There are many great sequels in the history of cinema "The Godfather Part II," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" to name a few. These are the films that weave new stories while believably continuing old characters and maintaining quality of script and acting. "The Santa Clause 2" is NOT one of these films. Not only did it fail as a good sequel, it isn't even a very good movie.
Tim Allen ("Home Improvement") is back as Scott Calvin, a.k.a. Santa Claus. If you reach way back in your memory to 1994, when many of us were still in elementary school or junior high, you might recall the first "Santa Clause."
It was an endearing movie in which Scott Calvin is legally required by the Santa Clause (Haha, get it?) to take over the duties of the late Santa who died after a fall off Calvin's roof. This first movie was cute and heartwarming, stirring up all sorts of emotions like Christmas cheer and childhood nostalgia
an A+ family film.
Okay, have you gotten a firm grasp on that childhood memory? Now take all those good feelings you got watching that movie and delete them, replacing them with cheesiness and a ridiculous plot line. Got it?Now you possess the emotions roused by "The Santa Clause 2."
Yes, this movie has its cute moments. Yes, there were times when I felt all warm and cheery inside. But for the most part, this film was sort of, well, silly.
The plot line is as follows: Calvin discovers that he overlooked a very important part of the original clause
he must be married to continue as Santa. This is a bit of a problem, because Calvin is long divorced and his ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson) is happily remarried to geeky psychiatrist Neil (Judge Reinhold, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High").
If Calvin does not find a wife by Christmas Eve (28 days away) he will completely "de-Santafy." To make matters worse, Calvin's son Charlie (the formerly precious but now awkward adolescent Eric Lloyd) has been put on the "naughty" list for acting up at school.
To accommodate Calvin's need to be two places at once
the North Pole and his son's home
he creates a replica "Toy Santa" to run things up north while he deals with Charlie. Can you see what's coming?
I cannot think of a film where producing a clone does not equal trouble. And trouble is exactly what happens when Toy Santa takes over the North Pole and decides to give all the children coal. Whew. Ridiculous enough for you? Because I have more.
Try taking this story line and adding a romance between Calvin and Charlie's principal, Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell, "Nurse Betty," "ER") and there you have it
one of the worst sequels I have ever seen. "Home Alone 3," anyone?
Now, I don't blame the actors for the failure of this film. Other than the fact that Eric Lloyd is at a weird stage for a young actor, the cast does a fine job. The script, however, makes you wonder what in the world the writers were thinking when they thought that this would be a good movie.
If you happen to have young children, I wouldn't totally count this movie out as a Friday night family activity. If you are like me, though, and have fond memories of the touching original, you will be greatly disappointed in this new film.
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