Review: "Get Santa"

First of all, Merry Christmas! This is the last holiday of a horrible year, and for my Christmas Eve movie pick, my brothers and I watched Get Santa, a film about Santa being broken out of prison by a former criminal and his son.

The first thing to note is that the film does look a bit cheap, yes. The camera movements are kind of weird, and the CGI isn't great, either. However, I think it did receive funding from a grant or something, and it isn't meant to be this big blown up $100 million pile of garbage, either.

The story does ring cliches of the whole "dad getting divorced while in jail" thing (sounds familiar? the Ant-Man film came out a year later, in 2015), but the idea for the movie is funny and fresh. Santa causes a ruckus on accident, tries to break out his reindeer, and goes to prison. Steve Anderson, the other protagonist, is a dude who just got out of prison and is about to go back there for trying to get reindeer. Oh yeah, he and his son are also on a chase from the police. So, it's pretty hilarious, although the fart humor isn't my cup of tea.

However, the performances keep this sometimes sinking raft afloat. Jim Broadbent as Santa Claus is a great pick, and Rafe Spall gives a pretty convincing performance as a dude who goes with his gut instead of trying to stay out of trouble, and it works out in the end. Kit Connor is charming as Steve's son Tom, who dragged him along for the whole thing in the first place. Stephen Graham, Warwick Davis, and Nonso Anozie do pretty well as prisoners who have a heart deep down. We even have Jodie Whittaker as Alison, Tom's mom and Steve's ex, who doesn't know what the heck is going on, and Joshua McGuire as Alison's new flame Tony, who helps out in the end and almost gets arrested.

All in all, the film plays it safe and is generally harmless, except for a scene where they play "Straight Outta Compton" while showing off Santa's new prison look. But just because it's harmless doesn't mean it's not good. The film is heartfelt, and although I don't really believe in Santa anymore, this film could possibly convert someone into a believer with its charm.

RATING: 7/10