Columbia TriStar Television, Turner Network Television, Red Strokes Entertainment
Whoopi Goldberg, Nigel Hawthorne, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Victor Garber, Talor Negron, Frankie Faison, Alexandra Wentworth, Melody Garrett, Robert Costanzo, Jazmn, Bruce Vilanch
Lucy (Whoppi) is the producer of a home shopping channel called Shop-A-Lot. They’re putting their annual Christmas/Channukah/Kwanza set together and are trying to find the perfect Santa. But Lucy is not a fan of Christmas due to something quite traumatic that happened to her when she was a little girl. Meanwhile, Santa has been Santa for 200 years, and under the rules, must find a replacement. When Lucy puts on the hat, it glows. She’s chosen, and Santa has h is sights set on her. But shes really not the Santa type! Hilarity ensues.
This is a clever film and one I’ve watched a number of time. It is unique in many ways, and certainly Whoopi is not the first person you would think of to cast as Santa. Borrowing a lot from Miracle on 34th Street, Lucy fires Nick only to find out that they is the most popular host in Shop-A-Lot history and sales are through the roof. To keep him on track, she has to bring him into her home so she can watch him, and this is just what he wants. He also has the quality of refusing to sell stuff that he deems inappropriate. This is a very well produced film, big budget and lots of stars. The scenes of Lucy and her boss trying to find the next host is hysterical. All in all, it’s unconventional, but very interesting and a well done Christmas film.
** Call Me Claus (2001),
