The Santa Legacy
Connor (Jesse Hutch - Snowmance) is an old fashioned kind of guy who is involved in the toy industry, although his love of traditional wooden toys flies in the face of the computer games the company he works for favours. But as an old fashioned guy when he decides he wants to propose to his girlfriend Holly (Laura Bell Bundy - The Christmas Calendar) he wants to do it right and ask her father's permission. What Holly hasn't told Connor is that when she says her parents live up North she really means it as her parents are in fact Mr. & Mrs. Claus (Michael Gross & Meredith Baxter). But that is not the only surprise in store for Connor as he discovers Holly's ex was Jack Frost (Tony Cavalero - Naughty or Nice) and whoever marries Holly, well it means becoming Santa is on the cards.
Take "Meet the Parents" but make the parents Mr. & Mrs. Claus and have the daughter trying to keep who they are a secret from her boyfriend and what you have is "Becoming Santa". As such we have Connor trying to make a good impression but not always getting it right, whilst Jack Frost tries to get back in to Holly's life whilst sabotaging Connor. But rather than keeping it simple we also have the typical aspect of Holly trying to hide who her parents, and on top of that the novel consequence of what marriage to Holly would mean. It is a combination which means "Becoming Santa" is familiar but with just enough variation and comedy to stop it from being too similar to other movies.
But like with many a made for TV Christmas movie "Becoming Santa" is as much about the vibe of the movie as to what goes on and this has the vibe. The cast is extremely likeable and the North Pole sets, from the huge Christmas tree smothered in decorations to the log cabins, it delivers the look. It also has a lot of family friendly fun built around visual comedy which in my book is exactly what this sort of family movie needs even if that means for some "Becoming Santa" could end up incredibly cheesy.
What this all boils down to is that "Becoming Santa" is a bit of family friendly fun for the festive season with plenty of humour for all ages. Okay so it isn't a classic and not a movie you will feel a burning desire to watch every year but it does entertain and put you in the Christmas mood.
Tags: TV Christmas Movies, Santa Claus, Christmas Movies
