| Reviewer Roundup |
| 1. |
 | Susan Granger |
| review follows |
|  |
| 2. |
| Dustin Putman |
| read the review |
|  |
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Review by Susan Granger
1 star out of 4
Curious coincidence: when Tim Allen of "Home Improvements"
made a splash on the big screen, his movie was called "The Santa
Claus," now his TV-son, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, dons the red suit to
star in "I'll Be Home for Christmas." He plays a slick college kid
whose nefarious plan to provide exam answers, using electronic pagers,
to a bunch of jocks fails, and he gets stranded in the California
desert wearing a red suit and black boots with a white beard glued to
his face. Not only is his predicament unpleasant but it has
unfortunate consequences. If he cannot make it home to Westchester by
6 P.M. on Christmas Eve, he cannot claim an expensive gift from his
father: a red Porche. He's been avoiding going home since his dad
re-married - perhaps in haste, he judges - after his mother's
death. And, if that's not enough incentive, his girl-friend, Jessica
Biel, is traveling home from college during the holiday break with his
arch-nemesis, Adam LaVorgna, who fouled up his cheating scheme. Thomas
accomplishes his cross-country journey hitching rides with various
people - and learning more about himself along the way. He joins
senior citizens en route to Las Vegas to see Tom Jones perform;
discovers a van loaded with stolen toys, which he distributes to sick
kids; wins a five-kilometer race and uses the $1,000 prize to feed the
needy; and reunites a love-troubled state cop with his estranged wife
at a roadside steak restaurant. All in all, we're supposed to believe
that he becomes a better person for his troubles. Writers Harris
Goldberg, Tom Nursall, and Michael Allin with director Arlene Sanford
pepper a basic road comedy with sophomoric humor, including a farting
dog. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "I'll Be Home for
Christmas" jingles in with a 3. Bah, humbug!
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
