Review: “Small-Town Santa” (2014)

Basic jeans and sweaters populate the wardrobe department, suggesting either a limited costume budget or lack of creative vision — possibly both.

The setup feels forced rather than following any coherent formula.

Santa’s prophecy about love falling at Rick’s feet leads to an almost immediate literal fall by Lucy, followed by an inappropriately timed kiss mere hours later.

While technically well-executed, the timing makes little sense.

Meeting someone and kissing them within hours might work in some holiday romances, but here it just adds to the overall feeling of hasty, underdeveloped storytelling.

While there’s nothing overtly offensive, the handling of faith elements raises eyebrows as well as serious concerns.

The preacher’s claim that “God never laughs” not only contradicts Scripture (Psalm 2:4 and 37:13 clearly show God’s laughter, albeit at the folly of the wicked), but also ignores Solomon’s God-given wisdom about laughter being “good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).

And anyone who’s spent time with God knows He has an excellent sense of humor!

This fundamental misunderstanding of God’s Nature, combined with the awkward “I found Jesus!” church scene and the Christmas pageant’s cow episode, makes the film’s attempt to balance Santa with Christian themes feel less like respectful inclusion and more like thinly veiled mockery packaged as faith-friendly entertainment.

In short, every faith element feels designed to generate laughs at Believers’ expense rather than with them.

What begins as a promising premise — a jaded sheriff arresting Santa on Christmas Eve — devolves into an exercise in eye-rolling endurance.

I’d be interested in seeing Christine Lakin in a better-written Christmas romance, but this particular holiday offering fails to deliver on any level.

While the film presents itself as faith friendly, its portrayal is really a caricature of Christianity.

When you find yourself rolling your eyes through approximately 75 minutes of a 90-minute movie, something has gone seriously wrong.

While I appreciate the attempt to create holiday magic, this film demonstrates that good intentions (and known actors) aren’t enough — you need a solid script, coherent direction, and better execution to make Christmas movie magic happen.

Most concerning is how the film’s treatment of faith feels less like well-intentioned missteps and more like deliberate ridicule dressed up as a family production.

Whether this was the filmmaker’s intent or not, the result makes Christians and their beliefs look foolish rather than faithful.