A Tale Of Two Kringles..."Miracle On 34th Street"

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Not Rated

Starring Edmund Gwynn, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood, John Payne

Directed by

Miracle on 34th Street (1994)

Rated PG

Starring Richard Attenborough, Elizabeth Perkins, Mara Wilson, Dylan McDermott, J. T. Walsh,

The Story:

Mrs. Walker runs the Thanksgiving Day parade for New York's biggest department store. When her Santa turns up drunk, a kindly gentlemen named Kris steps in and becomes Santa Claus. However, Mr. Kringle insists that he is the one and only Kris Kringle, and winds up in court defended by a lawyer who believes in Kris as much as he believes that he loves Mrs. Walker and her daughter, Susan.

Will he be able to pull off the biggest courtroom shocker of all-time?

That pretty much sums up both movies, though for some reason, they insisted on changing Fred Gailey (Payne) to Bryan Bedford (McDermott). Who knows, maybe someone complained that you can't use the name Gailey without offending people?

:)

So naturally, I'm a big fan of the original. I'd say I've seen it at least 20 times or so, it's one that gets played usually every other year or so at the house.

The remake?

I saw it yesterday for the first time.

Nowhere near as bad as I had feared.

Like Macy's, I really wanted nothing to do with this remake whatsoever.

But, it's streaming on Netflix, and Tis the Season and all that. :)

So I watched it, and I smiled at some of the jokes.

The best parts were those that were lifted nearly intact from the first film.

While Kris (Gwynn) doesn't sing in Dutch, Kris (Attenborough) does know sign language and communicates with a deaf girl.

Both are sentimental heart-string moments in their respective versions.

It seems like the updated version very much wanted to make it clear that Darcy (Perkins) and Bryan would date, fall in love, and get married.

Exploring their relationship more was a nice updated touch, but when she spurns him at the end of their date...

That's just a level of spite that makes Mrs. Walker seem utterly cold, and actually rather unlikable.

It seemed too much like this film had to get to the happy ending, and they were determined to make it happen, no matter what came in front of it.

There is no crisis of conscience like in the original when Mrs. Walker (O'Hara) thinks Santa is insane, then realizes her mistake and wants to do anything she can to help.

It's at that point that she truly begins to believe, and I don't feel it in the remake.

Likewise, with Susan (Wood / Wilson) you see her change of heart as the film moves on, until the end when she is heartbroken that Kris isn't Santa, and then elated when she realizes it's him.

The remake, Susan waffles in her emotion in nearly every scene, either looking depressed or elated, with very little range in between.

With both versions of the film, my favorite parts are the courtroom scenes. Both versions contain some great interplay among the characters, and both believable and fun ways in which, yes indeed, the law could very much confirm that Kringle is the real deal.

That said, it seems like they shorten up the newer courtroom scene and just confirm that Santa exists, and Kringle is him.

Oops.

Spoilers.

:)

The original did it in a much more inspired way, but it's hard to beat the original sometimes, so steering clear and trying something new isn't a bad option.

But this is one case where I'll stick with the original, every time.

Final Grades:

1947 - A

1994 - C+

Nothing Says Spring, Quite Like "A Christmas Horror Story"!!!

A Christmas Horror Story - (2015)

Rated R

Starring William Shatner, George Buza,

Directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan

The Story:

4 holiday horror stories intertwine on Christmas Eve as Dangerous Dan (Shatner), a local radio DJ plays some tunes and gets some holiday feelings off his chest.

The first story has some teens break into their school to shoot a documentary about some students that died in that place previously.

Next, there is a family that goes to visit their grandma, but by behaving poorly, unleash Krampus to wreak vengeance upon them.

Third, a couple take their little boy into the woods to chop down the perfect tree. The boy gets separated from his parents, and they find him much later in a hollow tree. He comes home but is acting much, much differently than before.

Finally, Santa is dealing with the zombie apocalypse as the elves have begun to turn and they are hunting him down. It's kill or be killed with Christmas on the line!

First, they were wise in going the anthology route with this film, because none of the stories, at least as written or presented was strong enough to carry a 90 minute horror film.

It is quite possible they could have been fleshed out and expanded, but for an anthology film, this works.

The problem or the best part is, depending on the viewer, is the cutting back and forth between the stories. Some stories are stronger than others and getting pulled out of that story and having to wait 3 turns for the next bit to see what happens next can be annoying.

Or, if you don't mind the switches, it can be the perfect remedy to create suspense where there might not be any.

Nothing too remarkable here to make this a must-see or repeat viewing during the holiday season (Halloween or Christmas) but good enough for at least one go round.

Final Grade: C

What Could Have Been... "I Am Santa Claus"

I Am Santa Claus (2014)

Rated R

Starring Mick Foley, Russell Spice, Jim Stevenson, Santa Claus,

Directed by Tommy Avallone

The Story:

A year in the life of several bearded Santas. Share in their adventures as they count down to the biggest day of their lives, and learn why they do it, and keep the persona,  in many cases, all year round.

This one just seemed like a natural fit for me to watch.

Christmas.
Mick Foley.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters, this documentary presented by Morgan Spurlock rolls into town with an R rating.

So here comes my soapbox:

If you're going to do a documentary about several men who love to be Santa Claus, and they talk about the joy and special feeling to see a child's eyes light up when they talk to them...

Why, oh why, would you make an R rated documentary?

It's not even for the language, though one Santa goes on a profane (drunken) tirade.

No, it seems that it was to include a gay Santa who likes to pose for men and a mentioned just enough to ensure they got an R rating,  President of the Santa Association who is a known swinger.

:: sigh ::

So I'm stuck with a documentary about how cool it is to dress up as Santa to make kids happy, and I can't show it to kids.

Brilliant marketing.

: /

For the most part though, the lives of the Santas are all interesting enough, and Mick Foley is always entertaining.

I would have liked to have enjoyed it more than I did.

I would recommend the superior Becoming Santa documentary instead for the whole family.


Ah well...

Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C/C+ range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Once was plenty.

Welcome To December, The Time of Year We All Start "Becoming Santa"

Ho Ho Ho my goodness!

The Story:

Jack Sanderson has not been feeling the Christmas spirit since his parents passed away.  He finds a picture of his father dressed as Santa taken after his mom had passed, and he wondered if maybe dressing up as the jolly fat man might rekindle his spirit.  So Jack is about to embark on an adventure of going to Santa School and becoming a symbol of the holidays for the holiday season.

Jack's world is about to change.

This is a double-documentary, squeezed into one presentation.  Normally I've complained about that before, but in this instance, it not only works, but it works really well as it helps complete both stories that are being told.

Naturally, we have Jack's story.  I had no idea that there were Santa Schools out there, but indeed there are, and they take their training seriously.

So we follow his adventures as he goes to school, gets a suit and gets ready to play the part.

Along the way we meet many, many other "Santas", and you find out that some of these people don't just do it at Christmas, they are "on" all year round keeping the spirit of Christmas and St. Nicholas alive all year round.

This may cause you to question their sanity, but watching the documentary, you should warm to them and why they do what they do.

Interspersed with Jack's tale, and that of meeting these other Santas, you will be taken on a journey through the life and legend of St. Nicholas to the arrival of the legend of Santa Claus as the world knows him.

You'll get the whos, whens, whats and whys for the creation of the legend to the point where we know him now.

It's a pretty enjoyable ride.

Naturally, if you're a Grinch who hates Christmas, this is not the documentary for you!

For all others, give it a spin, it's pretty fun!

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I don't know if this will join the list of annual movies/shows that get watched during the Holiday season, but I could see revisiting this every few years.