While it often feels like there are no good ideas left, and every single possible premise for a movie has been done before, every so often a new one comes along. Dear Santa is one of those premises where you go: That’s a good idea for the movie. (The execution might not work out. But the idea? Solid gold.)
The concept: A little kid who is a very bad speller tries to write a letter to Santa for Christmas and inadvertently addresses his missive to Satan. The letter makes its way to Hell, where the dark lord himself (Jack Black) receives it. He decides to meet the kid and evil fun proceeds from there. Satan tries to lure the sweet kid to the dark side, but he proves surprisingly difficult to corrupt.
The film, which is premiering on Paramount+ later this month, is directed by Bobby Farrelly, co-written by Peter Farrelly, and produced by both — making this something of a reunion between the brothers and Black, who starred in their 2001 comedy Shallow Hal.
You can watch the trailer for Dear Santa below.
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Here is the film’s official synopsis:
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. From the hilarious minds behind Dumb & Dumber, Christmas is about to go up in flames.
Dear Santa will be streaming on Paramount+ on November 25. If you’re not a Paramount+ subscriber, the movie will also be available on digital. I love a good dark Christmas movie (It’s a Wonderful Life counts! And Bad Santa, obviously.) This looks like it has the potential to fall into that zone as well. I’m crossing my fingers that it is not a lump of cinematic coal.
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