Stoutor
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
SimonJack
"Mrs. Santa Claus" is an enjoyable Christmas film that actually centers on Christmas. As a musical, it provides some entertaining songs by Jerry Herman. And it has a couple of good dance scenes. Especially good is the song, "We Don't Go Together." Of course, any musical to be great has to have very good or great singers - if not in the cast, then dubbed. While Angela Lansbury (as Mrs. Santa Claus) is a very good actress who can sing, she is far from a great singer. Several others in this film are just passable as vocalists. Only one person has a great voice - Debra Wiseman, who plays Sadie Lowenstein. The staging, costumes, and all technical aspects of this TV movie are superb. The plot is a good one, but it goes overboard in trying to cover all the big social issues in the U.S. of 1910. Women's suffrage, child labor laws, the great American melting pot and others have long histories. So, this plot plays with history and puts a sugar coating on the culture and mores of the time and place. For instance, women's suffrage began long before 1910. It's official birth was the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. And, it was ratified as the 19th amendment to the U.S. constitution in 1920. By 1910 it would not have been so strange or out of place to see Sadie Lowenstein on a soap box for women's rights - even (or especially) in Manhattan's East Village. One glaring error that caught my attention right away was in the suffrage parade. Several marchers held an unfurled U.S. flag above their heads. It had clear rows of six by eight stars, for a total of 48. But, the U.S. had just 46 states in 1910. The 47th and 48th states (New Mexico and Arizona) would become part of the Union in 2012. In its portrayal of the great melting pot of the U.S. and New York, especially, the film transposes 21st century American idealism on the 1910 culture. Yes, people in many neighborhoods of mixed backgrounds - ethnic and religious especially, lived together and got along. But many more of the time were segregated by neighborhoods and distinct ethnic communities. The song, "Avenue A," narrowed the location in Manhattan to the 13-block street in Manhattan's East Village.Without great singers and superb music, I won't rate any musical higher than eight stars. This is not a "West Side Story," or "The Sound of Music," or "Funny Girl," or "Show Boat, " or "Porgy and Bess," or "Easter Parade." But for the overcrowding of social issues and juggling of history in the screenplay, it would have earned those eight stars. It is an enjoyable Christmas musical.Here are a couple favorite lines from the film. Mrs. Santa Claus in the opening scenes says, "Oh, team, we've done it - 1910 is a record year."Santa Claus (Charles Durning), as he places a letter in an outbox marked "Naughty," says, "There's always the naughty ones with the bad handwriting."
Christmas-Reviewer
BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.The movie is set in December 1910. Mrs. Santa Claus is trying to convince her husband, Santa Claus, to take a new route, but he is preoccupied with the Christmas rush and won't listen. Disgruntled, she takes the sleigh out herself, but is forced to land in New York City, where she is stranded when one of the reindeer (Cupid) becomes injured. As "Mrs. North", she takes up board with a family of Jewish immigrants who do not celebrate Christmas. She befriends many of the local children and women, and becomes involved with political issues of the period such as child labor and women's suffrage.This film run 90 minutes and its very charming. This film is way above the average Christmas TV-Movie. You should watch this when you are making Christmas cookies. You can tell they put a lot a work in this production and it paid off.
Mama-C
Mrs. Santa Claus is absolutely delightful. It's styled like an old time Broadway Musical and perfect for all ages. My 90 year old mother-in-law and my 2.5 year old granddaughter adored it. It was actually written by a Jewish guy and the words & music were written by another Jewish guy (Jerry Herman who wrote the scores to Mame, Hello Dolly and La Cage aux folles). In addition to the wonderful score, it has Rob Marshall's choreography. The guy who plays the stable keeper is now playing Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys. It also features a young version of the daughter from Grounded For Life who has a fantastic voice. If you have kids, you may recognize Michael Jeter (Arvo) who plays Mr. Noodle on Elmo's World. Angela Lansbury plays Mrs. Santa Claus. There's a lot of talent and good entertainment there. It's now on my list of Christmas movies to watch each year. However, my granddaughter won't let me put it away just yet.
Jackson Booth-Millard
It is quite an obvious film to make, I just wonder why they haven't made it a proper film for the cinemas, or at least base it on the book I've read by Penny Ives. Basically Mrs. Santa Claus (Angela Lansbury) gets bored of the same job of helping the elves at the North Pole, and her husband, Santa Claus (The Muppet Movie's Charles Durning), so she decides to go on a explore of New York. She ends up getting a short term job for mean Augustus P. Tavish (Terrence Mann) making toys for the shops, and the only help she has is from the children workers. There are some good songs in amongst the almost corny story, but it is quite a pleasant film for Lansbury to be in, and it is a good family film for Christmas. Also starring Mousehunt's Michael Jeter as Arvo, Lynsey Bartilson as Nora Kilkenny, Bryan Murray as Officer Doyle, David Norona as Marcello Damaroco and Debra Wiseman as Sadie Lowenstein. Okay!