My quick rating - 5.4/10. Dear Santa starts with one of those concepts that immediately caught my attention. A well-meaning but naive sixth-grade student writes to Santa to show he exists, gets the address wrong due to dyslexia, and ends up summoning Satan instead. Even that, on its own, is a premise that feels like it’s crying out for either dark comedic gold or outright holiday horror mayhem. What it gets instead is something much more mundane, and, for the most part, squandered.
Robert Timothy Smith plays the role of Liam, a genuinely pleasant and lovable kid whose innocence and awkwardness are some of the most well-meaning aspects of this movie. He has some good comedic timing that does not cross the line of becoming annoying, and it’s clear that he’s just starting to take Satan’s advice and cut loose, and these are some of the best parts of the movie.
Jack Black, though, is the main attraction here. Casting him as Satan is a smart move, and unsurprisingly, he runs with it. His version of the Prince of Darkness is loud, theatrical, needy, and weirdly enthusiastic about finally having a fanboy. Black’s energy injects life into nearly every scene he’s in, and while his antics can’t fully rescue the movie from some questionable plot turns and a rather dreary backstory, they do keep it watchable. A surprise appearance from Ben Stiller as Lucifer is also a fun little bonus, even if it feels more like a novelty cameo than something integral to the story.
Another wasted opportunity I saw was Keegan-Michael Key as the child psychologist, and probably the biggest letdown. He’s barely given anything funny or memorable to do, which is baffling considering how much comedic mileage could’ve been squeezed out of that role. Similarly, the Post Malone scene feels completely out of place, stopping the movie dead for a moment that adds little beyond celebrity recognition.
The film also plays things very safe. Although IMDb has labeled it horror, there is not an ounce of horror anywhere in it. More macabre or dark notions are honed down in favor of a largely trendy, family-friendly approach, resulting in this movie being stuck in limbo, torn somewhere in between what it could have represented versus what it does. Rooted in an angle like this, going either fully darkly comedic or horror-oriented would have left it far more memorable.
Kai Cech, playing Liam’s crush Emma, is sweet and innocent here, especially compared to the ass kicker we saw her play in Marshmallow. The ending, however, is a head-scratcher and ultimately drags the whole experience down a notch.
I appreciated that Dear Santa offered something new and interesting, although it didn't quite seem to live up to its own potential. For most of its running time, I was sitting at either a 5 or 6, but that ending pushed it closer to 5. However, Jack Black is definitely worth at least a single viewing during the holidays if you haven't already seen it.
https://jackmeat.com/dear-santa-2024/
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