Reviewed by Doug Cooper
Stars Patrick Swayze, Matthew Knight, Amy Schlagel, Zoe Schlagel, Cameron Bright, Chris Kattan, Preston Lacy, Carmen Electra, Tim Curry, Matthew Walker
Written by Wanda Birdson Shope, James Orr & Jim Cruickshank
Certification UK PG | US PG
Runtime 99 minutes
Directed by James Orr
A sentimental kids movie starring the late Swayze as a harrassed father who's moved his family from LA to Edmonton, Canada. It's Christmas Eve, his wife's flight has been delayed from the US and he hasn't yet bought the Christmas tree or any presents for his children.
To remedy this he takes his three siblings to the local mall. Leaving the eldest (Bright) in charge of the other two he then goes off to shop - and promptly disappears for much of the movie. It's the two younger kids (Knight and the Schlagel twins) who take centre stage. While ice skating, a bagful of conterfeit money is mistakenly thrown down onto the ice rink. They promptly pick up the bag and purloin its contents, spending the dough on gifts, food and presents.
But they're soon given chase around the mall by the incompetent brothers who were supposed to be looking after the money, sharply dressed Kattan and moronic imbecile Lacy. Their boss, vampish Electra, is also after the kids whole Curry, sporting an embarrassing Scottish accent, is the law enforcement official unwittingly nailing Swayze as the culprit for the forged money. Nice to see he's as unsubtle as ever, bless 'im.
For adults it's a painful experience, the attempts at humour are laboured and hamfisted, the dialogue cliched and the direction pedestrian. But young kids will get a kick out of the pantomimic turns from Kattan and Lacy and the hackneyed plot is probably fast moving enough to keep them engaged. By all means take your (very) young children to it, but you have been warned.