I needed a break from the Hallmark formula movie and a Christmas movie filmed in New Zealand with an all-NZ cast sounded worth giving it a try. The movie falls within the "burned-out Santa" genera. In this version, Santa has grown very tired of spoiled kids wanting ever more expensive toys. He longs for the days when kids could be happy by the simplicity of Christmas. A few days before December 25th, he decides to turn his back on it all, get in his very-cool looking rocket-sled and fly south to find sunshine and warm weather. Most santas would just go to Florida, but this one makes it to New Zealand where he is shot down by a kid playing with fireworks. After crash landing into the ocean, he changes his name to "Stan" to hide his identity and befriends the kid who shot him down. The kid is camping with his parents who are doing a trial separation but decide to go camping together for the holidays. A NZ border inspector who takes her job way too seriously spends the entire movie hunting for Santa and his crashed sleigh because he might have brought some some fruit flies into the country. While Santa hangs with the family to evade the inspectors, a couple of incidents happen that cause the parents to reconsider their relationship and Santa his purpose. I'll stop there, you can probably guess how this movie will end.
Regarding the movie itself, yes I did get my NZ scenery and actor fix and it was not Hallmark-like. That was refreshing. Characters were one-dimensional and shallow. Storyline was one very long chase scene broken up by some bonding scenes that revolve around a cricket match....never seen that in a Christmas movie before! Laura Daniel's portrayal of the inspector quickly became very tiresome and I just wanted to move on to something else. But in the last 20-ish minutes, Sia Trokenheim and Xavier Horan kicked their acting into second gear and I really started to enjoy their interactions. It salvaged the movie just enough for me to make it to the "meh" ending.
If you are looking for a movie filmed in a place and actors you have never seen, then its probably worth your time to watch for the novelty of it all. Otherwise, you will probably just want to go back to a Hallmark movie.
Regarding the movie itself, yes I did get my NZ scenery and actor fix and it was not Hallmark-like. That was refreshing. Characters were one-dimensional and shallow. Storyline was one very long chase scene broken up by some bonding scenes that revolve around a cricket match....never seen that in a Christmas movie before! Laura Daniel's portrayal of the inspector quickly became very tiresome and I just wanted to move on to something else. But in the last 20-ish minutes, Sia Trokenheim and Xavier Horan kicked their acting into second gear and I really started to enjoy their interactions. It salvaged the movie just enough for me to make it to the "meh" ending.
If you are looking for a movie filmed in a place and actors you have never seen, then its probably worth your time to watch for the novelty of it all. Otherwise, you will probably just want to go back to a Hallmark movie.