Rotten Tomatoes score: 55%
After two reviews in a row of belated sequels, why break the streak?
Eight years after the original The Santa Clause, which begat a slew of imitators and inaugurated a whole new generation of family Christmas movies, they finally got around to making a sequel. But this time around it is a strictly G-rated affair, and the change of tone is pretty striking—the reindeer are now goofy cartoon characters, Tim Allen's trademark wit has lost its edge, and David Krumholtz as boss elf Bernard acts like he's had a lobotomy. Corniest of all, Scott and the elves are joined in this sequel by a host of other "legendary figures", including Mother Nature, Father Time (curiously played by Peter Boyle, who was Scott Calvin's boss in the first film), and the Tooth Fairy, whose macho pride Scott flatters by renaming him "the Molinator."
It's Bernard, assisted by his henchman Curtis (Spencer Breslin), who breaks the bad news to Scott Calvin. It turns out the Santa Clause that took effect when he first put on the red suit has an additional rider: If Scott isn't married by Christmas Day, he will lose his infinite power. Does this mean that every past Santa Claus has been married? Did Scott's clumsy predecessor leave behind a mourning widow when he fell off that roof? If so, where is she?
Well, let's immediately dismiss all those concerns from our consciousness, because Scott has a second problem on his plate. His son Charlie (played by the same kid from the first movie, but looking totally different) has become a juvenile delinquent. Now Scott must travel to his unidentified home town (Chicago maybe?) to put Charlie back on the straight and narrow and, if possible, arrange a shotgun wedding for himself while he's at it.
Conveniently, the target of Charlie's misbehavior happens to be the beautiful, unattached female principal of his high school (Elizabeth Mitchell). Principal Carol Newman is so stodgy and no-nonsense that she has outlawed all holiday decorations in the school—not out of any commitment to secularism, but just to be a Grinch. Clearly there is room here for her to undergo a total change of character and fall for Scott, but that will have to wait until he has gone through a series of disastrous blind dates (including Molly Shannon working very hard to be obnoxious and succeeding tremendously).
Meanwhile, Scott spends his downtime trying to reconnect with his son. Apparently, Charlie is frustrated by the burden of keeping Scott's true identity a secret; the rest of the world believes that Scott lives and works in Canada. Wait a minute, why is this necessary? I don't understand why Santa Claus has to have a secret identity. He's not Batman. What would be the problem if Charlie's friends knew his father was Santa? And besides, at the end of the first movie the whole town (or at least the whole police force) found out about it.
And what has been happening at the North Pole all this time? Bernard and Curtis have been hard at work filling the movie's run-time by inventing a robotic Santa Claus to stand in for Scott during his absence. I don't know if they're afraid the other elves are fomenting revolution or something, but apparently they are all stupid enough to believe this plastic being is the real Scott. Anyway, do you remember the episode of Futurama where there's a robotic Santa Claus who becomes a tyrant and terrorizes people at Christmas? Well, the same thing happens here, only there are no explosions, and John Goodman is not involved.
Back in the real world, Scott discovers that his magical powers are gradually fading as he spends time among mere mortals, so he has started to look more and more like Tim Allen. Principal Carol notices the difference, but she seems rather unfazed by the fact that Scott has lost fifty pounds overnight. Fortunately, Scott has just enough magic left to liven up a faculty Christmas party by miraculously materializing nostalgic vintage children's toys for the attendees. Slowly, it dawns on Carol that there is something special about Scott, but she can't put her finger on it. (Maybe it was the way he caused it to snow directly above her head, which so few people can do.)
But when Scott tells Carol the truth—that he is Santa Claus and needs to marry her immediately—she has some difficulty accepting it. Unfortunately, that conflict will have to take a back seat, because Curtis has just arrived to tell Scott about the increasingly repressive regime of robot Santa. With no magic left to fly him home, Scott is forced to yank out one of his own teeth (a surprisingly bloodless operation) to summon the Molinator, who obligingly transports him to the North Pole at supersonic speed. Shortly thereafter, Charlie and Carol show up as well, having each sacrificed a tooth to make the trip.
Once the robot Santa is brought to heel, Carol reveals that Charlie has melted her icy heart by uttering some inspirational dialogue. She has now decided to throw caution to the wind, and Mother Nature marries them, Vegas-style, without filling out the proper paperwork. Imagine Carol's surprise when Scott instantaneously transforms back into a 250-pound elderly bearded man before her eyes. (Actually, the credits sequence suggests that Carol herself eventually becomes old thanks to the magic of Christmas, but that will be forgotten by the time part 3 rolls around.)
Not to be left out, Charlie has had a change of heart as well, and he now views his role as Santa's secret-keeper as a blessing rather than a burden. I still object to the whole situation.
This is a toss-up; I really have no strong feelings. I guess I'll say
Impressive！Thanks for the post Birds in the Circus
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