having a holiday all to himself. All of this and the fate of Christmas is held in the balance! The plot is that of one you might expect from a Disney Channel Original Movie.
Admittedly, The original Santa Clause is a movie I personally found enjoyable and fun for its time (light, but made with good intentions; when Tim Allen was still mildly entertaining). It’s sequel, on the other hand, is one that had hardly any impact on audiences and left a sour taste on an otherwise interesting story. Now with the third outing, the creative team has made it abundantly clear that they’ve milked any and all of the jokes they can mine from this particular concept. Yet continue on with running the remaining few witticisms into the ground and invoking some of the most overused conventions in film to string together a story.
The jokes are aimed towards children and older audience members who are easily satisfied; people who don’t want to be challenged when it comes to humor. The writers think that simply having Tim Allen dress up as Santa Claus and say something that today’s kids consider to be “hip” is enough for the audience to roll around in the aisles. Between that and the lowest of low being utilized (reindeer flatulence jokes), the filmmakers make a painful ninety minutes feel like an eternity.
The only moderate entertainment comes from Martin Short, who tries his hardest to bring something new to the table and add to an otherwise paper thin villain. His ability to take Jack Frost — a character who, lets face, is hardly frightening or menacing — and turn him in to a conniving little pain in Santa’s side is just about the only joyful thing in the entire feature. Which might have to do with the fact that his character is the only thing that feels even remotely new and refreshing in this mainly recycled film.
Clause 3 falls in to the same problems that most sequels do: it tries to explore the little things that made viewers smile in the first two films, only it ends up stretching them to feature length proportions. Everything that was once mildly entertaining has been pushed to the forefront of the story, like how other holiday characters take on a larger role, the North Pole is the center of attention, and oddly enough, Christmas is hardly ever mentioned. I know we live in an overly PC world these days, but when you movie stars Santa Claus there should be some mention of Christmas some where in here. And he should probably deliver a gift or two while he’s at it.
Quality:
This Disney DVD provides both a full-screen and “family friendly” widescreen presentation of the film. And while the quality of the film is questionable, this DVD looks fantastic. The rich and vibrant colors used to create Santa’s Village and workshop pop right off the screen. The DVD features a nice Dobly Digital 5.1 track that replicates the occasionally overbearing score wonderfully. Oddly, the Spanish audio track is only available on the full-screen version of the film.
Extras:
Director Michael Lembeck provides a feature length Commentary track that mostly consists of him listing off the specific number of toys and props on set, which eventually just sounds like him spouting off a grocery list of numbers. He does occasionally offer some insightful on set anecdotes, like how Tim Allen got mad at Allen Arkin for not laughing at any of his jokes.
Starting off the extras is a Blooper Reel (2:58), which contains a lot of the bloopers found at the start of the credits during the film. An Alternate Opening (3:34) serves as mainly an extension of the one already used, only exposition is included which explains what happened in the first Clause movie. Jack Frost & Mrs. Claus: A Very Different Look (4:02) shows how the two characters underwent changes to their costumes shortly after production had started, causing the production to shut down for a couple days while they worked everything out. This is perhaps the most interesting of all the bonus material, and based on the original looks of the characters, the changes were very much needed. Next up, The New Comedians: On the Set with Tim & Marty (2:59) is basically just a look at how Allen and Short act like a couple seven-year-olds when they’re on set together. Finally, Creating Movie Magic (4:03) shows how such things as the Hall of Snow Globes, Santa’s Fireplace, and Jack Frost’s freezing effects were created.
A Music Video for ‘Greatest Time of Year’ performed by Aly and AJ (3:17) and Christmas Carol-oke, which features seven sing-a-long holiday songs like Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls, are presented in the music section of the bonus material.
Of all the films that gets released every year, there are very few that get as much a pass as holiday ones. And while I can at times be a sucker for a good Christmas film, there is nothing at all here that qualifies as entertainment. Aimed mainly towards young children and baby-boomers, The Santa Clause 3 leaves the rest of us in the middle demographics void of any enjoyment whatsoever. The interesting concept of the first movie only worked in that one film, and this third installment is just a reminder that this franchise has gone two movies too many.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause |
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