I'm a sucker for both a cheesy rom-com and a cheesy Xmas movie, but this veers off into Xmas rom-com bizarro world. Then again I'm also a sucker for movies that veer off into bizarro world, so...
Much of the plot of Santa Girl makes very little sense and some of the actors appear to be playing in very different worlds (I'm pretty sure Hank Stone is working in a low budget horror flick here, which I'd kinda like to see). However, it is a production largely generated by students, working with more experienced actors and filmmakers, and for that I give points for effort and a level of quality that is not entirely expected. I love the concept of students getting the opportunity to work on something of this scale, something that lands on Netflix no less.
So there's good and bad here. And then there's Pep(!) for the moments of great.
I've watched this twice, just for the character Pep, as played so vivaciously by McKayla Witt. Funny, quirky, adorable and genuinely relatable; Witt provides much needed grounding here in her first feature. It's a manic pixie role for sure, but she's playing an elf so that's only fair. For me she steals the film and raises it above what it might otherwise have been. I look forward to many dazzling lead roles to come for this bright and talented actress.
Overall it's a hot mess, but that's still better than just being a mess. And congrats to all the students that took part. Oh, and kudos to Barry Bostwick for taking it all so seriously. I mean that sincerely, Barry Bostwick never phones his roles in, even when the material might make it reasonable for him to do so. Bostwick doesn't always get the credit, but he always puts in the work.
Much of the plot of Santa Girl makes very little sense and some of the actors appear to be playing in very different worlds (I'm pretty sure Hank Stone is working in a low budget horror flick here, which I'd kinda like to see). However, it is a production largely generated by students, working with more experienced actors and filmmakers, and for that I give points for effort and a level of quality that is not entirely expected. I love the concept of students getting the opportunity to work on something of this scale, something that lands on Netflix no less.
So there's good and bad here. And then there's Pep(!) for the moments of great.
I've watched this twice, just for the character Pep, as played so vivaciously by McKayla Witt. Funny, quirky, adorable and genuinely relatable; Witt provides much needed grounding here in her first feature. It's a manic pixie role for sure, but she's playing an elf so that's only fair. For me she steals the film and raises it above what it might otherwise have been. I look forward to many dazzling lead roles to come for this bright and talented actress.
Overall it's a hot mess, but that's still better than just being a mess. And congrats to all the students that took part. Oh, and kudos to Barry Bostwick for taking it all so seriously. I mean that sincerely, Barry Bostwick never phones his roles in, even when the material might make it reasonable for him to do so. Bostwick doesn't always get the credit, but he always puts in the work.