A father and son who team up to save Christmas once they discover Santa Claus sleeping in their garage after crashing his sleigh and finding himself on the run from the police.
Two levels of hohohos at work here: Spall’s likeable scepticism (for adults) and reindeer flatulence (kids).
Get Santa is an imaginative and madcap festive family film that has lots for both adults and kids to enjoy – think Porridge meets Elf.
With farting reindeer and frugal budgets, Christopher Smith, the man behind Triangle and Severance, has forged something almost as terrifying.
Dogged, heartfelt acting works hard to prop it up.
Some of the humour is pretty feeble but Smith throws in chases, prison breaks and just enough grotesquerie to keep the sentimentality from clogging up the film entirely.
It’s a nice idea and the casting is spot on but somehow, like Santa’s marooned sleigh, writer-director Christopher Smith’s potentially enchanting picture fails to soar.
Not a classic, then, but a welcome alternative to the horrific prospect of taking the kids to see Nativity 3: Dude, Where’s My Donkey?
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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