Get Santa (2014)

Title: Get Santa
Year of Release: 2014
Available On: Netflix (as of 11/15)
Score: Five out of five Jingle Bells

Secular sentimental holiday movie of my dreams! This movie has everything: realistic (enough) characters, an ex-convict father estranged from his young son, scenes in prison, farting reindeer — “That’s not a communication, that’s a fart” — and, of course, an adventure. Let me just tell you about the most charming Santa on the face of the planet, my new favorite Santa, as played by Jim Broadbent, wearing a jean jacket and in prison. Looking like my father in the 1970s and hipsters everywhere drinking tallboy PBRs.

Ugh, I love him so much. In this scene, newly-incarcerated Santa marches into the prison barber and tells the tale of how he came to be The Santa. The barber, as a favor to the aforementioned ex-convict father, coaches Santa on how to develop a prison persona, “Mad Jimmy Claus,” in order to survive in prison. Above, Santa is practicing snarling, “Get outta me face.”

(Note: there are offensive prison jokes and appropriation of hairstyles for comic relief. Prison is Britain seems much nicer.)

There’s some ingenuity and fun in this movie. I particularly enjoyed the way that Santa’s magic is explained. There’s also an ambitious and talented squirrel to the rescue named “Oswald” and some irony regarding the difference between tunnels and chimneys. It had me smiling throughout.

Get Santa falls solidly into the category of “absentee father reunites with child” (a la The Santa Clause, there’s even a scene where an incredulous ex-wife and police watch the sleigh take off) as opposed to “lonely person finds love at Christmas.” Those are my two favorite categories though! The production is great, costumes are great, actors are well above your average holiday movie. I’m not sure why I hadn’t heard about this movie, honestly, but perhaps it’s the fact that I am a childless 32-year old woman.

Have you seen Get Santa? What are your favorite holidays that I should definitely watch and review this year? I may or may not have developed a spreadsheet.