Ep1054: There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia: Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
'Tis the season for re-evaluating controversial and/or forgotten Christmas movies!
Last week, we looked at Love Actually, and on our last installment of "There's No Stalgia Like Nostalgia" of 2024, Ian and Pat unwrap Jeannot Szwarc's notorious 1985 flop, Santa Claus: The Movie!
Produced by the super-team that brought us the Superman franchise, this highly publicized and little-seen would-be blockbuster gives jolly ol' Saint Nick a full-on comic book movie origin story--complete with bestowing of powers, a power-mad villain, and a quest to restore decency to a world gone wrong. David Huddleston plays the titular gift-giver; John Lithgow shows up half-way through the proceedings as a maniacal, corrupt toy tycoon; and Dudley Moore co-stars as an unappreciated rogue elf named Patch.
This saccharine Mickey D's-and-Coke-sponsored epic failed to connect with US audiences, but found a massive fanbase in the UK. In today's spoilerific episode, the guys assess Santa Claus's effectiveness as a holiday movie, as a movie in general, and as an attempt to bring dimension to a holiday character that doesn't exactly scream "pathos"!
Also, Pat talks about his upcoming performance in A Judy Christmas, which returns to Chicago's Den Theatre This Friday (see below for tickets)!
Subscribe, like, and comment on Kicking the Seat here on YouTube, and check us out at:
Show Links
Watch the Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) trailer.
Get tickets for your new favorite holiday tradition, A Judy Christmas (starring Pat!), opening this weekend at Chicago's Den Theatre!
Listen to the episode that started it all: our review of 1963's The Judy Garland Christmas Show!
As mentioned in the show, we didn't get to our annual JFK-movie show in November--but you can listen to Pat's interview with Stephen Fagin, curator of The Sixth Floor Museum!
Keep up with Pat at HollywoodChicago.com.
Listen to Pat's movie reviews on the radio at STAR 96.7.
