Hallmark Entertainment, Palm Avenue Pictures, Phoenix Pictures
Sherilyn Fenn, Hume Cronyn, Bruce Davison, Tom McBeaeth, Stephen E Miller, Adam Arkin, Rory Culkin
Jackson Mayhew (Rory Culkin) is 10 years old and just lost his parents. He moves in with his Aunt. He has a bit of an overactive imagination and is always telling tall tales, or at least is being accused of making things up. But when he makes friends with Sam Clausner (Hume Cronyn) he is convinced he’s the real Santa Claus on vacation. But after a few time of trying to get the kid off his back, Clausner decides to play along with him and they do a few good deeds which balloons into national attention, and the special attention of one mysterious guy in particular.
This is a mystery movie, and I guess it’s not that bad. The Christmas theme is pretty weak, so for this project it doesn’t rank very high, but it’s not a terrible movie. It’s worthwhile to watch, and Hume Cronyn is wonderful, as always, but it’s just not really a Christmas movie, hence the low rating.
** Off Season (2001),