Written by Jesus Figueroa
@ThisFunktional
Paramount+’s DEAR SANTA delivers some laughs, but lacks in plot and feels a bit empty in context for the jokes.
When a young boy mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error, a devilish Jack Black arrives to wreak havoc on the holidays. From the hilarious minds behind Dumb & Dumber, Christmas is about to go up in flames.
Pros:
- Jack Black’s performance is hilarious. While sometimes his performance can get over the top, this character benefits from an intense performance. The comedy can benefit from the clownish antics he uses.
- Robert Timothy Smith’s acting paired along side Black’s makes this movie feel like a buddy comedy. Smith is a charismatic young lead which captures the hearts of the audience with a naive innocence that makes some of the slightly crude humor hit much funnier.
- This comedy entertains kids phenomenally. It seemed like having this story be primarily following children really made this a family movie. Although the childish character Black plays also adds to what captures the attention of the younger audience.
Cons:
- The story lacked in many aspects. There seemed to be moments in the story where it felt like I missed some of the story, but even rewatching some scenes it was apparent that there was a huge jump from plot point to plot point.
- The inclusivity of this movie even felt like it went too far. While the main character’s dislexia is not the problem, the manner it is used as a way to almost belittle the kindness he embodies. The characters seemed overly one dimentional. The main character is not the only one that suffers from this, the best friend, the bully, the love interest, and even Black’s character suffers – even the growth of the character seemed to not develop but rather magically happen.
- The comedy moments while enjoyable were mostly spoiled in the trailer. All the big laugh moments were either shown or hinted at if you viewed the trailer.
Overall, I rate this movie a 6 out of 10 stars. I did enjoy the movie and it did not feel long at all, but it also felt like the story did not develop enough throughout the runtime. The comedy was funny, but it relies on the small laughs to keep the audience interested instead of building up for a big laugh. While the acting was good, the characters are one dimentional and have a short if any story arc that help build this movie into a holiday classic.
DEAR SANTA
On Digital, Streaming on Paramount+ Now
