What a brilliant premise for a (blackly humorous) Christmas film: A simple twist of letters ensures that a letter with Christmas wishes ends up with Satan in Hell instead of Santa at the North Pole. But anyone who knows a little about the pitfalls of filmmaking knows that a good idea alone is not half the battle for a good script (and certainly not a good film).
“Dear Santa – Devilish Christmas“, which was produced directly for Paramount+, but is also released as a VoD offer on Amazon, for example, is a perfect example of this. And that despite the fact that the brothers Peter Farelly and Bobby Farrelly, who are responsible for comedy classics like “Dumb and Dumber” and “Crazy About Mary,” are working together again here for the first time since “Dumb and Dumber” (2014). Film: Bobby as director, Peter as screenwriter.
» “Dear Santa – Devilish Christmas” available from Amazon from December 18th*
Liam Turner (Robert Timothy Smith) is actually a little too old to still believe in Santa Claus. But because his parents Bill (Hayes MacArthur) and Molly (Brianne Howey) have been constantly arguing since a tragic stroke of fate, he sees Santa as his last chance to possibly save his family. However, Liam suffers from dyslexia – and so he stupidly writes “Satan” instead of “Santa” in the address field of his letter. And because Satan (Jack Black) feels honored that a little boy is writing to him for a change, he soon appears in Liam's closet to grant the sixth grader three wishes – and collect his soul in return…
Satan (Jack Black) is happy that a child has written him a Christmas letter for a change.
Jack Black (“A Minecraft Movie”) owes the Farrelly brothers his first big film hit as a leading actor, “Hell in Love” from 2001 alongside Gwyneth Paltrow. In “Dear Santa” he now simply continues the Bowser cosplay with a slightly different outfit, which he already celebrated extensively during the marketing tour for the animated adventure “The Super Mario Bros. Film” – snappy dance moves from his repertoire Cult band Tenacious D included. Robert Timothy Smith is also well cast because he brings a naturalness and down-to-earthness that is unusual for young Hollywood stars. So it's not the fault of the two that “Dear Santa” quickly gets off track after an initially promising start.
On the one hand, really good gags remain consistently in short supply. Above all, it's difficult to simply let yourself fall into the film, as you sometimes do with mediocre streaming films on a rainy or snowy Sunday afternoon. But “Dear Santa” is far too haphazard in what it actually wants to be. In particular, the guest stars such as Keegan-Michael Key (“Wonka”) as a caricature of a child psychiatrist or PJ Byrne (“The Wolf Of Wall Street”) as an English teacher who profoundly despises Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Story” all seem to be in their very own films to play along. There are dark jokes about made-up cancers next to sweet sermons and random pop culture references: Is “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” still very popular with today's kids? Unfortunately, the chaotic mix never comes together harmoniously.
Liam Turner (Robert Timothy Smith) doesn't let his soul be taken away so easily…
The rules of the Faustian pact, as to exactly how and when Liam would lose his soul forever, remain frustratingly vague, while Satan's “tricks” come across as disappointingly unclever. The very long detour to a pop concert will probably only really keep Post Malone mega-fans (the cuddly bad-boy rapper plays himself) entertained. But things get really bad in the last third, when director Bobby Farrelly (“Champions”) suddenly tries to squeeze emotions out of his audience. In addition, on the home stretch, a dead little brother is pulled out of the bag, who then plays an important (because completely absurd and undeserved) role in one of the most misguided happy endings in Christmas film history.
Conclusion: The initial idea is brilliant and Jack Black is up for being evil (as well as dancing). But it's not just because the unbalanced script is tonally and narratively unfocused that the action quickly loses its appeal. In the end, “Dear Santa – Devilish Christmas” fails to convince either as a biting anti-Christmas comedy or as a sweet Christmas film.