The Santa Suit

This is a fine little Santa movie as Drake Hunter, the scrooge-like owner of a toy company, finds himself mysteriously transformed into a Santa lookalike for the Christmas season -- he looks and feels like himself in his own mind, but everyone sees him as the jolly old elf in the red suit, even himself in mirrors -- and comes to recognize how empty his life is. Although this sort of body-switching device has been used many times before, this variation on it is well handled in the script department and well worth your time.

I do have one issue: Kevin Sorbo plays the role for as understandably depressed and low affect for the first hour. As I have commented in many another review, this is appropriate but uninteresting but there are enough interesting performances around him to sustain the movie until he begins to slowly work his way out of that state and into a decent person in the second half. That pay off makes the movie.

Every year we are exposed to different takes on traditional stories. There are rarely new concepts, just different ways of interpretation.

Kevin Sorbo has a dozen screen appearances this year, and it is a welcome break to see him in something other than Hercules or Syfy.

He is perfect as an unloved CEO - no wife, no girlfriend, no friends of any kind. He pushed cheap toys and is only interested in sales, not people.

Of course, he runs into the real Santa, who decides to teach him a lesson. He is now broke and in a Santa suit. What else is going to do but work as Santa for Christmas? Of course, there is a sad, cute little girl (Brianna Daguanno), and a perky social worker (Jennifer Gibson).

This one will tug at your heartstrings even if you know how it will end.

6.7 stars.

This movie is across-the-board average for me. I was hoping for a little bit of romance, but there's none. Not joking, absolutely zero romance. There is a little bit of attraction near the end, for 20 seconds.

The story is wonderful, but it's slow. They didn't cram a whole lot into this film. It's a story of a man, a Scrooge, a wealthy businessman. He is a bah humbug over the holidays and the rest of the year. His employees are unhappy and afraid of him.

The real Santa comes around and sets him straight. We've seen this trope 100 times. But it's nice and it's well done and so I found it to be somewhat endearing. Perhaps it was a little ahead of its time, but I don't think so. I recall seeing movies similar back then. So honestly, this movie is nothing particularly special. In 2010, I give it a 7.5, but we are evolved since then.

The first time I got acquainted with "The Santa Suit" was during the Christmas holidays of 2016, as I sat down for a Christmas movie marathon with my family.

I must say that this movie actually turned out to be rather good, which was somewhat of a surprise. None of us had expected much from the movie, given the synopsis and the cast list. But "The Santa Suit" actually turned out to be a rather enjoyable movie.

Sure, this movie is as predictable and generic as you would assume, given the storyline and the presentation of aforementioned storyline. But still, writer Kevin Commins and director Robert Vaughn had managed to create a rather enjoyable Christmas movie.

As for the cast, well, I initially had some reservations as the only one I knew was Kevin Sorbo, and his track record of movie performances has been somewhat fluctuating. But he really stepped up here and performed quite well, and I do think that he was quite suitable for this particular type of movies.

If you enjoy watching Christmas-themed movies during the holidays, then "The Santa Suit" is definitely worth checking out. Sure, it is not a classic such as "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Home Alone". And, for me personally at least, this movie doesn't really have that quality to it that allows for multiple viewings year after year.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

In this film Drake Hunter, the president of Hunter Marketing, has the perfect plan to boost sales for his father\'s toy company over the holiday season—hire department store Santas to promote his father\'s merchandise. When the real Santa Claus turns Drake into a Santa lookalike, Drake finds himself working as a dress-up Kris Kringle to make ends meet. Stripped of power and position, Drake discovers the importance of honesty, compassion, and respect.

Now the flaws with this film is numerous. The production itself is the main problem. You can tell its fake snow. Out of camera range there is not snow. There is a scene where someone runs down the street. Then when she turns the corner its nighttime.

As for the film itself? Well it works. However barely. Kevin Sorbo is only saved because the people around him are much better actors. There is a few minor surprises here and there but in general it is very predictable. However the film works. If you like Christmas films you will enjoy this. I did.