Paul Magne Haakonsen The first time I got acquainted with "The Santa Suit" was during the Christmas holidays of 2016, as I sat down for a Christmas movie marathon with my family.I must say that this movie actually turned out to be rather good, which was somewhat of a surprise. None of us had expected much from the movie, given the synopsis and the cast list. But "The Santa Suit" actually turned out to be a rather enjoyable movie.Sure, this movie is as predictable and generic as you would assume, given the storyline and the presentation of aforementioned storyline. But still, writer Kevin Commins and director Robert Vaughn had managed to create a rather enjoyable Christmas movie.As for the cast, well, I initially had some reservations as the only one I knew was Kevin Sorbo, and his track record of movie performances has been somewhat fluctuating. But he really stepped up here and performed quite well, and I do think that he was quite suitable for this particular type of movies.If you enjoy watching Christmas-themed movies during the holidays, then "The Santa Suit" is definitely worth checking out. Sure, it is not a classic such as "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Home Alone". And, for me personally at least, this movie doesn't really have that quality to it that allows for multiple viewings year after year.

adoptshelterpetstoday I actually hate this movie! I don't think it could have been made more dull, drab, annoying, and tiresome: the plot, the actor, the lines, everything.......Just one humdrum scene flowed into another. Nothing enticing, nothing captivating, nothing cheerful about this "Christmas" movie. It actually gave a sense of depression!To TRY to watch it one time without getting bored out of my wits by the first half hour was difficult enough, but to watch it a second time, is cruelty to the mind! And I began to hate it because it is aired ad nauseum!...while Hallmark has so much better Christams movies that could have been aired. It did have one great part though, thankfully: "The End."

grizzledgeezer I've been watching Hallmark Channel's tsimmes of uplifting Christmas movies as I work in the morning. They vary from the interesting ("Ms Scrooge") to the appalling ("The Night They Saved Christmas"). (The latter is so devoid of joy, wit, or humor -- all the adult actors, including Art Carney, are there strictly to pick up their paychecks -- that it's a must-see for misanthropes and noelphobes.)"The Santa Suit" is a modern version of "A Christmas Carol", with big chunks of "Miracle on 34th Street" blended in. It consistently /sidesteps/ (most) opportunities to be cute, cheaply sentimental, or superficially humorous. It even addresses issues films such as these rarely, if ever, consider. * Perhaps I'm getting old, but it drew a few tears, which seemed to have been honestly earned.Though "The Santa Suit" is an exercise in subdued acting, writing, and direction, Kevin Sorbo's performance nevertheless stands out. I never thought much of this hairy-chest-with-a-dimple -- he did little more than read his lines in "Andromeda" -- but here he actually /acts/ and delivers a convincing characterization. If there's an Emmy for "Best Actor in a Made-for-Cable Movie", he should be nominated.No, it's not a great film, but it's "good enough", one of those rare "Christmas movies" most viewers won't think was a waste of time.* When Drake considers getting an expensive doll for a farbisseneh little girl, the woman who hired him to play Santa suggests that perhaps she would be better off /not/ believing in Santa, and not expecting to receive everything she wants. (The film might have been even better had it taken this path to its predictable resolution. What, you were expecting maybe a sorrowful ending?)

boblipton This is a fine little Santa movie as Drake Hunter, the scrooge-like owner of a toy company, finds himself mysteriously transformed into a Santa lookalike for the Christmas season -- he looks and feels like himself in his own mind, but everyone sees him as the jolly old elf in the red suit, even himself in mirrors -- and comes to recognize how empty his life is. Although this sort of body-switching device has been used many times before, this variation on it is well handled in the script department and well worth your time.I do have one issue: Kevin Sorbo plays the role for as understandably depressed and low affect for the first hour. As I have commented in many another review, this is appropriate but uninteresting but there are enough interesting performances around him to sustain the movie until he begins to slowly work his way out of that state and into a decent person in the second half. That pay off makes the movie.