It’s Christmas time again and Santa is unbelievably busy in the new film “The Santa Clause 3.” Caught between his many other responsibilities, including entertaining the in-laws, conquering Jack Frost and preparing for Baby Clause, Santa’s production is falling behind for his biggest day of the year.
Santa Clause (Tim Allen) and Mrs. Clause (Elizabeth Mitchell) are expecting their first baby, and to help with the process Santa brings up her in-laws. In keeping with the secret code, the in-laws Sylvia (Ann-Margret) and Bud (Alan Arkin) Newman are led to believe they are going to Canada, not the North Pole. Along for the ride is Santa’s Niece Lucy Miller (Liliana Mumy) and ex-wife Laura Miller (Wendy Crewson) and her husband Neil Miller (Judge Reinhold.)
Santa is learning how to run the North Pole, get ready for Christmas, entertain the guests, and maintain control during the chaos. His task appears impossible and gets infinitely worse with the introduction of Jack Frost (Martin Short.) Frost tries every trick in the book, from setting the kitchen on fire to freezing people and the machinery necessary for making the toys. The motivation for all this mischief stems from Frost’s greed. Within the North Pole is a hall of snow globes, one for every Santa that ever existed. Theoretically, if Santa can’t take being Father Christmas anymore, all he has to do is hold onto his globe and say, “I wish I never become Santa Clause,” and everything goes away, or rather, back to normal. Frost devises a plan for Santa, which when carried out, will ensure his takeover of the North Pole, allowing him to open an amusement park in lieu of the toy factory.
Though the film follows two rather successful movies, this third installment in “The Santa Clause” trilogy doesn’t do the set justice. The plot is far too chaotic and important things happen too quickly. Some events are difficult for audience members to swallow; since when does Santa have kids? On Nytimes.com, Manohla Dargis said, “Since there’s little drama to be wrung from a character as clean as Clause, the story cooked up by Ed Decter and John J. Strauss turns on the kind of message that could fit on the inside of a store-bought greeting card, essentially: Families are special, and you are, too.” However, if this sort of thing appeals to the Plymouth community, it’s not too late to catch it at the Spinelli’s Cinema on Main Street.