Santa Baby

This is not the first story about Santa planning to retire, and let a son/daughter take over the toy manufacturing and delivery business. The idea has been done before, often and better.

Apparently, Santa's daughter Mary (Jenny McCarthy) was once as kind hearted and sweet as her folks and the elves that work for them. For whatever reason, she veered from her famous father's (George Wendt) path, and became a corporate junior exec with a big mouth and an attitude to match. When she discovers her dad is physically unable to perform his duties one season, she butts in, takes over, and embarks on a board room mentality approach to revamp the North Pole toyshop for greater "efficiency." The dialogue is needlessly negative, as she mocks generosity, Christmas cheer, elves, and her amiable father. Here's a typical line from the movie, as an example of the overall tone: "Here's a stocking....stuff it." Original and hilarious, isn't it?

The acting rises above the script, and there's a sweet, sentimental romance in the later going of the film. It's a shame that the meanness early on may lead you to shut this thing off before it introduces this element. If you can make it through the first half of the film, you may find a dose of Christmas spirit from the movie near the end.