Review of Miracle on 34th Street (1994) by Matthew E — 14 Jan 2008

I'm going to give away the ending here (it's the only bit I've seen). From what I gathered a crazy old man thought he was Santa and went to court to not be put in an asylum. The only reason he won was because a small child pointed out to the judge that American money has "In God We Trust" printed on it, and if it was OK for the US Government to put its trust in a supernatural entity then via impeccable logic it was OK for the court to think the bloke was actually Santa.

What lessons have we learnt here? Is it that this is actually a pretty subversive film hinting that God is as real as Santa? That it's OK for a random old man to put strangers' kids on his knee as long as he beleives he's the eleven hundred-year-old patron saint of prostitutes? That the US justice system will release an obviously delusional person on Christmas Eve as long as he looks fat and jolly? You could condemn this film for being sickly and twee (which it is) but it gets a few stars for being a bit mental.