Rating: NR
Genre:
Children's/Family
Release Date: 12/11/2001
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol/Por/KO/TH
Dubbed: English
Sound: DDS2.0
Run Time: 90 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Columbia TriStar
As a child,
Lucy Cullins asked
Santa Claus to bring her father home from Vietnam. But when her dad returned in a pine box, the embittered
Lucy decided that Christmas -- and every other holiday for that matter -- was a humbug. Now all grown-up (and played by
Whoopi Goldberg),
Lucy is the hard-as-nails producer for the Shop-A-Lot Channel, a home-shopping cable service. While auditioning actors to play
Santa Claus for a hokey Yuletide informercial series,
Lucy hires a twinkly eyed old gentleman named
Nick (
Nigel Hawthorne), who, unbeknownst to everyone but the audience, is the genuine, bonafide "Ho Ho Ho" man himself. Facing mandatory retirement at age 200,
Nick must find someone to take his place as
Santa Claus for the next two centuries. The person he chooses in none other than
Lucy Cullins -- and if she doesn't accept the job, the North Pole will melt, wreaking havoc upon everyone in the world, whether they're "naughty" or "nice." Originally conceived as a vehicle for a black man,
Call Me Claus was reshaped as a showcase for
Whoopi Goldberg when the actress signed on as co-executive producer. Also in the production lineup was
country & western singer
Garth Brooks, who penned a handful of new songs for the occasion.
Call Me Claus debuted over the
TNT cable network on December 2, 2001.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
;)
