Miracle on 34th Street . Tucson Weekly . 01-05-95

Miracle on 34th Street

DIRECTED BY: Les Mayfield

REVIEWED: 01-05-95

John Hughes, who wrote and produced this remake of the well-known Christmas movie, puts all the elements neatly in place--the twinkly eyed Santa, the excruciatingly cute child, the grumpy adults who need to be converted--and sends them laboriously through the motions. There's no originality or subversiveness here, and Les Mayfield's stiff, plodding direction doesn't help either. Although Richard Attenborough makes a believable Saint Nick, the ridiculous courtroom-drama climax turns him into a walking "symbol of faith," which drains all the joy out of the concept of Santa. Attenborough never gets to say "ho ho ho," and neither will you.

--Zachary Woodruff

Other Films by Les Mayfield
Blue Streak
Flubber

Film Vault Suggested Links
A Dog of Flanders
The Prince of Egypt
Summer of the Monkeys

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