The Christmas Chronicles (2018) Netflix/Comedy-Adventure-Fantasy RT: 104 minutes Rated PG (mild language and violence) Director: Clay Kaytis Screenplay: Matt Lieberman Music: Christophe Beck Cinematography: Don Burgess Release date: November 22, 2018 (Netflix) Cast: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp, Judah Lewis, Lamorne Morris, Martin Roach, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Oliver Hudson, Vella Lovell, Jameson Kraemer, Steven Van Zandt and The Disciples of Soul, Marc Ribler.
Rating: *** ½
As a general rule, I don’t review Hallmark Christmas movies. If I did, I’d be writing from Thanksgiving straight through to New Year’s with only a few hours sleep. It seems like they make about 500 of them every year and they’re all basically the same movie. This rule applies to made-for-TV and direct-to-streaming titles as well; I simply don’t have the time.
Occasionally, I will break this rule if it’s something I deem worthy of my time and attention. I heard a lot of positive buzz about The Christmas Chronicles when it premiered on Netflix last year. That’s the one starring Kurt Russell as Santa Claus. I like Russell very much; I’ve been a fan since I saw him in Disney’s The Strongest Man in the World at age 7. Although curious, I didn’t watch it last year. When the holiday season came around this year, my wife and I decided to make it part of our Christmas Eve viewing list. We positioned it between Unaccompanied Minors (guilty pleasure!) and The Long Kiss Goodnight. I’m so glad we decided to watch it. It’s a delight.
Meet the Pierce family. They used to be happy, a fact confirmed by a series of home videos of them enjoying Christmas together over the years. This year is different; it’s their first Christmas without Dad (Hudson, Nashville), a firefighter killed in the line of duty. Teenage son Teddy (Lewis, The Babysitter) has become a juvenile delinquent who picks on his little sister Kate (Camp, Big Little Lies), a sweet girl who still makes videos for Santa. She’s a true believer. Mom (Paisley, Nashville) gets called into work at the last minute on Christmas Eve leaving the two kids home alone.
While watching the family videos for the umpteenth time, Kate sees something strange she never noticed before; a red-sleeved arm leaving a present under the tree. It could only be one thing, right? She decides to set up video surveillance to catch Santa in action. She blackmails Teddy into helping her with a video of him and his friends stealing a car. Eventually, Santa shows up and Kate jumps into action with her camera. The two kids follow him outside where they witness him jump from rooftop to rooftop in a flash of red light. Kate hides in the sleigh to get a closer look and Teddy follows. When Kate makes their presence known, it scares the big guy so badly he crashes the sleigh losing his magic hat, reindeer and sack of presents in the process. Facing the imminent demise of Christmas spirit all over the world, Santa agrees to let Teddy and Kate help him find his lost property and fix the sleigh in time to save Christmas.
I forgot to mention that the sleigh crash lands in Chicago, not the friendliest city in the world. Nobody is too eager to help the crazy guy in the Santa suit. He ends up being arrested for driving a stolen car (in pursuit of his reindeer). This leads to a scene of Santa and his cellmates (including Steven Van Zandt and his Disciples of Soul) belting out a rocking version of “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” while the cops look on. I should have expected something like this; after all, Russell has played both Elvis (in the 1979 TV biopic) and an Elvis impersonator (3000 Miles to Graceland). The guy knows how to jam. It’s a great scene in an enjoyable little movie.
Although an unlikely choice to play jolly St. Nick, the actor once known as Snake Plissken- i.e. Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. – makes a cool Santa. The Christmas Chronicles depicts a slightly different Santa than the one we know from childhood and countless other movies even 1994’s The Santa Clause. For one thing, he doesn’t say “HO, HO, HO!” As he tells Kate, it’s “fake news”. He also has minor body images issues. He keeps wondering why his butt looks so huge in all the Christmas-themed ads he’s featured in. As for the magic hat, it’s the reason he can move quickly and squeeze through tight spaces. That’s a new one on me. It’s a neat idea though. In this new Age of Reason where kids are especially inquisitive, it might answer a few Santa-related questions for the time being. ANYWAY, getting back to my original point, Russell totally crushes it as Santa.
Darby Camp, one the very best things about HBO’s Big Little Lies, is absolutely charming as Kate, a preteen trying to hold on to happy memories during a difficult period. She’s innocent enough to believe in Santa yet mature enough to understand that her big brother’s bad behavior is a cover for the sadness he feels about his dad’s untimely death. I love that Kate is never without her video camera; she wants to capture the whole adventure so she never forgets. Lewis is also good as sullen Teddy, a wannabe car thief who finds himself at the reins of Santa’s sleigh at one point. I like that the two kids aren’t obnoxious, insufferable brats.
The CGI effects are about what you’d expect. They’re fine. The only thing is that the elves look weirder than the one in The Polar Express. Actually, they look more like the Trolls. That’s the one thing about The Christmas Chronicles I don’t like. The rest of it is a lot of good cheery fun. It’s sweet, but not sickly so. It has a nice message about dealing with tragedy and family coming together. It’s also quite funny at times. I laughed hardest when Mrs. Claus made an appearance at the end. She’s played by Russell’s real life romantic partner of 37 years, Goldie Hawn. If I’m being honest, I saw it coming. After all, their son Oliver also plays in the movie making it a family affair. Maybe they can get their daughter Kate to appear in the sequel (due in 2020). As for The Christmas Chronicles, it’s now on my nice Christmas movie list. It will be an annual watch.
