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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2020 film The Santa Squad.
Story
The movie was the first half of The Sound of Music or Jayne Eyre: nice lady comes into the house and shows the lonely father how to have fun while bringing joy to the kids. There didn’t seem to be enough of a motivation for the two leads to not get together and so the obstacles in the third act felt really convoluted.
Score: 0
Characters
The main female lead was so perfectly dressed and made up to be the mean girl that it took me a little to get to like her. Once I got past my preconceptions, she was extremely likeable and the chemistry between the leads was impressive.
We found the movie because we like Aaron Ashmore so it was no surprise that he was great.
I liked the autistic coded kids that were never treated as being lesser.
Score: 1
Dialogue
I was surprised by the kids’ dialogue, it felt refreshingly normal. The rest was what you’d expect from a Christmas romance.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
The locations were great and the cinematography well done. I’m definitely annoyed by the over-abundant continuity issues. Then there’s the fact that they filmed in Ontario but had styrofoam snowmen that looked really fake.
The music was a little overdone and felt like it was trying to take attention away from the acting.
Score: 0.5
Fun
The kids were cute, the adults were pretty, and there was almost no angst. It was an okay movie. I enjoyed it but I’m not sure I’d want to rewatch it. The kids and family felt the same.
Score: 0.5
Overall
A stress free Christmas romance that’s worth it for the pretty leads and awesome kids.
Final Score: 2.5 Stars out of 5