Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
So-so holiday romcom has some innuendo.
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Dear Santa
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In DEAR SANTA, Crystal (Amy Acker) is a materialistic 30-year-old living in New York City, living on her parents' money and spending her time shopping and going to parties. Her mother, having had enough of Crystal's aimlessness, has just told her that she's to be cut off from her monthly allowance and must find some direction in life. One afternoon while shopping, a letter to Santa accidentally dropped by a postal worker blows in front of her. She opens and reads the letter. It's written by a little girl named Olivia, who asks Santa for a new wife for her widower father. Inspired to help, Crystal finds Olivia's house and discovers that Olivia's father, Derek, runs a snowplow removal business while also running a homeless shelter. Crystal enters the homeless shelter and is immediately put to work serving food to the less fortunate. While clearly smitten with Derek, she befriends him, and while there seems to be a mutual attraction, Derek is on the verge of getting engaged to his cold and possessive girlfriend, Jillian. In spite of this, Crystal bonds with Olivia and grows to love working at the shelter. Meanwhile, Derek is faced with an eviction notice for the homeless shelter: He needs to come up with $10,000 or the bank will foreclose on the property. When it's revealed to everyone that Crystal has been less than forthcoming about her past and that she entered the lives of Derek and Olivia under questionable circumstances, Crystal must prove that her intentions are pure, that her priorities have changed since working in the shelter, and that through the miracle of coming across Olivia's letter to Santa, she's the perfect match for Derek.
Is It Any Good?
This is one of those predictable romantic comedies set during the holidays, with the expected Christmas miracles and message of love always managing to find a way. Amy Acker comes across as sweet as she transforms over the course of the movie from NYC trust fund party girl to dogged defender of homeless shelters, widowers, and little girls with selfless Christmas wishes, but there's no getting around the fact that the characters are as stock as you can get. Besides Crystal's character, there's the token effeminate sassy gay man dishing out sage yet catty wisdom, the cold-as-ice current girlfriend who just isn't right for the male lead character, and the aforementioned male lead character, who is ruggedly handsome, sensitive, altruistic, and down on his luck.
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Dear Santa is that it does try to imbue the homeless characters with a certain dignity, humanity, and personality rather than relying on typical representations of homeless people in movies -- that is, as little more than pathetic wretches grateful to receive any act of charity, no matter how small. Nonetheless, the movie never really tries to venture very far from the tried-and-true conventions of this genre.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about holiday romcoms. Why do you think romantic comedies set during the holidays hold an appeal for some audiences?
How does Dear Santa depict homelessness and homeless people?
Who are some of the typical secondary-character types in romantic comedies? Who are they in this movie?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 1, 2011
- Cast : Amy Acker , Gina Holden , David Haydn-Jones
- Director : Jason Priestley
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Image Entertainment
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Holidays
- Run time : 90 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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