Released prison after two years, Steve (Spall) and his 10-year-old son Tom (Connor) are desperate to see each other, but Tom's mum Alison (Whittaker) wants a family Christmas with her new husband Tony (McGuire). Then Tom discovers a man (Broadbent) in his garage claiming to be Santa Claus and asks Steve for help. Skeptical, Steve goes along with an elaborate rescue mission just to be with Tom. But there are reindeer running loose in London, and after Santa is arrested for trying to liberate them, everything begins to turn suspiciously magical for Steve and Tom.

Much of the plot hinges on one massive coincidence: Santa is sent to the same prison where Steve was held, which drags his fellow inmates (Graham, Davis and Anozie) into the mayhem. And there's an attempt to ground things with a revelation that goes nowhere. Otherwise, the script is tight and witty, with a playfully rude sense of humour and a hint of complexity to the characters. All of the actors dive into their roles and have fun subverting expectations.

Broadbent is a properly jolly presence, managing to make even the silliest sequences enjoyable (such as his lessons in how to act tough in prison). Meanwhile, Spall dives fearlessly into a rather ridiculous role as a man who has to discover his inner child in order to be a better father (and of course to save Christmas). Scanlan provides deranged comic relief as his toad-loving parole officer, while Davis has the scene-stealing role as a short-tempered inmate who certainly is not an elf.

While veering between wacky slapstick and sentimental emotion, Smith manages to strike the right tone, never quite over-egging things. Kids will enjoy the gross-out goofiness and the wish-fulfilment adventure, while grown-ups will probably find the film funnier than their children thanks to a script that's packed with gags aimed far above the youngsters' heads. So even though the movie is essentially yet another "find the true nature of Christmas" movie, it's a lot smarter than most. And perhaps more enduring too.

themes, vulgarity, some violence

15.Nov.14