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DVD Review: SANTA’S LITLE HELPER

Nov 29, 2015 Posted by in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

Dax Ardwick (Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin) is a self-centered businessman who only cares about himself and making money—probably the only thing he loves more than himself is his expensive sports car. The local rec center has failed to pay its rent (due to an employee embezzling their savings), and Dax has come to collect. He had had a bad experience at the rec center as a child, doesn’t care about their excuses and happily gives them 2 weeks notice to evacuate as the building is scheduled to be bulldozed just before Christmas. On his way out he tells the sad children “life’s full of disappointments, get used to it”.

However, as soon as Dax gets back to the office, he receives bit of karmic payback—while he always gets results, his superiors don’t like his brash way of doing things, and decide to give him the pink slip. He doesn’t take this news well, and needs to be escorted out of the building. Dax realizes he has no friends, his company car is repossessed, his gold-digging girlfriend leaves him, he’s been blacklisted in the industry by his former employer, and he’s been given his own eviction notice now that he can’t pay his mortgage.

Meanwhile, in the North Pole, Santa’s HO HO HO (Head Office Herald Of Holiday Operations) Twixel has decided to retire, and it’s up to Santa to choose a replacement. Twixel’s elf daughter Eleanor (WWE Superstar Paige) feels like she deserves the spot, but Santa is considering a “normie” for the job. Santa gives his right hand elf Billie (AnnaLynne McCord) a necklace containing North Pole magic, and puts her in charge of testing Dax, to see if he possesses the five sugarplum virtues required for the position—a cool head, humility, a cooperative nature, an inspirational spirit and a kind soul.

While Billie is self-conscious about her looks due to the fact that she’s the only elf with round ears, that doesn’t seem to be an issue when she shows up at Dax’s door—she barely even gets the words out before he welcomes her in. Billie tells Dax that she’s there to test him to see if he qualifies for the mystery job position, but can’t tell him anything more than that. With nothing else on the horizon, he’s game, and throughout her series tests, he’s constantly trying to guess which Fortune 500 business tycoon she works for. What he doesn’t know is that he’s in a head-to-head competition with an elf to become Santa’s Little Helper.

Will Dax rediscover the fun-loving person he used to be before his dreams were crushed and ended up the self-centered guy he became? Or will he blow this chance at the job of a lifetime? And what tricks does Eleanor have up her sleeve to order to secure the job for herself?

 

Overall, I found this to be a really fun, lighthearted Christmas film that I’ll certainly be adding to Christmas movie rotation. However, I was expecting the movie to be more of a Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life transformative type of tale. After the initial scene of Dax being a jerk at the rec center and to the security guard at work, he’s no longer this bah humbug, despicable guy—he’s just kind of grumpy. I wish they had kept up his self-centered persona through more of the trials, and we saw more of a transformation of this character over the course of the film.

“The Miz” is proving to be quite a talented actor—I like him more and more in each film I see him in. He’s proven he can do action in the The Marine series, and this film marks the second time he has teamed up with director Gil Junger for a fun holiday movie—the first being 2013’s Christmas Bounty. As long as this duo keeps making these Christmas movies, I’ll keep watching!

One of the highlights of the film for me was AnnaLynne McCord—she was a real delight, and her chemistry with “The Miz” is excellent—the two really play off one another for some sweet and funny moments. I also really enjoyed the humorously ridiculous way her character is constantly shocked whenever someone refers to her as beautiful (oh those ugly round ears!).

All of the advertising and bonus material emphasizes the fact that this is WWE Superstar Paige’s first acting role. I think she does a great job—I wouldn’t have guessed this was her first time acting, but her part in the film isn’t nearly as big as you would think based on the trailer. I wish they had integrated the Eleanor storyline more throughout the film.

Finally, another entertaining addition to the cast is creepy North Pole technician Fitz (Geoff Gustafson), whose horrible sense of humor and predilection towards wearing other people’s clothes, leads to some fun moments.

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has only released this title on DVD, however I really appreciate that they have included an HD digital copy along with the DVD since there is no Blu-ray option. I watched the film via the Digital HD copy and it looked pristine, with a crisp, clear picture and bright colors. The audio track was also excellent, providing clear dialogue, and an excellent soundtrack. The DVD also contains about 13 minutes of interviews with the cast and crew of the film.



What’s Included:
Film: (91 min)

    DVD:

    • 480p / Widescreen 1.78:1
    • Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1
    • Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

    Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 11/17/2018):

    • Digital HD Copy redeemable via Flixster (UV), Google Play, or Vudu (UV)

Extras:

    The bonus features include interviews with director Gil Junger, and stars Mike “The Miz” Mizanin (“Dax Ardwick”), AnnaLynne McCord (“Billie”) and Paige (“Eleanor”).

  • The “Ho Ho Ho” (4:39)
    The cast and director talk about the premise of the film, the characters and the duties of the HO HO HO.
  • Introducing Paige (5:21)
    The cast and director talk about Paige’s amazing first year as one of the WWE Divas, her character in the film, and what it was like working with the actress on her first film.
  • Holiday Cast & Crew (2:50)
    The cast and crew recall their favorite Christmas traditions, memories and presents. Also includes interviews with production assistant Jodi Henwood, assistant location manager Aleksander Stirajs and assistant prop master Kenny Gibbs.
  • Sneak Preview (7:10)
    Play All or select from trailers for “Discover Digital HD”, “The Peanuts Movie”, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”, “Jingle All the Way 2”, “Home Alone 20th Anniversary”, “Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Tales” and “The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary”.

 


Final Thoughts:

My Rating
Film:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Recommended

Santa’s Little Helper is a fun holiday film that will find its way into my annual rotation to watch while wrapping gifts, decorating the house or doing my online holiday shopping. It’s got some really fun moments, and the cast has great chemistry. The DVD presentation looks really good, and an HD Digital Copy is included to make up for the fact that there’s not a Blu-ray release. The disc only contains about 13 minutes of cast/crew interview bonus material, but it’s certainly worth a look based on the film itself. I recommend checking this out if you are looking for a light, fun new holiday film.