Pretty standard fare mostly. Dad died, son going off the rails, daughter still believes, let’s haul Santa in to help. (Which he does by letting them help him.) I found myself poking holes in the plot, which is a silly thing to do anyway in a Christmas fantasy film, such as If Santa can make presents magically appear in the jail, why can’t he get himself out of the jail without help? But the writers have the last laugh, when it turns out that this all seems to be a test for the kids. Or something.
Okay, Kurt Russell isn’t your typical Santa, but he is the movie version I would most want to hang out with. It is all a little predictable and silly in the way Christmas movies are, but there are worse ways to spend your time. Like shoveling snow!