Dear Santa – A Dated and Unfunny Holiday Dud

Dear Santa, is a new Paramount + original directed by Bobby Farrelly and co-written by his brother Peter aka The Farrelly Brothers. Liam (Smith) is a likeable but nerdy and unpopular sixth grader. However, when Liam who mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error. As a result, Satan (Black) quickly shows up at Liam’s house excited to receive his first fanboy letter, and part of Liam’s soul as he set his sights on wreaking havoc this holiday season. As someone who’s typically much more forgiving on a lot of the films helmed by The Farrelly Brothers, it’s a shame to report that when it comes to this film, it is not only a dud, but also one of the weakest Christmas films in years.

Now there are a lot of reasons why Dear Santa doesn’t work, but the biggest is easily its dated, nonsensical humour that make up the majority of The Farrelly Brothers’ worst films. There isn’t a single laugh to be found here to the point that it is amazing how unfunny, repetitive, and stale it is. Meanwhile, its attempts to be heartfelt feel so cheap and forced. Also, for a Christmas film, it lacks any Christmas spirit or Holiday cheer, which counteracts what it is clearly going for overall. In fact, it is a complete mystery as to who this was made for because at times, the film feels like a PG rated film geared for families or small children, but at others, it features the typically gross out and raunchy Farrelly humour that is clearly not for kids. It may not even get there for some as the satanic nature of its subject matter may rub some audiences the wrong way. Either way, there is no reason why the film needed to be longer than 90-minutes. Running at just under the 110-minute mark, it feels wholly dragged out.

While Black is one of the funniest and talented comedians of this generation, this is not his finest hour. That being said, it’s hard not to love him most of the time as he is undoubtedly giving his all here but even he doesn’t work whatsoever. Though it doesn’t help that he is given some absolutely dreadful material to work and an annoying voice, he is rather grating. It’s never fun to talk negatively about a child actors’ performance but it’s kind of unavoidable here. Hopefully Smith is given more opportunities in the future, as the simple fact of the matter is that he’s horribly miscast as Liam, resulting in a rough performance. Unable to carry the film, this fact is magnified when up against the cast’s more established actors. Boasting a decent supporting cast, they are essentially wasted for the most part, especially Key (Dr. Finklman) and P.J. Byrne (Mr. Charles).

Not to sound hyperbolic, but Dear Santa is arguably the worst film the Farrelly Brothers have ever been attached to, which is a shame as even their worst films have some redeeming qualities about them. The only moderately amusing this about this is Post Malone’s extended sequence a few decently fun cameos. Other than that, there are few Farrelly Brothers films that are less rewatchable and as bland as this. Released almost inconspicuously with little in the way of fanfare or promotion should tell prospective audiences everything they need to know. A film that feels like it was cheaply and quickly made for streaming, it is one that is likely be forgot about within mere days of its streaming release.

still courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/