We all saw the first The Santa Clause, a charming holiday family movie featuring Tim Allen. We probably liked it, and then the holidays were over. I vaguely remember the second installment, though I never saw it and don’t remember any advertisements. When my small cousins came to town, I went ahead and took them to the third installment.
Some of us like Tim Allen and Martin Short, but go ahead and skip this one. While the first Santa Clause was a charming family movie, this one is definitely for the kiddies. And while none of you guys are likely choosing this one when you go to the movies, when taking the family’s young’ns out, go ahead and choose something else.
The plot is the usual unsatisfying children’s formula: we’re presented with a common family social problem, and while the villain starts out as a mischievous troublemaker, the climax is over and done before he does anything really bad. By the end of the movie, the villain miraculously sees the error in his ways and gets to join in for the big family photo-finish.
Nothing really remarkable about the performances, I thought Martin Short did okay with the script he was handed, and Tim Allen did his usual. (Oh, too bad it wasn’t tool time THIS time.) Just go watch Jungle 2 Jungle and be sated.
One good thing must be said though: Martin Short’s costume looked great. Maybe it just stood out against the gruesome obviously-studio-fabricated-background.
