An ‘Off Season’ Santa in Florida Spins a Clever Holiday Fantasy

If you spent most of the year at the North Pole, you might want to summer in Florida, too. But is Santa really holed up at the faded Grotto Hotel in July? Ten-year-old hotel resident Jackson says so, and soon a very unjolly Sam Clausner is besieged with Christmas wish lists, a publicity-hungry hotel manager and local reporters.

Will he fess up, or is Jackson just an unhappy kid making up stories to deal with the ache of losing his parents? Adroitly sidestepping the easy, cutesy route, and layering the seemingly predictable plot with surprises, humorous hints of film noir and emotional depth, Showtime’s peppery nod to the holidays, “Off Season,” keeps viewers guessing.

Written by Glenn Gers, this satisfying fantasy is actor Bruce Davison’s assured first-time film directorial effort. The solid cast, led by Hume Cronyn and his pitch-perfect Sam, includes luminous Sherilyn Fenn, an appealing mix of gentle warmth and spirit as Jackson’s loving aunt; Adam Arkin as a stranger with a tinge of menace; and Davison as a sympathetic, offbeat child psychologist.

Rory Culkin, meanwhile, is almost alarmingly believable as sad, preternaturally insightful Jackson, who regains his faith after the next-to-last hairpin plot turn. The last one, a Merry Christmas smile of a surprise, is just for viewers.

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“Off Season” can be seen at 8 p.m. Sunday on Showtime. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).