Tim Allen reprises his role as Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, but don’t get too excited about the trilogy’s finale – you won’t want to see this film under your Christmas tree.
In Clause 3, Calvin must deal with trouble at the North Pole in the form of his in-laws and the disgruntled Jack Frost (Martin Short, Primetime Glick). With Calvin’s wife, Mrs. Claus (Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost), nine months pregnant and feeling lonely only a few days before Christmas, he decides to fly her parents in to keep her company. The only problem is they cannot find out that Scott Calvin is Santa Claus, or that they are at the North Pole.
Santa’s head elf, Curtis (Spencer Breslin, Zoom) and his team of elves decide to trick the in-laws into believing that the North Pole is actually Canada. Meanwhile, the Legendary Council – which includes such characters as the Sandman, Father Time and Mother Nature – holds an emergency meeting at the North Pole. It turns out Jack Frost has been trying to one-up Santa by making snow fall in tropical areas and freezing volcanoes; the council wants to suspend his membership, but after some begging from Frost, they decide to allow him to help out at the North Pole.
But as soon as Frost is given the opportunity, he sabotages the operation, putting Christmas – and Calvin’s marriage – in doubt. After tricking Calvin into using the little known “Escape Clause,” he becomes Santa, and Calvin must find a way to get his job back to save Christmas.
The G-rated movie suffers from poor acting and lame jokes. While a step up from The Shaggy Dog, Allen still seems to do only second-rate children’s movies. Additionally, the movie seems old-fashioned when compared to the recent wave of computer-animated kid’s movies. While the movie does appeal to its target audience, the only reason college kids would want to see it is to finish off the trilogy that started in 1994, when most students were still mystified by Santa.
Occasionally, the movie does provide some nice nostalgia, such as when Calvin and Frost travel back in time to the beginning of the first movie, in which Calvin inadvertently kills the real Santa Claus. After putting on his coat, Calvin is transformed into the new Santa. Other highlights of the movie include some funny shots of the Canadians and the “Red Deer” machine, which is a play on Red Bull energy drink.
But the film suffers most from Frost’s character, who is obnoxious and tedious, especially during his terrible rendition of “New York, New York.” As Calvin’s assistant Curtis, Breslin is also annoying and takes up too much screen time.
The movie could have benefited from more time with Calvin’s son, Charlie (Eric Lloyd), who has grown up since the original movie. Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson, The Covenant), Calvin’s ex-wife, and her husband, Neil (Judge Reinhold, Crab Orchard), also turn in good performances, but are under-utilized in the film. Their daughter Lucy (Liliana Mumy, Cheaper by the Dozen 2) is a focal point of the movie, but instead of coming across as the cute, Christmas-saving heroine, she comes across as the greedy, red-headed stepchild.
Overall, Clause 3 feels tedious and forced, wastes long periods of time on dull scenes and is predictable the whole way through. Take your kid brother or sister, but don’t expect to have a good time yourself.
Contact reporter Jason Koebler at diversions@dbk.umd.edu.
