Dear Santa Review: Jack Black cannot save the Farrelly Brothers’ Christmas movie

Last Updated on December 2, 2024

Plot: When a young boy mails his Christmas wish list to Santa with one crucial spelling error, a devilish Jack Black arrives to wreak havoc on the holidays.

Review: The Farrelly Brothers were a bastion of bad taste and crass humor when I was a kid. Basically, they were the funniest filmmakers in Hollywood. From Kingpin and Dumb & Dumber to There’s Something About Mary and Me, Myself, & Irene, Peter and Bobby Farrelly turned out movie after gut-busting movie. The Farrellys matured a bit as they got older, with Peter directing his Oscar-winning Best Picture Green Book and the Apple Original The Greatest Beer Run Ever. Bobby tried his hand at Champions with Woody Harrelson. Both directors returned to their broader comedy roots, with Peter directing Ricky Stanicky earlier this year, and now Bobby has Dear Santa. Co-written by Peter, Dear Santa reunites the Farrellys with their Shallow Hal star, Jack Black, for a Christmas comedy that is one of the unfunniest projects to bear the siblings’ recognizable name.

Dear Santa tells the story of middle-schooler Liam Turner (Robert Timothy Smith), a dyslexic and nerdy kid who recently moved after a tragic accident at his prior school. Liam’s parents (Hayes MacArthur and Brianne Howey) fight often, which casts a pall over the Christmas season, so Liam decides to write a letter to Santa. Because of his dyslexia, Liam’s letter heads to Hell, where it is found by Satan (Jack Black). Ignoring the misunderstanding, Satan convinces Liam to make a wish, which locks the pre-teen into a deal for his eternal soul after casting two more wishes. While Liam does not believe that the demonic lord of the underworld received his letter, Satan uses some magic to convince him. As Liam uses his wishes, Satan begins to realize that corrupting such a good soul may not be worth the damnable pleasure.

Two different films compete for narrative focus in Dear Santa. One is a crass comedy about a little kid acting like a douchebag under the influence of Satan, and the other is a wholesome Christmas comedy with a heartfelt message during the Yuletide season. Every scene that Jack Black is in eclipses every sequence without him. Sporting a salt-and-pepper beard, Black is still a physical and agile comedic performer who utilizes a gruff voice as Satan that would have been hilarious had the Farrelly’s let him go all out. His scenes shared with young Robert Timothy Smith could have taken a cue from Bad Santa and gone dark and profane, but instead, they feel muted and sanitized. Seeing Jack Black dance around, do leg kicks, and wear ridiculous outfits as he delivers dialogue in a mocking and sing-songy voice only goes so far before it wears thin. When Black is not on screen, the film suffers from the child actors delivering dialogue that sounds wooden and inauthentic for kids their age.

When Robert Timothy Smith’s Liam is on screen with his best friend Gibby (Jaden Carson Baker), the two have some chemistry, which is wasted by having them talk like robots. The rest of the cast is barely utilized, with Keegan Michael-Key’s therapist, Dr. Finklman, appearing for two scenes and P.J. Byrne’s snooty teacher, Mr. Charles’ one funny scene being wasted in the trailer. The trailer also spoils Post Malone’s role as himself, which is not remotely as funny or timely as the filmmakers think it is. In fact, the only worthwhile moment in the entire film is a great appearance by Ben Stiller in which he and his Tropic Thunder co-star get to have some hellish fun. Aside from that, this cliche-ridden film has nothing to recommend.

Based on a story by Dan Ewen, Dear Santa was co-written by Peter Farrelly, who proves once again that his Oscar wins for Green Book were a complete fluke. Bobby Farrelly brings nothing distinct or unique to the visual side of the film, which suffers from a couple of terrible CGI shots. Otherwise, the movie looks like it was made on a limited budget, with most of the money spent on securing Post Malone for the concert sequence. The biggest affront in the story is a subplot involving the tragedy that happened to Liam and his family, which feels completely out of place for the rest of the film. By the time the final act rolls around, you probably have already guessed what would happen, and it all does.

Dear Santa is the worst kind of Christmas comedy. It never brings anything special or distinct to the concept, which could have been a lot of fun had The Farrelly Brothers still had the same maniacal spark from which their early films benefitted. Jack Black is the only actor with any charisma or energy in the entire movie, and he is wasted with sub-par material that does not live up to his talents as a performer. Dear Santa is schmaltzy, dumb, and does nothing to earn its PG-13 rating outside of mild profanity and a couple of poop jokes. Avoid.

Dear Santa is now streaming on Paramount+.

Dear Santa

NOT GOOD

4