Who payed the critics

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a bit of an unusual story for Christmas. It's not about snowmen and trees and skating. It is about two men who try to straighten out their lives as they help each other, one more than the other.The con man is slick, but he comes to realize that his lies hurt people, especially the one he told a little boy.It's not a typical romance story and in addition to that it takes a few turns along the way. The acting is OK. There's a few good humorous moments but also some drama.Try this movie for something different in the way of a Christmas story.

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.A small-time con man ordered by his parole officer to take a job as a department store Santa promises to reunite a young boy's estranged parents.What is nice about this film is that it is full of tiny surprises. All of them are nice surprises. Its a film that (mostly) avoids the trappings of Christmas Theme Movies. The greatest thing about this film is the fact it shows that everyone has "Value". This film may not be 100% original however its 100% enjoyable and worth watching. So far this year this is my top pick.

On one hand, the movie has humor and 90s nostalgia (the movie's leads are Melissa Joan Hart from Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Barry Watson from 7th Heaven, Jaleel White from Family Matters and the Sonic the Hedgehog anime, and Scott Grimes from Party of Five). Ruth even says this deliciously 90s line: "Your eyes are as bloodshot as Courtney Love on a Sunday morning." On the other hand, it has a great plot and character development. The movie is fun and meaningful without being depressing. All in all, it's kind of like watching a really good episode of Touched By An Angel. Plus, you get to see Clarissa and Urkle like-liking each other, creating the ship you never knew you shipped.

The story revolves around con artist Nick DeMarco (Barry Watson) who is forced to take a Santa job at a department store (sound familiar?) after getting out of jail. During his Santa stint, he promises a kid that he (Santa) will bring his estranged parents back together by Christmas. Nick gets chastised for making the promise and he has to use all of his con-artist skills to make good on Santa's word. Along the way he falls in love with the kid's mom (Melissa Sagemiller). It sounds like the typical rom-com formula Christmas storyline…..but it's not.Don't let the first 15-ish minutes of the movie fool you. It's after Nick/Santa makes the promise to the kid that the movie takes a sharp turn from lame comedy to drama and becomes something very different. If you make it to this point in the movie, it will unfold as a serious story about a con finding self-redemption through the rebuilding of a broken family.