Long-time Santa Robert George has set up his home like he's the real Santa Claus all year around. He invites everybody to visit. The kids believe again. City attorney Elizabeth Gates (Shelley Long) fights bad developers and plans to run for mayor. Her hard-hitting reporter boyfriend Frank Mallory (Barry Bostwick) does a story on the Santa house and it becomes a popular destination. The neighbors are not happy and Elizabeth is bombarded with complaints.
Elizabeth's character doesn't make sense. I can accept that she is so clueless that she can shut down Santa. Once that happens, she should be working overtime to smooth over the situation. It can be excused by the big reveal but that only makes her original shutdown much more reckless. That scene needs more to set up the eventual reveal. Maybe she can recognize him at the last minute and sends in a cop to do the deed. She needs to sell that moment. In the end, the solution should be easy despite the family dysfunction. If he needs to be Santa, set him up in City Hall and get him out of the neighborhood. Non of this story makes political sense. With some rewrites, this premise could work but it needs a lot of fixing.
Elizabeth's character doesn't make sense. I can accept that she is so clueless that she can shut down Santa. Once that happens, she should be working overtime to smooth over the situation. It can be excused by the big reveal but that only makes her original shutdown much more reckless. That scene needs more to set up the eventual reveal. Maybe she can recognize him at the last minute and sends in a cop to do the deed. She needs to sell that moment. In the end, the solution should be easy despite the family dysfunction. If he needs to be Santa, set him up in City Hall and get him out of the neighborhood. Non of this story makes political sense. With some rewrites, this premise could work but it needs a lot of fixing.