By Geno McGahee
It’s difficult to go wrong with Kurt Russell. He is an actor that can do any genre and do it well and even though when I saw him in his Santa gear for the Netflix original movie “THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES”, I was not optimistic that it would be good, he came through like a true Kurt Russell would.
Kate (Darby Camp) is a young girl that is going through a lot. She lost her father and has lost her connection with her brother, Teddy (Judah Lewis), who is in his own misery since losing their dad. Teddy has turned to a life of petty crime and is very cold to Kate and there is little hope for the two to be the close brother-sister combo they once were until something strange happens. While reviewing an old home movie with her dad, she notices a quick shot of a hand putting a present near the tree, proving that Santa is real.
Through a little bribery, Kate teams up with Teddy and sets up traps to prove the existence of Santa (Kurt Russell). The plan works and Kate starts taping Santa and following him outside. The two climb into the sleigh and hide, leading to a distraction that sends the entire thing crashing and allowing the reindeer to run away. Santa is now trapped in Chicago with Kate and Teddy and they are both amazed by the situation. They ask him to say “Ho Ho Ho” and Santa calls it “fake news”. It was hilarious. This movie is so full of really funny moments from start to finish, but this line stands out as one of the funniest.
Santa must now retrieve his reindeer, his sack, and make Christmas happen, but it’s not easy. They go to a diner and despite Santa knowing private information about every patron, none of them believe he is the real deal and nobody will lend him a car. So, they steal a car, leading to some more very funny moments. Kate gets out to find the reindeer and Santa is arrested by the cops.
Kate and Teddy are on their own now and both start to open up about the loss of their father. The situation is healing their relationship and both Camp and Lewis are tremendous in their roles. They locate the reindeer and Santa’s sack in the bad part of town. Kate climbs in and ends up at the North Pole while Teddy is kidnapped by some bad guys. Typically CGI elves would upset me, but these were done really well and they all had great personalities.
Santa is locked up and converts the inmates into a rocking holiday band, which brought back the Elvis in Kurt Russell. It was another great moment in the film as the hookers became his backup singers and the bad guys were suddenly able to play instruments. Russell was absolutely hilarious in this scene and you could tell just how much fun he had with this role. It was very amusing. Santa breaks out and teams back up with his human helpers to try to save the holiday, leading to some more moments of revelation for the brother-sister combo.
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES is an instant classic. It mixes comedy with drama with action and relies on a perfect cast with great performances across the board. This was done so well and was written incredibly well. I can’t recommend this one enough. If you have Netflix, this is one you want to check out to get you into the spirit!
