Eight years after the original film, THE SANTA CLAUSE 2 hit theatres, dropping a lot more family laughs down the chimney in a routine, but very enjoyable holiday sequel.
Nearly a decade after becoming Santa in the original film, Scott Calvin has settled nicely into his year-round tasks as St. Nick.
As the film opens, his elves inform him of a small clause in his agreement, that if he doesn’t get married by midnight on Christmas Eve, he will no longer be Santa.
After a failed dinner with Molly Shannon as a VERY outgoing blind date (Shannon is hilarious and perfectly cast) Scott begins to wonder where he will ever meet someone in less than a month.
Meanwhile, his son Charlie has grown up and is constantly getting in trouble at school, falling under the evil eye of his strict but beautiful principal Carol (Elizabeth Mitchell from “Lost”).
Scott, along with Charlie’s mom and stepdad Neil (Judge Reinhold in a welcome return from the original) try to get to the bottom of Charlie’s troubles.
The chemistry between Scott and Carol starts off as a battle, but quickly turns into something else…hmmmm….28 days and counting Santa!!
At the North Pole, a duplicate version of Scott made by the elves pretends to be in charge, but like that damn Terminator supercomputer, gets a little big for his jumbo red pants and starts turning the North Pole into a dictatorship with giant wooden soldiers as his enforcer squad.
Allen plays this Toy Santa with a lot of humor and menace, building to a great faceoff against himself in the finale.
Aisha Tyler is a lot of fun as Mother Nature, as are Art LaFluer as the Tooth Fairy constantly looking for a more macho name, Peter Boyle as Father Time and Kevin Pollak as Cupid. Jay Thomas completes the holiday squad as the Easter Bunny, along with a very sleepy Michael Dorn as the Sandman.
Fun, fast and enjoyable, it doesn’t break any ground as a sequel, but delivers plenty of Christmas entertainment season after season.
“Toy Story” fans will love Toy Santa’s line, "You are a sad, strange little man," while fighting Scott. It’s a fun reference to the same line spoken by Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, also played by Tim Allen.
With $173 million at the box office against a $65 million budget, the film’s success guaranteed a third installment four years later.
SANTA CLAUS 2 delivers a sack full of holiday family laughs and gets a B.
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