“I Have an Odd Craving for Milk and Cookies.”
Going strictly based on plot descriptions, The Santa Class sounded like something that could be fun. And there were elements that were fun. However, the lack of focus really hurt this Hallmark Christmas movie.
Kate (Kimberley Sustad) has just taken over a Santa school from her father. Yes, North Star Santa Academy does just what it sounds like, trains people to play Santa Claus at Christmas. It’s been his life long passion project/career, and she’s worked with him to support him, but she really doesn’t have the passion for it. Factor in that the school is failing, and she really doesn’t know what she’s going to do.
She’s got one class before Christmas this year, and it is make or break. Desperate, she agrees to let Dan (Benjamin Ayres) help with this group. He’s been rated the best, after all. But with the misfit group of Santas they have, do they have any chance of beating their rival? Oh, and what’s up with the mysterious Nick (Trevor Lerner) the two found on the side of the road?
Yes, this is the first movie I’ve watched this year with the person who is probably Santa trope. I know it can be overdone, but here I found it lots of fun.
But Nick is just one of the oddball students enrolled in this class. Probably the most fun for me was Hallmark staple Paul Campbell playing himself trying to get into character for a part. Lots of great lines and in jokes.
Alone, each of the students had their moments and were fun. Combined, they were a bit much. I found their odd behaviors to get old in a hurry. They also introduced too many people for us to care about and too many story arcs that needed to be followed. That took away from the main story.
Yes, things were rushed as a result. I felt like we rushed from one story point to another without time to really see characters react or try to figure out how best to deal with what they were doing. The end result was that I didn’t care that much about the outcome.
I’m not blaming the actors for this, who all do a good job of bringing their characters to life. It’s the writing that lets them down.
In the end, The Santa Class definitely had its fun moments, but overall, this is just an average movie.
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