I don’t often watch television these days–there’s so little time as it is, and so little I really want to watch–but this evening I saw a made-for-television film on ABC Family entitled Mr. St. Nick and starring Kelsey Grammer.
The premise was simple–Grammer was Nick St. Nicholas, eligible bachelor and millionairre fundraiser. He was also the son of the current Santa Claus, and a month away from inheriting the title and the powers incumbent in the role. He had not, however, found a Mrs. Claus, nor did he have any real inclination in simply doing Christmas as it had always been done. So, after an argument with his father (played well by Charles Durning), he decided to make his own mark, and with the help of his friend Hector he established an internet charity designed to facilititate giving between total strangers. Meanwhile, his elf butler hired a new cook for him, one in danger of being deported to Venezuela because she hadn’t renewed her visa.
The plot was absolutely predictable. By about thirty minutes in I had figured out the plot twists, knew who would be double-crossing whom, knew who St. Nicholas would marry in the end, knew that he would end up saving Christmas after nearly destroying it. And I was right.
It was harmless Christmas fare, enlivened by a sardonic Grammer performance and a minor role by Wallace Shawn as an elf wizard.