It takes a lot to become a true Christmas classic. Mr. St. Nick just doesn’t have any of it. The story of a reluctant Santa Claus was done with much funnier results in the Tim Allen The Santa Clause films. Kelsey Grammer can be a very fine comedic actor as his stints in Cheers and Frasier have more than proven. The problem here is the material is old and tired and Grammer never seems to be able to decide on a tone for the film. I’m a fan of just simple fun, but this film never really takes me on a good ride. Hallmark has a reputation for good clean family value filmmaking. Mr. St. Nick certainly fits that profile. There just simply isn’t any life here.
Audio
This DVD offers a relatively bland Dolby Digital 2.0 track Dialogue is pretty well understood, but that’s about all that can be said here.
Video
Mr. St. Nick is presented in a Full Frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The best part of this film is the transfer. Colors are extremely rich. The condition of the print is flawless. Blacks are deeper than one would expect from this kind of effort. Animation f/x are brilliant and bold in color and texture.
Special Features
Short Q&A sessions with several of the cast and crew don’t reveal much of interest.An amusing ethics quiz will tell you if you’ve been naughty or nice. Additional Hallmark trailers round out this DVD package.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes I wonder if the market hasn’t gotten too flooded with cute Christmas films. It seems every year there are more newcomers than the one before. Is it any wonder that the most beloved entries are still the older classics? With a handful of exceptions (A Christmas Story and A Nightmare Before Christmas) films like Mr. St. Nick lack a certain … Christmas Spirit. This one’s an OK rental, but overall “This is some bad mojo”.
