Netflix, unlike your neighborhood Target, waited until the day after Halloween to start hauling out the holiday decorations. In doing so, they dropped the trailer for The Christmas Chronicles, starring Kurt Russell as Santa Claus. Yes, you read that correctly … the man who embodied the iconic Snake Plissken is now rocking a red suit, beard, and a slimmer physique than most who play the role. In fact, Russell’s Santa even blows off some steam (while slapping his own ass during the final moments of this trailer) about how his butt’s really not as big as people generally imagine. This all occurs after he gets pulled over for speeding — while he was tying to save Christmas, because obviously — and then (what the hell?) rocks out with a band in a jail cell.
With all of that said, Netflix knows exactly what they’re doing here. They pumped out a digestible film that parents might find tolerable while kids stream content on Christmas Eve. And even though this isn’t an idealized Santa, he’s still wholesome enough (unlike, of course, Billy Bob Thornton’s heisting Bad Santa) to keep the affair kid-friendly while announcing that it’s time to “get the party started.” No, this isn’t the film that Kurt Russell was born to play, but he’s keeping a sense of humor about it all, and his Santa doesn’t mess around with the “ho, ho, ho” nonsense. Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES, a holiday adventure from producer Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) and director Clay Kaytis (The Angry Birds Movie), tells the story of sister and brother, Kate (Darby Camp) and Teddy Pierce (Judah Lewis), whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus (Kurt Russell) on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about. After staking out Santa’s arrival, they sneak into his sleigh, cause it to crash and nearly derail Christmas. As their wild night unfolds, Kate and Teddy work together with Santa — as you’ve never seen him before — and his loyal Elves to save Christmas before it’s too late.
The Christmas Chronicles trailer arrives on Netflix on November 22nd.
