Santa Clause 2
Rated G
Playing in area theaters
Two reels out of four
Santa Clause 2 has a lot in common with store-bought Christmas cookies. It’s sweet, nice to look at and no different from all the other cookies. In short, it’s just what you’d expect.
Tim Allen reprises his role as Scott Calvin, the man who became Santa. It’s now eight years later and Scott is no longer ambivalent about being Santa. What’s not to like? He gets to be loved by millions of children and works with elves. But Scott’s dream job gets a dent in it when he’s told he will no longer be Santa unless he marries.
The process of returning to a mere mortal includes losing weight and his trademark beard. Things get even stickier when Scott’s son Charlie, now in high school, ends up on the naughty list. What’s a Santa to do?
The first movie won me over with its subversive charm and Allen’s surprisingly self-assured performance. I wouldn’t put it up there with It’s A Wonderful Life, but it was much better than I had expected.
Santa Clause 2 is not that bad as sequels go. What it has going for it is Allen and some very inventive bits of humor. One memorable bit involves Santa taking a meeting with Mother Nature, the Tooth Fairy and all the other major make-believe icons. It’s witty yet never over the heads of the children who are this movie’s target audience.
The film is directed by Michael Lembeck, a veteran of sitcoms. He’s fine when he sticks to comedy, but has a problem making the movie come together as a whole.
I have no objection to sequels, when they work. This one doesn’t, even if some of the jokes do.
