A Different Kind of Christmas (1996)

When you're the city attorney you don't need the kinds of problems that her father was giving her. After her mother died, her father began doing his "Santa Schick," as she called it, much ... See full summary »

Director:

Tom McLoughlin

Writer:

Bart Baker

Stars:

Shelley Long, Barry Bostwick, Nathan Lawrence

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shelley Long	...	Elizabeth Gates
Barry Bostwick	...	Frank Mallory
Nathan Lawrence	...	Tommy Gates
Nancy McLoughlin	...	Susan
Michael E. Knight	...	Alan Schaefer
Bruce Kirby	...	Santa
Richard K. Olsen	...	Henry
Janell McLeod	...	Fran
Keith Flippen	...	Michael
Rebecca Koon	...	Marguerite
Troy Simmons	...	Lester
Wells Struble	...	Charlie
John Pontrelli	...	Homeless Father
Kelly Wilson	...	Receptionist
Larry Parks	...	Mover (as Barry Bell)

Storyline

When you're the city attorney you don't need the kinds of problems that her father was giving her. After her mother died, her father began doing his "Santa Schick," as she called it, much more intensely... which meant that he turned his home into a kind of year-round Santa Claus castle where children of all ages could come to see the wonderful presents and no child ever left without a gift. But what's wrong with this kind of philanthropic generosity was that it totally embarrassed her when, as city attorney, it fell to her to make him stop his 'commercial' enterprise in an area zoned for private homes. But there's more to it than that and the outcome is not quite what you'd expect.

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Plot Keywords:

father daughter relationship | five word title | holiday in title | reference to santa claus | santa claus suit | 

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Taglines:

Santa Claus - A Neighbor from Heaven or Hell?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Biography Channel TV-Series, Celebrity Ghost Stories (2008), actress Shelley Long tells a story about a behind-the-scenes haunting experience which occurred at the Wilmington Courthouse in which she filmed at for this movie.

User Reviews

problematic story

Long-time Santa Robert George has set up his home like he's the real Santa Claus all year around. He invites everybody to visit. The kids believe again. City attorney Elizabeth Gates (Shelley Long) fights bad developers and plans to run for mayor. Her hard-hitting reporter boyfriend Frank Mallory (Barry Bostwick) does a story on the Santa house and it becomes a popular destination. The neighbors are not happy and Elizabeth is bombarded with complaints.

Elizabeth's character doesn't make sense. I can accept that she is so clueless that she can shut down Santa. Once that happens, she should be working overtime to smooth over the situation. It can be excused by the big reveal but that only makes her original shutdown much more reckless. That scene needs more to set up the eventual reveal. Maybe she can recognize him at the last minute and sends in a cop to do the deed. She needs to sell that moment. In the end, the solution should be easy despite the family dysfunction. If he needs to be Santa, set him up in City Hall and get him out of the neighborhood. Non of this story makes political sense. With some rewrites, this premise could work but it needs a lot of fixing.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 December 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Santa and Me

Filming Locations:

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carroll Newman Productions, Hearst Entertainment Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color