Review Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2002

(click here to skip to this movie's rating)

CASS' CLIP (WARNING: **spoilers below**) In The Santa Clause (1994), Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) becomes a reluctant Santa Claus when the current Santa dies after accidentally falling off the roof of Scott's house on Christmas Eve. Scott puts on the Santa suit and unknowingly adheres to the Santa "Clause." The clause waives all rights to his previous identity, and fully obligates him to the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus. Fast-forward some 8 years and Scott aka Santa Claus is happy being the man-in-charge of the North Pole. Scott loves helping the elves manufacture toys on the assembly line or playing a competitive, yet friendly, game of football. Life seems perfect, right? Not quite. Bernard (David Krumholtz), the head elf-in-charge, along with Curtis (Spencer Breslin), the number 2 elf, forgot to mention to Scott an important clause from the Santa Handbook. It seems that in order for Scott to continue being Santa Claus, he must comply with "The Mrs. Claus" clause. Scott has 28 days to marry his perfect soul mate or he'll be drawing unemployment at another Pole like all the other jobless holiday Santas. In fact, Scott has already begun the "de-Santafication" process and is losing weight and shedding his beard. Meanwhile, back in the real world, what would Christmas be without a little family holiday drama? Charlie (Eric Lloyd), Scott's once precocious little boy, is now an adolescent troublemaker. [Besides dealing with divorced parents and puberty, Charlie's main problem is that his dad is Santa Claus. That may sound cool, but how does a teenager explain to people that his dad isn't a postal employee or Federal Express deliveryman even though he delivers zillions of gifts and holiday joy to masses?] It turns out that Charlie has landed on the "naughty" list because Principal Newman (Elizabeth Mitchell) caught him vandalizing school property with graffiti. [Principal Newman appears to be the real Grinch who stole Christmas]. In order for Santa/Scott to be in two places at once, Curtis clones Santa/Scott. That way, the toy Santa can stay at the North Pole and handle pre-Christmas toy production and Scott can return home to reconnect with Charlie, as well as find a wife. But as fate would have it, the Toy Santa is not very "nice", and Scott ends up having a date from hell with Principal Newman. Charlie ain't too happy about his dad dating Principal Newman, but figures if they hook up, at least she won’t be breathing down is neck at school. But all is not lost yet, because at a year-end board meeting, Scott seeks the advice from his fellow advisory council members, Mother Nature (Aisha Tyler), Father Time (Peter Boyle), Cupid (Kevin Pollak), the Tooth Fairy (Art LaFleur), The Sandman (Michael Dorn), and the Easter Bunny (who I think was Jay Thomas). [This is my favorite scene because it's so unexpected, and the adult viewers will definitely get a kick out this]. Watching Scott resolve all these issues is what family entertainment is all about. DA 411 The plot in The Santa Clause 2 is quite simple -- Scott must comply with the "Mrs. Claus clause" and get married before Christmas, or he'll be looking for another job next holiday season. I wasn't even bothered that SC 2 went on autopilot in terms of its predictability. In fact, I bet that's one of the "Clauses" the screenwriters had to comply with -- The write an "entertaining and heart-warming Christmas movie" clause. That alone made this movie more enjoyable for both kids and adults. I really enjoyed Tim Allen much better in SC 2 than in SC because he was more likable and came across more comfortable playing the Big Guy. And what would a holiday movie be without a Scrooge-like or non-Christmas believer character like Principal Newman. Elizabeth Mitchell plays a convincing coldhearted principal. When she and Scott meet for the time to discuss Charlie’s behavior, she delivers one of the best lines in the movie. Paraphrasing, "Oh good, a battle of wits," Scott says, and she replies with, "It appears you've come without yours." I'm curious to see how many more original "clauses" the writers will come up with to keep moviegoers interested. CASS' CONCLUSION As long as they keep coming up with unique "clauses," you can expect to see this Santa Claus around for several more holiday sequels. THE SANTA CLAUSE 2:   back to top Copyright Cassandra Henry, 2002 EMAIL: cass@3blackchicks.com