Rent A Boy Called Christmas (2021)

Muddled, Derivative Santa back-story which is cluttered with too many characters & a convoluted plot - A Boy Called Christmas review by PV

I found this film deeply annoying. Why? Well any story which requires an elf casting a magic spell as a plot point is taking the easy way out and cheating. Toby Jones phones it in there.

It is the characters which should drive the story., always. Here, it is if the author has cobbled together an absurd Father Christmas backstory from anywhere he can - legends/myths, Buddhist sayings, Scandinavian folklore, the Wizard of Oz etc. Consequently, it's all an annoying and very derivative mash-up and OH so slushy gloopy sentimental saccharine too.

I cannot see kids loving it - or following the story, which has way too many characters and is cluttered and flabby and convoluted. Watch the Wizard of Oz instead, again and again and again. Way too many characters - and the way everyone with Nicolas has for be a 'strong independent female' is tiresome too. And predictable in these woke metoo days.

I admire very much the wonderful special effects - the CGI is elegantly done and directed. A huge team of people did that, in the Czech Republic and at the historic Barrandov Studios. Much of what you see here is made on computer. This is a VERY expensive movie, have no doubt.

The tickbox casting could have been created by the local council diversity enforcement department, however, and is often cringe-worthy.

I have not read all the book - just the start for free on the usual online book website - and there is no bookending of the main story there. Why is it done here? To get in a black family? To make it relatable? To make it even more slushy sentimental and gushing with teary emotion? Unnecessary and rather lazy, I thought.

All a bit of a mess and rather forgettable. I suspect the book it came from would not have got published had the author just sent it to agents/publishers either.

And I think if I were a child, I'd be bored by it all, frankly, and just focus on the CGI special effects whizz-bang stuff, and at the end of the film I'd be pretty muddled about what it';s all about.

So 2 stars for all those reasons.