The Santa Switch

An out of work travel agent (Ethan Erickson, I'd never heard of him either) on the brink of divorce gets more than he bargained for when he angrily renounces Christmas and Santa Claus challenges him to do better. Next thing he knows, St Nick's left for a tropical vacation while Erickson had been given all his Christmas magic and and Bank of the North Pole credit card which somehow works with with all retailers big and small (there's a credit limit, Christmas magic doesn't extend as far as an American Express Platinum card apparently) and is charged with the task of getting the sled and toys ready for the Christmas eve flight. Using his ability to create snow, hot chocolate and candy canes with the wave of a hand, he proceeds to shit the bed by focusing on reconciling with his wife and winning the favor of his two estranged kids, while drawing the ire but helpful support of Santa's suit and bluetooth headset sporting head elf, played by Sean Astin. These Christmas movies don't focus on divorce very often, and the idea of winning back the Mrs and pulling his family back together is actually somewhat refreshing amid the sea of thigh sweating strangers. After spending most of his life in the movies and drawing praise for his part of one of cinema history's biggest franchise (Lord Of The Rings, if you've been hiding in a cave) Astin probably didn't expect to end up playing second fiddle in made for tv fare (evidently his career didn't get over the Fellowship Of The Ring Oscar snub, but no doubt it beats doing another Adam Sandler movie), but he gives it his all and ends up lending some good support. There's even an amusing nod to another faction of the holiday season when he says "Oye vais," explaining, "I'm part Chanukah Elf on my mother's side). Plus there's some amusing moments when Erickson uses his experience as a travel agent to plan the routes of Kris Kringle's sleigh ride. Santa is played by Donovan Scott, something of a reprise after taking on the role in Matchmaker Santa, though he's underutilized here. And anything with the guy who played the accountant obsessed with Ben on Parks And Recreation (a show who's connection slightly improves anything) can't be all that bad. Nausea factor moderate. Christmas factor high. MSG approved.