The Santa Clause 2

In a Nutshell: Perfectly pleasant, but a little hit and miss. The original is better.

Quick Plot: When we last left Scott Calvin, he had become Santa Claus by virtue of the first "Santa Clause." However, his elvin help forgot to mention the second clause, which states that he must get married, or he ceases to be Santa, and he only has 28 days to find a wife. He must hurry! The "de-Santa-fication" process has already begun.

In Detail: I love the original "The Santa Clause" movie, and amazingly, the entire cast returned. I do wish I had been able to see it again before we went to see the sequel, but I had to make due without. (And I can't go buy it now because it's too close to Christmas. Sheesh!) Perhaps the original isn't as wonderful as I remember, but this movie didn't fully live up. It was fine, good for kids, but it just seemed to be missing something. I think it was the sense of wonder as you watched Tim Allen follow a pretty strong character arc from Mr. Businessman to Santa, discovering the intricacies of the North Pole along the way. The scenes where he is back "on earth" are pretty good (better in the wife department than the son department), but the scenes with the substitute Santa (left to keep the elves working) felt strained, and I didn't find them especially funny. I know part of the point was that he only had 28 days to find a wife, but the whole movie felt a bit rushed. Some touching moments, and a great scene with the council of "other mythical beings," but it just wasn't the same, or even as good, as the original. Again, perfectly fine, but not great. Trekkies, keep your eyes open!

Will I Buy It? Perhaps when I'm in the market for films my kids can watch that I don't mind watching, we'll invest in this one, but I don't predict us picking it up before then.