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SYNOPSIS:
As Christmas nears, Scott Calvin invites his in-laws to join
the festivities. The holidays take a chaotic turn when Scott
discovers a way out of his "Santa Claus" and the
mischievous Jack Frost puts the big freeze on Christmas' big
cheese! Unless Scott can save the day, it's going to be a
very chilly Frostmas at the North Pole and all around the
world. Will Scott be able to get his job back in the St Nick
of time?
MOVIE REVIEW:
You
know that a comedy is bad when you laugh the loudest at the
blooper reel at its end credits. Believe it or not, there
is actually a second sequel to this somewhat inane Christmas
movie that was first introduced made a shocking 13 years ago.
And you should know better than to think that this is a funny
movie when the local distributors did not even schedule it
for a theatrical release.
Tim Allen
reprises his role as Scott Calvin, a man who was given the
noble role of taking over Santa Clause’s job after a
freak accident. In this third movie, he has to please his
in-laws and prevent Jack Frost from taking over Christmas.
Somehow,
plots like that have become tiresome and the only things that
can salvage such a movie from becoming a yawn-fest are its
script and its cast. The script isn’t too cleverly written,
with unfunny dialogues such as “You're not Santa anymore.
You're just the guy who smells like a cookie.” and “You
get the Coca-Cola cans, you get the TV specials and what do
I get? A few runny noses and some dead citrus.” We didn’t
think you’d be chuckling too loudly at these lines.
As much
as we like Allen (Wild Hogs, The Shaggy Dog), he just doesn’t
deliver any memorable comic chops in this bland flick. Playing
Jack Frost is Saturday Night Fever alum Martin Short (Treasure
Planet, The Prince of Egypt), who gets credit for trying really
hard to ham the villainous character up with his flamboyant
antics. But the comedian just doesn’t leave any impression
at the end of the flick.
There
are some decent computer effects in this holiday movie, in
scenes where fairy dust are beautifully sprinkled and snow
globes magically come to life. These are not extraordinary
by any means, but they still managed to conjure the festive
spirit in us.
Like many
other Christmas movies, there are usual themes like sharing
and caring without being a scrooge, as well as spreading the
joy and warmth of the festive season. Forget these fuzzy messages,
we have seen them elsewhere before. And although it tries
to inject some hilarity, it doesn’t help that the half-baked
jokes do not come through either.
That’s
when you realize that the short blooper reel at the end of
the 92-minute movie is the funniest.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
At first glance, the bonus features included on this Code
3 DVD look plentiful. However, they don’t make up for
the badness of the movie. Besides, other than the full-length
audio commentary, the rest of the clips are rather short and
unsubstantial.
Audio
Commentary with director Michael Lembeck –
You wonder whether the filmmaker really had to record this
commentary. He goes straight into the facts without any fluff:
17 tons of white limestone sand was used for the snow, and
1.5 tons of salt was used for texture. The audition process
for the elves originated with 5000 kids, then 1000, then 500.
At any one time, only 275 were brought on location for the
shoot.
Blooper Reel – In this merrily-edited
three-minute clip, you see the cast having real fun as they
forget their lines and giggle at every mistake made. You wonder
whether the crew was as amused as them.
Alternate
Opening – This four-minute segment introduces
the background of Allen’s character with footages from
the 1994 movie. We’d prefer this version actually.
Jack
Frost and Mrs. Claus: A Very Different Look –
A part of the budget probably went to this little boo-boo.
Short’s character underwent an image revamp a few days
after shooting commenced. Apparently, his original fluffy
image wasn’t menacing enough for a villain. Similarly,
Elizabeth Mitchell’s Mrs. Claus was originally plump,
but the filmmakers decided to make her attractive after shooting
begun. You’ll get to see the before-and-afters in this
four-minute featurette.
The
New Comedians: On the Set with Tim Allen and Marty
– Here, you’d see Allen and Short being cheeky
on the film set. It was amusing initially in this three-minute
clip, but it soon became silly.
Creating
Movie Magic: Visual Effects Secrets, From the Hall of Snow
Globes to Santa’s Fireplace – Check out
how the scene at the Hall of Snow Globes was shot with a green
screen before the computer artists added the touch of magic
in this four-minute clip. Santa’s fireplace which resembles
his face is digitally-created too.
Christmas
Carol-oke – The six-minute video featuring
scenes from all the three movies is a medley of Christmas
carols like Jingle Bells, Joy to the World and Deck the Halls.
Music
Video – Performed by Aly and AJ, this three-minute
music video entitled “Greatest Time of the Year”
is somewhat too poppy for a Christmas song.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The visual transfer is crisp enough to bring out the sparkly
effect of the holiday movie. There are options of 5.1 Dolby
Digital English, Spanish and Portuguese and 2.0 Surround Thai.
No matter what language it is, Santa’s “ho-ho-ho”
would always be the same.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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