If you're looking for a happily ever after Hallmark type flick, don't look here. If you're looking for a funny, sweet movie about trying to fit in, finding yourself, finding a boyfriend, and how appearances can be so shallow a rock wouldn't skip across them, you could invest 90 minutes here enjoyably.
Jennifer Stone looks like a normal girl but is the only daughter of Santa Clause, both the mythic figure and the corporation. Slumping under heavy expectations on both counts, she cuts a deal for a semester at a real human college before she picks up her family obligations for eternity. Of course nothing goes as planned.
Strong points: Jennifer looks like a normal-sized girl with slightly frumpy clothes and sweet, klutzy naivete; she doesn't blossom into a glamour queen through finding love. That elf, Pep, is a sugar high all by herself, the sidekick to end all sidekicks. The nice boyfriend option has a bit of serious back story & a great grin. The villain looks & talks like a real nasty. The face-plant into the... but that would be a spoiler.
Weak points: nobody gets much depth & a lot of the plot's potential either never got written into the script or was left on the cutting room floor. It feels like another 12-15 minutes spent in judicious character development would have had a big payoff.
As a way to spend 90 minutes during the holidays, with some popcorn and teens or tweens to laugh along with, this is fun.
Jennifer Stone looks like a normal girl but is the only daughter of Santa Clause, both the mythic figure and the corporation. Slumping under heavy expectations on both counts, she cuts a deal for a semester at a real human college before she picks up her family obligations for eternity. Of course nothing goes as planned.
Strong points: Jennifer looks like a normal-sized girl with slightly frumpy clothes and sweet, klutzy naivete; she doesn't blossom into a glamour queen through finding love. That elf, Pep, is a sugar high all by herself, the sidekick to end all sidekicks. The nice boyfriend option has a bit of serious back story & a great grin. The villain looks & talks like a real nasty. The face-plant into the... but that would be a spoiler.
Weak points: nobody gets much depth & a lot of the plot's potential either never got written into the script or was left on the cutting room floor. It feels like another 12-15 minutes spent in judicious character development would have had a big payoff.
As a way to spend 90 minutes during the holidays, with some popcorn and teens or tweens to laugh along with, this is fun.