THE SANTA CLAUSE 2 (2002)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Movies like "Santa Clause 2" either fall flat on their faces and reek of thick layers of sentimentality, or are simply jolly good entertainments with ample sentiment that isn't delivered with a cute music cue every two seconds. "Santa Clause 2" falls in the latter category and retains some if not all of the edgy comic surface of the original.
Tim Allen is once again Scott Calvin, the divorced dad who inadvertently killed Santa Claus and became the new Santa once he wore the magic red coat. As the sequel opens, Santa is in the North Pole, cheerier than ever as he supervises all the elves while they make new toys with interesting contraptions and technological devices (let's just say that wooden blocks and nails are in scant supply). Unfortunately, there is a problem with Scott, something that probably should have been revealed in the original film. According to the clause he endorsed once he put on the Santa suit, he has to marry a woman who will become Mrs. Claus within 28 days or else, no more Santa and no more toys. This begs the question - why wasn't this loophole noticed sooner so he could have more than 28 days to find a bride who would be willing to live in arctic temperatures around all these pesky elves? Well, then we wouldn't have a movie.
Logic takes a leap along with the reindeer in this sequel and that is fine - this movie has plenty of compensatory laughs. One of my favorite lines is from an old yet just as pesky elf (Spencer Breslin) who tells Santa he is undergoing "deSantafication!" Calvin aka Santa loses his beard and his girth, goes back to his previous residence in Anywheresville, America and tries to find a bride (the movie could've had more fun with Calvin going through a string of first-dates rather than just one). Of course, some potentially bawdy humor is levied by Calvin trying to counsel his troubled son who only wants his father, not the current dopey stepdad he has (played by a far too dopey Judge Reinhold). Some of this is layed on a bit thick, not to mention the introduction of a mean principal (Elizabeth Mitchell). I guess you can surmise fairly accurately what happens next.
For what its worth, "Santa Clause 2" is a pleasant, warm, jovial film with a likable performance by Tim Allen, handling a role probably better than expected (look out for the evil Santa double and his enormous toy soldiers!) And to beef up the humor quotient, there is a conference where the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and even Mother Nature attend! There is one scene, however, that is as magical a moment as anything I've seen since, well, any Christmas movie I can recall. Calvin takes his date (won't say whom) for a sleigh ride down a snow-covered street at night. It is so simple, so graceful, so tender that I'd say it is one of the most romantic scenes I've seen in movies.
