À la rescousse du père Noël

Get Santa is a mess. However, despite some questionable character decisions (GO SEE YOUR PAROLE OFFICER!) and the fantasy elements being a bit boring, it's a sincere and often really fun mess. Funny, bright, well-directed and comfortably familiar, it fits in nicely with fantasy-meets-reality family Christmas films like Elf and Santa Clause. Nothing transcendent, but certainly a worthy addition to the holiday canon.

Before we start our regularly schedule review, lets crate context.

In the early days of Hollywood, x-mas movies were an oddity. They were in the process of finding themselves. Films like Miracle on 34th Street 1946 and Its a Wonderful Life 1947 (offically an X-mas tale because the story takes place around X-mas) were the exception, not the rule.

Flash forward about 55 years or so and now you find that some countries (like Canada) have actually formed a cottage industry just turning out X-mas movies year after year, good story or bad, entertaining or not, just to feed the "maw" of the system. (Canada has even stooped so low as to remake a B--- version of Miracle on 34th Street 1946 ... apparently spurred on the US' horrific remake of the same film in 1994).

So, therein likes the issue. When X-mas movies become commoditized, it becomes a real challenge that break away from the homogeneous sludge that passes for holiday movies these days.

(Elf 2003 pulled it off -- wonderful and recommended).

This film is not going to win any awards, but it holds the attention and has some really marvellous comedy bits buried here and there. (The "Crazy Jimmy Claus routine is worth the whole movie.) Recommended.

I only watched this film today, after reading some other posts and reviews on here I was a little apprehensive of whether this film would be any good. I've read some people's thoughts on how this film is better suited and better liked by people who understand dry humour and British comedy and they are absolutely right. This film is British through and through, funded by the BFI and starring an all British cast. As someone who is British, I can tell you if you understand that sort of dry and often off colour humour you will love this film like I did.

If you're American or are used to that sort of conventional sugary sweet Hollywood style Christmas film then this film will probably be harder to understand. While it does conform to the traditional narrative and plot points many Hollywood Christmas films do (Christmas isn't coming this year, a broken family saves Christmas and ultimately their own issues and relationships - the film after all is made by Warner Brothers and so the film does still hold some of that conventional Hollywood magic) its uniqueness is found in it's darker and often off colour humour that is iconically British. The film not only showcases a perfect blend of Hollywood and British humour with the help of Warner Bros and BFI but the film also has a brilliant cast with some fantastic British actors. I couldn't help but smile when I saw many actors I recognise from other British TV shows or films. Not only Jim Broadbent but Warwick Davis and Matt King who I know better as Super Hans in the very original and hilariously British sitcom Peep Show. Like it or not this film is certainly worth watching at this festive time of year. Now, it's certainly one I think I will watch every year at Christmas. 🙂🎅🎄

Nine year old Tom discovers Santa and persuades his sceptical dad to help him get back to Lapland. Jim Broabent is very entertaining as the naive and bewildered Father Christmas.

This is refreshingly British and a great addition to my annual must see festive films. One of the best Christmas movies ever made.

It is also way superior to over-rated schmaltz such as 'critics favourite' White Christmas (1954). Personally I had more fun watching paint dry.

An engaging and actually quite delightful festive movie where Kris Kringle gets to mingle with a bunch of hardened cons and it's as awesome as it sounds with Jim Broadbent as brilliant as you'd expect him to be.

The main plot is an adventure to the North Pole where childish faith and whimsy survives against a jaded modern world.

The humour isn't always what you'd call dignified ("He makes himself understood") but to compensate, I was nonetheless wiping my eyes at least once.

A good bit of fun that had a lot of passion put into it to be the perfect movie for the family to watch on the 24th.