The Christmas season is upon us and as with many years, a new Christmas movie. With an irresistible premise and with Jack Black leading the way, Dear Santa had the chance to be a classic but falters in the end.
When a young boy mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error, a devilish Jack Black arrives to wreak havoc on the holidays. Christmas is about to go up in flames.
The premise alone was enticing enough to draw me into the film, which doesn’t take much with new Christmas movies, but with Jack Black playing Santa and Satan the Farrelly Brothers had me hooked. However, what had the chance to be a promising film that could’ve either been solely a family film or an R-rated dirty comedy but really can’t figure out who it’s audience really is along the way.
Dear Santa does deliver on some funny moments while also brining in the emotional moments, it does lean heavy in either direction. This may come as no surprise to most fans of the comedic star, but where the film mostly falters in execution, Black saves with his antics and charming chaos.
In addition to Black’s performance, Robert Timothy Smith and Jaden Carson Baker have a great bonding friendship with the former really proving to be the secondary star of the film behind Black. Smith has had a great 2024 also appearing in Wolfs and the upcoming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew series. Other characters such as Keegan-Michael Key‘s Dr. Finklman were fun additions, but really didn’t make an impact in the overall story and felt almost added on to include a star name.
One can wonder whether or not Dear Santa would’ve had a better time pushing boundaries and telling more dirty jokes as an R-rated Christmas romp instead of a family film. This would’ve allowed Black and even Key to shine a bit more and go a bit further with their jokes. Toeing the line between a few innuendo jokes and heart felt family film may be this films biggest mistake.
While Dear Santa does not entirely revolutionize the genre, it does offer a fresh take on holiday hijinks with unexpected humor and a few good performances. The biggest success is Black’s comedic brilliance as he embraces his role with energy. Otherwise its another random Christmas film that I may or may not watch again next season.
Dear Santa was written by Ricky Blitt and Peter Farrelly based on a story by Blitt, Farrelly, and Dan Ewen and directed by Bobby Farrelly. The film stars Jack Black as Asmodeus/Santa Claus, Keegan-Michael Key as Dr. Finklman, Robert Timothy Smith as Liam Turner, Jaden Carson Baker as Gibby, and Ben Stiller as Lucifer. Plus an appearance by Post Malone.
Dear Santa hit streaming on Paramount+ November 25, 2024.
