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In
an era of sequels, how big is The Santa Clause 2?
Hard
to say. The original did $145 million, but that was
eight long years ago. In
that year, there were only twelve $100 million movies, domestic…
a record, back then. We have already had 16 such films this year.
And most of those movies were highly profitable.
There were two $300 million movies – Forrest Gump
and The Lion King – but among the other ten, The
Santa Clause, Dumb & Dumber, Speed, The Mask and Pulp
Fiction were all low-risk, huge return.
(True Lies, The Flintstones, Clear & Present
Danger and Interview With The Vampire were all
higher budget, huge profile… bit not as profitable.)
In
today’s marketplace, a $19.3 million start, more often than
not, would mean a total domestic gross of under $70 million.
That wouldn’t be the end of the world for Disney, but
they are surely hoping to do better. They kept the costs in
check, with a $65 million budget this time around.
They
also did something more important.
They made an enjoyable movie.
The
Santa Clause 2 is no world-beater.
Again, we have Tim Allen, an underrated movie
actor with a fair amount of charm.
You have “the gimmick,” though you have lost the element
of surprise that made the original so charming.
Disney went back to the well with writer Benvenuti
& Rudnick before bringing four more writers… of which
we know. They hired
another sitcom director in Michael Lembeck, as they
did on with original with John Pasquin making his first
feature. The top five
characters are back from the original. And they added the kid star of The Kid,
Spencer Breslin, who is both charming and utterly unconvincing
as an old elf in a kid’s body.
The
idea behind the sequel is quite good.
Santa needs to find a wife in order to keep doing what
he loves to do… being Santa. This gives the movie a clear clock and also
allows a new person to come in and see Santa through disbelieving
eyes. I don’t feel like I’m giving anything away,
because it’s so obvious, but if you are really spoiler sensitive,
jump to the next paragraph…. SC2 also has the unhappy son,
acting out, setting up the inevitable connection between dad
and the sexy, but stern principal.
It
is so Screenwriting 101.
But that’s not always bad. That’s where SC2 lives… in My Big Fat Greek
Wedding territory. It’s
old-fashioned, cornball fun.
Yes, the reindeer seem completely retro in this era
of CG. Yes, there are unnecessary reaches, from fart jokes, to a North
Pole B-story that goes too far for its own good, to a first-time
flying reindeer who just isn’t funny enough.
And when they try to build action into a fairy tale,
it feels wrong and really stops the movie dead in its tracks.
But the real warmth of this idea wins out.
For
me, they could have cut 15 minutes of action and a really
poorly done homage to westerns and given us a much quieter,
much warmer, much smarter final 15 minutes. The result of what seems like trying to amuse
“the kids,” is that one of the best ideas in the movie ends
up as over-credits fodder.
Again… a spoiler that really is not… I love the idea
of a sexy, toned 30something woman happily becoming a jolly
Mrs. Clause. While
weight is played for laughs with Santa, the opportunity to
see a woman feel good about putting on a few pounds and relaxing
about that self-judgment. But there is no time for that issue to even
be broached here. Didn’t
they see Shrek? Forget the sexual metaphor of two people bursting
at the seams at the wedding altar.
The sweetness of this duo, joyously accepting their
roles and growing fat together, in love… well, I think it
would have been lovely.
But
for all the flaws in the film… and there are a load… I was
happy to have seen it. A nice movie… in every sense of the word.
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