Monday, December 11, 2023

'Tis the Season - Santa Games (2022)



Streaming Service: Hulu
Movie Name/Year: Santa Games (2022)
Genre: Comedy
Length: 1h 30min
Rating: Unrated
Director: Keoni Waxman
Actors: Marquez Jackson, Faizon Love
 
Blurb from IMDb: When the manager of a mall where Santa Charles work decides to replace him, he asks to find his replacement. When this ad goes viral, the interview process becomes a series of tasks and challenges leading to an all-out competition.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
Holiday films are usually good fun for the whole family – at least the ones that aren’t horror. Since I was trying to avoid rom-coms this season, I thought leaning into the family aspect for some flicks would be a good way to do that.
 
Unfortunately, Santa Games was not the best pick.
 
The premise of the film made me smile when I came across it, so it was an easy add for the schedule. I knew it was going to be a low-budget flick, so I had my expectations ready for exactly that. Even still, it wasn’t good.
 
In the first ten minutes of Santa Games there had to have been about 20 fat jokes.
 

Now, I grew up in the 80s. I can handle fat jokes. They were woven into pretty much all the media at the time. Some of those films/shows I still go back and watch today. The problem is that not one of the jokes in Santa Games was funny. In fact, it was mostly the main character repeating, “was that a fat joke” over and over again. That’s not even creative.
 
As the movie progressed, it didn’t get better. Most scenes had the exact same annoying musical background that got overly repetitive.
 
There was only one scene in Santa Games that I kind of liked. It was a little after the half hour mark, between the main character and his nephew. It was a good scene, meant for a better film, with better acting.
 
It’s a shame. With the premise and the setting of Santa Games, a little more creativity could have made it a good film. Instead, it feels wasted.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 56%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 3.7/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating 1.5/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: PG
 
P.S. Some scenes during the credits.

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