The Santa Class

Hallmark has rolled out a charming Christmas movie directed by Lucie Guest and written by Alexandre Coscas, Joseph Kelbley, and Russell Hainline! This delightful holiday tale takes us to the quirky yet challenging world of the North Star Training Academy for Santas, which reflects bigger themes of legacy and ambition. Kate North, played by Kimberley Sustad, inherits this struggling academy from her dad, showcasing the classic conflict between family duty and personal dreams. The weight of her heritage looms large, shaping her present and holding back her aspirations, much like how jingle bells symbolize both joy and the burden of expectations.

When Kate teams up with her former rival, Dan (Benjamin Ayres), to help an amnesiac Santa-who, in a twist that echoes It's a Wonderful Life, embodies the true spirit of Christmas-the stakes rise beyond just personal goals. The film prompts us to reflect on what it truly means to embrace the Christmas spirit in a time when those values often get lost in the hustle and bustle of consumerism.

The chemistry between the leads is fantastic, and the acting is top-notch! The supporting cast at North Star is a delightful mix of quirky characters, each showcasing a different facet of the holiday spirit. From a Jewish hippie to a ventriloquist Santa, these characters highlight the variety of holiday experiences, each contributing their own unique touch to the training program.

The eclectic group at North Star reminds us that the real magic of the season lies in our shared moments and connections. In a time when the holiday spirit can feel overshadowed by commercialism, The Santa Class encourages us to think about what it means to celebrate, suggesting that the most meaningful gifts often come from the heart rather than the store.

The Santa Class is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, which opens up the possibility for laughs in unexpected places. It's a fun watch with the family and one I'd recommend you take.

Kate (Kimberly Sustad) runs a Santa school, training the future santa's of the mall world how to handle the demanding job of being the big guy and keeping the dream alive for young people. Kate's school is an old campground. Dan (Benjamin Ayres) is the lead santa trainer at a rival santa school (why not), until he gets the boot and finds his way to Kate.

All of this is background to the real magic of the movie - when the real Santa shows up wandering the backroads near Kate's school. He has no idea who he is, but they certainly do. They enroll him in the school in the hopes that it might help him recover his lost memories and, you guessed it, save Christmas.

The Santa Class goes heavy on the laughs, and save for a few scenes (party crashing), it hits the mark. In a world where the real Santa is in your class, anything is possible. The movie focuses on acceptance, too. The perfect Christmas and the perfect Santa don't exist. All are welcome.

Sustand and Ayres complement each other well and their enemies-to-lovers romance is a welcome change of pace.

One weird note. We have no idea what the Christmas Cup is until the third act of the movie. So we really want to win it . . . But the audience doesn't know what that made-up competition entails. A bit of a miss in the editing room I think.

It's fun. I recommend you enroll in The Santa Class.

Cast Kudos: Paul Campbell as himself. The Hallmark actor really puts himself out there as himself, researching a role. He references his past rolls in many Christmas movies and is just plain funny.

Measuring Christmas Magic: Santa is real and he's in your class.

Alternative Movie titles: Santa Bootcamp; Santa School is in Session; The forgetful Santa.

I added this 2024 Christmas movie to my Christmas movie marathon without ever having heard about it. Well, truth be told, from the movie's cover, then I wasn't really harboring much of any grand expectations to the movie. Yeah, I know, don't judge a book by its cover.

However, I have to admit that writers Alexandre Coscas, Joseph Kelbley and Russell Hainline really surprised me with the script and storyline that they put together for director Lucie Guest to bring to the screen. It was a refreshing script that didn't dive into the standard tropes of sappy Christmas movies all the way. Sure, there were sappy Christmas movie elements here and there, but in overall, it was actually a good change of pace in terms of Christmas movie storytelling. So thumbs up to the writers for that accomplishment.

I was not familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, and that is actually something I do enjoy when I sit down to watch a movie. And I will say that the acting performances in "The Santa Class" were good.

The character gallery in the movie was nicely written. I definitely enjoyed the offbeat and quirky characters that were training for Santa duty.

If you enjoy Christmas movies and want something that offers more than just your average copy/paste Hallmark sappy Christmas movie formula, then you definitely should take 84 minutes to sit down and watch this movie. I was genuinely and wholeheartedly entertained.

My rating of director Lucie Guest's 2024 movie "The Santa Class" lands on a six out of ten stars.

There might have been a few holes in the plot but I was swept up in this movie. If it weren't for the blasted commercials (and there were a lot), I would have smiled nonstop. There were so many funny lines and situations in this movie that it should be required viewing for people who find it difficult to get into the holiday spirit.

The lead actors, Kimberly and Benjamin, didn't take themselves too seriously and their kisses could literally melt the fake snow.

They had excellent chemistry from the start. I loved the banter in their first scene together. Almost felt like a throw back to the black and white movies of the1930s. It would be fun to see these two in a throw back movie. Maybe one that starred Myrna Loy and William Powell.

Yes, I would watch that.

While there might be a few loose ends hanging in this plot which don't make sense, you can easily forget them. The movie is ridiculously strange and funny, including the includsion of the "real" Santa Claus, who shows up with retrograde amnesia.

A student who mostly talks through a hand puppet? LOL Shades of Billy Crystal on SOAP from decades ago. (And played by Gary Jones from Stargate SG-1 ... great to see him again).

Paul Campbell playing ... HIMSELF! LOL An actor preparing for a Christmas movie role. I can't count the number of Christmas movies he's been in, but it's a lot.

The Santa obstacle course is the bizzare construct of a warped mind, just the kind of mind you want for a writer who's going to give you something different.

And Trever Lerner gives us one of the best Santas in the long history of Christmas movies.

Throw in a little antithetical romance and you have a complete movie. :-)

This is great fun and could well turn into an every year watch.