|
|
 |
Stalking Santa
R1 - America - Excel Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Steve McCleary (11th December 2007). |
|
The Film
 The comedy mockumentary "Stalking Santa" is the brainchild of director Greg Kiefer and writer Daryn Tufts. Shot in a style that is reminiscent of "The Office" (2005-Present) and "Waiting for Guffman" (1996) (so says the inside blurb) we are witness to the obsession of Lloyd Darrow (Chris Clark) and his loyal intern Clarence (Daryn Tufts). Darrow is a firm believer that Santa Claus is as real as you or I. As a 'Santologist' Darrow endeavors in the 30 days leading up to this one Christmas to prove that Santa is not just a childhood lie, as he has amassed quite the bounty of evidence that suggests Mr. Kringle may be among us. He is joined in this quest by his long-suffering wife Barbara (Lisa Clark) and his 12 year-old-son Keith (Simon Taylor, naughty) and 7 year-old Kylie (Sierra Squires, nice). Never wavering, regardless of what obstacles he might face, Darrow vows to prove once and for all that this legend is real. "Stalking Santa" is a film that can't really seem to decide which way it wants to face. On one hand it offers up much 'hard evidence' that confirms the existence of Santa, as well as other shadowy Government people who try to dissuade him. But then he is also treated by the crew that are documenting his experiment, and by the tone of the film, as someone that is a few reindeer short of a sleigh. One moment there'll be some footage that is almost irrefutable evidence to his existence, and then there'll be one that seems to negate it. Darrow's parents share a story about their son wanting something for Christmas and not getting it because they had no money. Does this not mean Santa is not real? Or had Darrow simply not been a good boy that year? It's funny because I'm willing to move past the concept that a man can fly around the world in one night and can fit down any chimney...but I have trouble accepting that he apparently visits every home to dole out gifts and yet no parents ever notice their kids having presents they didn't give them? That is the major plot hole in this theory. Even though it is a comedy they do give comedic explanations to all the other so-called unexplainable actions. And yet, while this plot hole is referenced as part of what Santa does, there is no explanation for this. Simply, if Santa existed, every parent would have noticed. I do understand that I'm pulling apart the wool that holds together the stocking of this 'ho ho ho-ax' comedy, but in the case of this particular film the suspension of disbelief doesn't hold the whole way through, as they attempt to put into a scientific light his existence...meaning it has to stand up under it's own internal logic. Or I could be thinking into it too deeply... Don't let the above sway you, however, because this is still quite the enjoyable feature. The cast are all nicely understated most of the time and they are all well-cast for their roles. There are interviews with (what I believe are) real children, and as you'd expect, there is one little girl that is there to make you go 'awwwwwww'. She has a lisp, people. There is no way to escape the 'awwwwwww' factor here. Wrapping it all together, the voice of the narrator is the incomparable William Shatner. And if you don't like listening to Shatner talk then you won't like this film and you probably won't get any presents this year. Shatner's gift for dramatic timing is beautifully on display here. The screener edition of the film I got came in a nice Christmas stocking and contained a booklet with images from Darrow's experiment (it's a shame that retail versions were not packaged this way). I was pretty much sold from that moment onwards. Every inch of the promotion and film is put together well. And the feature itself, the writing and story, weave an amusing tale of either a deluded fool or a true believer. There are definitely more pros than cons in this one. Thumbs up.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1 this anamorphic transfer is taken from the original miniDV source in which the film was shot in. The image is usually sharp however there are a few scenes that look a bit soft, blacks are a bit crushed and not as deep as they should be, however colors are nice and vibrant with accurate skin tones. The overall print is clean without any dirt, aside from some minor flaws it's a decent enough presentation.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English Dolby Digital 5.1 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its 5.1 soundtrack, which wasn't all that immersive. The film is essentially shot in a documentary style so dialogue is the only real focus and that is presented clearly and without distortion in this rather front heavy mix. Music cues and some limited ambient noise make up the activity in the surrounds. Optional subtitles are also included in English.
Extras
Excel Entertainment has released this film with an audio commentary, deleted scenes, an artifacts gallery and the film's theatrical trailer. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up is a feature-length audio commentary by the film's director Greg Kiefer, writer/actor Daryn Tufts and actor Chris Clark, this feature is not listed in the special features sub menu but rather accessible through the set-up sub menu. In this track the guys comment on the genesis of the project from being a short film script that was developed into a feature, compiling the evidence and production information including a lot of improvised moments, happy accidents, locations and shooting what seemed like endless amounts of footage. They also comment on the cast, the interviews with the real kids and talk about their favorite moments. It's a fairly decent track that provides a lot of information so fans of the film should check it out, while casual viewers may want to pass. Next up are a series of 5 deleted scenes which can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option and include: - "Happy Hunting" runs for 1 minute 35 seconds, Lloyd's grandparents wish them a happy hunt after seeing the equipment to track Santa. - "It's the TERD Guys" runs for 3 minutes 49 seconds, this is the extended radio show interview scene. - "Maybe Now He'll Get a Job" runs for 36 seconds, Barbara talks about how it's been a good year for her husband and hopes now he'll find a real job. - "You're Very Tall and In My Way" runs for 58 seconds, Lloyd and Clarence find it difficult to film in the mall. - "Alternate Ending" runs for 14 seconds here we get to see the footage that Lloyd shot from the cookie cam. Following that is an artifacts gallery that features optional audio commentary by writer/actor Daryn Tufts and actor Chris Clark, there are 12 images including a document and some photographs as the two guys tell us about them. Rounding out the extras is the film's original theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 14 seconds.
Overall
|
|||||
|