Crazy For Christmas / 2005 / made-for-tv movie
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| It's hard out there for a single made-for-tv movie mom. |
Howard Hesseman plays Fred Nickells, a wildly rich man. He is insanely rich. Like, owns multiple buildings in the best Manhattan neighborhoods rich. Nickells is in the winter of his life, and apparently has gone off the deep end - this Christmas, he is intent to give away thousands upon thousands of dollars, spending it willy nilly, tossing cash at whoever happens across his path.
I’m sure his character was supposed to be a one-dimensional display of whimsy and cheer, but Hesseman accidentally imbues him with realness and depth. What we see on screen is a legitimately lost old man, smile plastered on his face, absolutely out of touch with the common New Yorker - he throws around hundred dollar bills like they’re pennies, tossing fistfuls up in the air amidst crowds of strangers (who miraculously don’t kill each other, or him, to get their hands on the cash). His ceaseless babbling and inability to listen to anyone around him perfectly convey the character flaws of the super-rich - his entire life is a bubble, and no one tells him what he doesn’t want to hear.
The story is driven by Nickells’ mysterious selection of a limo-driver - Shannon McManus (Andrea Roth) - to cart him around all day on Christmas Eve. Roth plays it real in her portrayal as well (so out of sync with the genre) - she is a weary single mother, struggling to stay afloat and provide for her son. She has little patience for Nickells’ elfish mischief, basically telling him to cut the shit, and he tones the act down a bit and ups the cash to keep her around.
Nickells’ odd references to her mother and father tip us off to some big Christmas reveal that is coming, but hurt-and-still-healing Shannon McManus just gets pissed. The two go back and forth all morning, and finally Nickells drops the obvious bombshell - he is her real father, and has bought her and her son a midtown mansion.
This one doesn’t ever really find its stride. The heart-throb local beat reporter is annoying - he’s ripped straight out of the pages of an early 90’s Sears catalogue. His national news outlet aspirations (his only defining character trait) are instantly thrown out the window at the mere possibility of dating an aging limo driver single mom. The romantic subplot takes a backseat to the father/daughter weirdness, thank god. Joe Flaherty makes a brief appearance, but he’s given nothing to work with and is utterly misused.
NSM - Non-Santa Movie
CDEM - Capitalist Deus Ex Machina
GCS - Gratuitous Community Service
TOH - Touches On Homelessness
AK - Annoying Kid
Nipping at your nose,
- Jon Bobby Elf
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