The Santa Clause 2

Movie Title: The Santa Clause 2
Official Website (it might still work): The Santa Clause 2
Rating (out of 10): 7
Reviewed By: Michael Stevens
Buy the: Video/DVD \| Soundtrack
The Review:

It looks like Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor, Tim Allen, might get his movie career back on track with the sequel to his box office hit, 1994’s The Santa Clause. Allen can only hope he is able to guide The Santa Clause 2 to the same heights of success and avoid the disastrous box office results of his more recent films like Big Trouble and Joe Somebody. Granted, he has had hits like Galaxy Quest and Toy Story 1 & 2 since the first Santa movie, but Hollywood is about what have you done for me lately. And judging by the crowd reaction, Allen just might return to his old form.

The story goes a little something like this: Scott Calvin (Allen) is still Santa Claus, only it is eight years later and his son Charlie (Eric Lloyd) has hit puberty and has discovered the joys and trepidations of women. To impress the opposite sex (and hopefully attract them), Scott goes on a rampage against his school's principal, Carol Newman (Elizabeth Mitchell, Nurse Betty). This lands Charlie on Santa's "naughty" list, thus alerting Scott that he needs to head south to straighten out his boy only weeks before his own big day, Christmas. But before he takes off, head elf Bernard (David Krumholtz, Two Can Play That Game) and number two elf Curtis (Spencer Breslin, Return to Never Land) inform Scott of the second Santa clause, a clause that requires the wearer of the suit to get married, and what is more, Scott has only until this upcoming Christmas to get hitched. So now Scott has to head home to find out what is wrong with Scott, and find himself a bride. His ex-wife Laura (Wendy Crewson, The 6th Day) tries to help and first sets Scott up with a Christmas psycho-fan (Molly Shannon, The Wedding Planner) that provides a great laugh in a twisted Xmas version of Shania Twain's "Man I Feel Like a Woman" song. Obviously, this relationship does not workout, so Scott must look elsewhere, and that elsewhere ends up taking him to Charlie's principal Newman. At first, these two do not like one another, but as Scott throws out the charm and magic, she starts to like Scott, but the question remains, will she love Santa? Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, Bernard, Scott and Curtis created a duplicate, plastic Santa to run things in Scott's absence. In the beginning things go well, but soon this plastic Santa runs amuck and takes over the North Pole operations using an army of large toy soldiers (he thinks all children are not nice and should receive lumps of coal in their stockings). So, can Scott figure out Charlie, get the babe, reclaim his throne, and save Christmas? You'll see, but remember, he does have the help of Mother Nature (Aisha Tyler), The Sandman (Michael Dorn), Father Time (Peter Boyle), Cupid (Kevin Pollak), the Easter Bunny (Jay Thomas), and the Tooth Fairy (Art La Fleur).

A few other actors to note in this Michael Lembeck directed film are Judge Reinhold, Andrew Stone, Liliana Mumy, Nicole Leroux, Danielle Woodman, Bryce Hodgson, and Nicola Anderson.

The Santa Clause 2 is meant for the kids, but turns out to not be boring for the adults. Tim Allen still seems to play the same character that brought him to fame, but then again no one ever said he was a great actor. Some nice special effects, but no nudity. All-in-all, a solid seven couches out of ten.