A Review of The Santa Clauses by Nick Olszyk
Distribution Service: Disney +
FCC Rating, TV-PG
CSM Rating, 6+
Reel Rating, Three Reels
The Santa Clause franchise, lead by Tim Allen
as the big man, was cute but never profound. It began when scatterbrained and neglectful
dad Scott Calvin who became Santa by accident and gradually embraced his
vocation. The Santa Clauses, set nearly three decades later, is its
first attempt at something bigger, using the miniseries format to dive deeper
into the mythology with hopes of giving new insight into the Christmas season.
While it never truly gets airborne, there are glimmers of competence, even genius,
and enough fun to get through to the last episode.
Scott
Calvin, who became Santa Claus in 1994, lives at the North Pole with his wife Carol
(Elizabeth Mitchell) and two teenage kids. A seasoned magical being, he has
settled nicely into his role, and everyone seems satisfied. Satisfied but not
happy. In recent years, Christmas spirit – the vibranium of Santa’s Workshop –
has diminished significantly, leading to engineering problems with the sleigh, quarrels
with the Mrs, and the occasional fall off the roof. All this leads Scott to consider
a replacement. He brings in many candidates, including Peyton Manning, but settles
on Simon (Kal Penn) a billionaire tech guru with grandiose ideas to modernize
the operation. Scott and his family move to Chicago and attempt to acclimate to
normal life with mixed results. Meanwhile, Simon’s plans – including drones
delivering presents – may be more efficient but lacks any understanding of
Christmas values.
The
greatest strength of The Santa Clauses lies in its intriguing mythology.
It was established in the first film that when one Santa dies, another takes
over the job, yet this progression of Santas was never fully explored before. In
the 5th episode, frustrated by Simon’s terrible job, Scott’s old
friend Bernard introduces him to his previous avatars, who remind Scott of the
importance of the job. It turns out that, like Doctor Who, Scott was the 17th
man to hold the title. This includes Father Christmas, Sinterklaas, and even
Krampus. The pinnacle, of course, is St. Nicholas himself in full bishop’s
attire (although my personal favorite was the nameless background Ethiopian Orthodox
Santa). It’s a neat way to demonstrate how the lore of Santa changes but all
leads back to Christian charity and moral piety. There’s also a fantastic EWTN
original fantasy series buried in there somewhere, only with a sleigh instead
of a phone booth.
Tim
Allen has been labeled many times throughout his career as *gasp* conservative,
although his actual politics could easily describe a mainstream Democrat in the
90s. This is mostly due to his skewering political correctness. There are
plenty of tame jokes around the elves’ short stature or diversity training.
More illuminating however is the positive portrayal of loving, lasting marriages.
Mrs. Claus admits she feels sidelined as the “wife of” but is faithful to Scott’s
vocation. The head elf Betty (Matilda Lawler in a spectacular performance) is
organized and strict while her husband Noel (Devin Bright) is sensitive and distraught.
Yet their love is strong and profound. Their personalities doesn’t make them
less of a man or woman, just unique to their own situation.
It
must be admitted that the series has many, many faults including tired memes,
cheesy acting, and a poorly constructed last act. However, in the dozens of Christmas productions
just this year, it is one of the few with its heart in the right place. It
also had my single favorite line of any film or television show of 2022 when Scott
tries to convince Betty his son could be Santa:
Scott: C’on Betty! Go in with me
on this. We bring him in early; he already knows how things work in the real
world. He could handle the tricky roofs. I could stay at the North Pole! It
could be…Santa Claus and Son.
Betty: Two Santas? Ugh, this isn’t
the Vatican.
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