[Director] John Pasquin brings to it a heavy-handedness more appropriate to the subject matter of, say, his telefilm Don't Touch My Daughter.
The Santa Clause (1994)
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Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:31
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: The Santa Clause is utterly undemanding, but it's firmly rooted in the sort of good old-fashioned holiday spirit missing from too many modern yuletide films.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: When Santa Claus gets killed in a freak accident after being startled on the rooftop of a house, it looks like Christmas is ruined. But fortunately, just before his death, the jolly, gift-giver... When Santa Claus gets killed in a freak accident after being startled on the rooftop of a house, it looks like Christmas is ruined. But fortunately, just before his death, the jolly, gift-giver passed the torch to ad executive Scott Calvin (Tim Allen), who finishes the job of bestowing holiday cheer on all. When he finally reaches on the North Pole, however, Scott learns that he can't give up the job -- he's become the next Santa Claus. (THAT'S the Santa Clause!). Scott returns home, only to find himself slowly changing into the pudgy, white-haired old man so beloved of children... and to find that everyone around him considers him utterly and completely mad. [More]
Starring: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Peter Boyle
Starring: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Peter Boyle, Eric Lloyd, Mary Gross, David Krumholtz, Larry Brandenburg, Paige Tamada, Judith Scott
Director: John Pasquin
Director: John Pasquin
Screenwriter: Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick
Composer: Michael Convertino
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Release:
Jan 1, 1996
Reviews for The Santa Clause
This is what happens when someone takes what might have been a moderately- entertaining television Christmas special and tries to adapt it for the big screen.
Agreeable family fare that'll please the young 'uns but that adults will find only slightly diverting.
Despite its charms, the movie didn't push over the top into true inspiration.
While the film breaks no new ground, it offers the kind of simple, well-crafted, family entertainment that used to be a staple of the Disney studio.
A friend and I go to a 'sort of trashy' movie every Christmas. This was less trashy than most.
There are enough laughs to make it worth a look for Allen's legion of fans.
while still further proof Tim Allen was always better suited to Television, is one of the Toolman’s best forays into film. The bottom line is kids will get a kick out of it, and parents can rest assure by the end of it’s hour and a half they’ll have had s
The movie steers a shrewd course between bracing cynicism and old-fashioned make-believe.
Kids of most ages will be able to follow -- and enjoy -- this comic fantasy.
The jokes are mostly funny, the divorced parents stay happily divorced, and we're treated to yet another earnestly dopey performance by the endearing Judge Reinhold.
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