Weekend Watch: The Christmas Chronicles 2
Kurt Russell's cool Santa returns – and Goldie Hawn's Mrs. Claus enjoys more screen time
Image credit: Netflix
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell return as the famous festive couple.
Santa Claus has been played by many people (and the odd stop-motion/2D/CG animation character) through the years, but in 2018, we were treated to the sight of Kurt Russell strutting, rocking and rolling his way into that hallowed number via The Christmas Chronicles. People enjoyed Yuletide Kurt, the film entertained plenty of eyeballs and so naturally Netflix has commissioned a sequel.
Chris Columbus, who has some form with Christmas movies (Home Alone and Gremlins to name just two), was a producer on the original and now steps up as writer and director. The resulting festive concoction is a little like a caramel praline latte – appealing, warm and occasionally a little sickly sweet. The Christmas Chronicles 2 never quite reaches the heights of Macaulay Culkin swinging paint cans at burglars and relies a little too often on slightly cheap-looking elf CG, but there’s a lot to be said for the pure joy of seeing real-life couple Russell and Hawn interacting as the festive season’s most famous pair.
The story this time brings back Darby Camp as Kate, now a teenager annoyed at having to spend Christmas in Mexico with her mother, who is bonding with the new man in her life (played, somewhat incongruously, but also briefly by Fast & Furious franchise veteran Tyrese Gibson). Kate wishes that she could go back to the North Pole to hang out with Santa, and her wish is answered, just not the way she expected. Kate and her not-yet-stepbrother Jack (Jahzir Bruno) are dispatched there by the scheming Belsnickel (Hunt For The Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison), who has his own, vengeful reasons for wanting to find Claus.
It all unfolds as you can probably predict, but this is not the sort of movie where big surprise twists are the norm. Mostly, Columbus and co. are happy to indulge in cheery Christmas visuals, of which a sumptuous Santa’s Village – which should, as Kate points out, really be credited to Mrs. Claus, who designed it – is the centre point. There’s plenty of easygoing action and a little elf magic here and there to keep the kids entertained, and of course, Columbus finds an excuse for Russell’s Santa to step behind a mic and belt out a song. Hawn, who popped up at the end of the first film, has more to do here, though she could still use a little extra screen time. Dennison enjoys himself as Belsnickel, while the kids manage to avoid become precociously annoying (the director still has a way with younger characters).
The Christmas Chronicles 2 is an amusing diversion, a trinket wrapped in shiny CG paper with a dusting of movie snow. It’ll work its magic on a family audience or just anyone who needs a bit of jovial fun in a year that has been severely lacking in it.
The Christmas Chronicles is on Netflix now.