Stalking Santa Screening

Stalking Santa is a great mockumentary, and for people watching it expecting a great mockumentary about some semi-crazy guys trying to prove that Santa exists--it won't disappoint. The writing/improv is great, the characters are believable yet extreme, and they leave just enough open as they wrap things up that it still feels like you could decide how it ended. Granted, I did enjoy seeing the Provo Towne Centre, and Library, but other than that there wasn't much "Mormon Genre" about it. They even used Catholics as the religion with families that exceed the national average in size. (This part confused and offended Justin.) I thoroughly enjoyed the pregnant wife "being supportive," you'd have to watch the film to understand completely, and maybe only wives of husbands that do "important work" that isn't going to lead to an "income" would love her as much as I did. They have some pretty sweet interviews with children about Santa, which makes the film even more endearing.

(Back to the "important work" and "income" statement. I often wish my husband was in law school, or med school. The hours he would be working would probably be better if her were a doctor or lawyer, and there would be a greater chance of us paying back the student loans faster if he were. But, what endears my sweet Justin to me is that he needs to be creative, and he really honestly believes in himself and what he is doing, so I smile and nod, and work, and sneak presents into the house.)

As I am not one to own holiday movies ("holiday movies" meaning if you take out Santa and Christmas there isn't a story left) I wouldn't buy it, but I might rent it during the one time of year you watch Santa movies. It is available on netflix, and has 3 and half stars (out of 5), I would give it that many stars, myself.

Now, I enjoyed it. The theater was full, it was a free screening so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, and most of the theater seemed to be enjoying it. But, I overheard a few people who didn't like it. I was walking with Reuben up and down the stairs while Justin listened to the talk back, and a lady asked me "So, do you think Santa really came?" What was I supposed to say? I thought of saying, "That or the conspirators did it to make his search stop." But, since Reuben was there I said, "Well, yeah." Then she said, "That is ridiculous, only in America." as she walked up the stairs shaking her head and muttering mean things after she said that. Now, really, lady, if you took it so seriously, then I guess its okay that you can't even amuse a mother of a two year old. Everyone touts Christmas in New York as this great thing, but it seemed to me that the New Yorkiest of the audience where the ones complaining at the end of the movie. That makes me think that Christmas in New York is for those people who want to go to the crazy crowded parades, have the money to go shopping, got tickets to the Radio City Music Hall thing, and believe that the most magical part of Christmas is lighting of a huge tree in the Rockefeller Center. I hope that this perception I received is proven wrong, but as of right now I am taking it as another evidence that I do not belong here.

Another sad thing I noted in the audience: We got there right as it was starting, and we were both surprised to see the whole theater filled. I tried to sit in a seat next to a man, and he yelled at me. You think I am over exaggerating... I am not. He yelled. That was my first sign that we weren't in Kansas. We finally found a seat (near enough to the yelling man to notice that he yelled at three other people, including one of the actors, and no one ever came back to sit in that seat.) Now, really, you are at a Santa movie, must you yell?

My closing remark is, Rent it if you don't have enough Santa Movies to watch (it is definitely better than some of those claymation "classics"), and watch it with your family, because not everybody wants to hear about T.E.R.D.