Television review: ‘Annie Claus Is Coming to Town’
Not surprisingly, this is a big time of year for the Hallmark Channel, which has been offering a non-stop medley of new and old original movies since Thanksgiving week, all testifying to the various transformative powers of Christmas. This Saturday it’s “Annie Claus Is Coming to Town,” a slight, sweet tale that should appeal to fans of the Big E’s — “Elf” and “Enchanted,” the two films from which it borrows most heavily, (although “The Santa Clause” franchise also figures in.)
Annie (Maria Thayer) is the daughter of Santa and Mrs. Claus (here named Martha and played by Vicki Lawrence) who, having achieved adulthood, is going off on sabbatical to experience the “real world.” There, she must decide whether she wants to stay or return to the North Pole and, eventually, take over the family business.
As luck, and a magic dart, would have it, her destination is Los Angeles where she arrives, via Greyhound and with old-fashioned suitcases and full-skirt swingin’, like the proverbial farm girl (or formerly animated princess) getting her first glimpse of the Big City.
Mercifully neither Hallmark nor screenwriter Nina Weinman has it in for L.A. as these fish-out-of-water films often do. Yes, Annie is almost instantly beset by thuggish youths who, having apparently wandered off the set of “Glee,” laugh at her strange garb and throw a soda at her, but that’s as far as it goes. No accidental trip to South Los Angeles or soul-crushing tour of Beverly Hills.
Instead, Annie winds up at the fictitious Candy Cane Hotel, which looks as if it’s located in the foothills, (which it actually is — the real motel is close to my neighborhood). There she meets single mom (is there any other kind in a Christmas movie? ) Lucy (Vivica A. Fox), who runs the motel, and her adorable daughter Mia (Nay Nay Kirby), who is in crisis because some girls teased her and her Christmas pageant may be canceled. Annie, of course, solves both problems, but not before helping Christmas-scoffer Ted (Sam Page) regain the appropriate spirit and save his tiny toy store, threatened by the recent opening of a mondo-mart.
As if that weren’t enough standard Christmas-movie plot-pointage, Annie is the victim of a romantic scam. Santa’s chief of operations, who will be the heir apparent should Annie decide to stay in the lower continents, has hired a charm boy actor to woo Annie and keep her from returning to the North Pole!
It actually isn’t as silly as it sounds, although it is pretty silly. But Thayer is very likable if overly Giselle-like in her defense of Santa and the Christmas spirit, and Fox is just fine as the sassy but not too cynical new best friend. If there is no reason to make plans to see “Annie Claus,” there’s no reason not to, if you happen to be home and looking for something the whole family can watch.
If nothing else, it’s nice to see a Los Angeles that isn’t crawling with gang guys and graffiti or swimming in palm trees and tall, thin blonds. And it pays to be thankful for small gifts, especially at Christmas.
Annie Claus Is Coming to Town infobox 12/10/11
‘Annie Claus Is Coming to Town’
Where: Hallmark
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Rating: TV-G (suitable for all ages)
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