Written by Valentine Davies & John Hughes
Directed by Les Mayfield
Kris Kringle: "Oh, but there is. I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. You know, I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you're doomed for a life dominated by doubt."
There was a time when remakes were actually pretty decent. Not only that, but also a time when some of them were actually as good as the original in question. It didn't happen often enough but when it did, it was certainly worth it. This movie somewhat exemplifies that example.
If you're familiar with the original movie (which I recently watched myself), then this remake is more or less faithful to it as fictional department store Coles hires a sweet old man named Kris Kringle (Richard Attenborough) as their Santa for the Holidays and he's something of a hit with children and customers alike, much to the bewilderment of special events director Dorey Walker (Elizabeth Perkins) who is somewhat cynical about Father Christmas.
It's a cynicism similarly instilled into Dorey's six year old daughter, Susan (Mara Wilson), though the more time Susan spends with Mr Kringle, the more she finds herself believing in Santa Claus and as the movie progresses and Kringle finds himself in trouble with the law, courtesy of a disgruntled former mall Santa (Jack McGee) and rival store Shopper's Express (their representatives played by James Remar and Jane Leeves) playing dirty, the challenge of the movie then becomes to see whether or not the rest of the city truly believe in Santa Claus.
For this, it's probably where lawyer and love interest to Dorey, Bryan Bedford (Dylan McDermott) is best served. His friendship with Kringle is one of my favourite aspects of both this movie and it's original and his unwavering faith in his friend's innocence certainly proved crucial when we get to the trial scenes along with Susan's own dismantling of the opposing counsel and the state of New York showed they really did believe in Father Christmas.
It's a lovely remake at it's heart with the central theme of faith playing such an integral part, more overtly than the original. You see it with the characters attitudes towards the notion of Father Christmas but you also see it with the evolving love story with Dorey and Bryan and Susan's own desire for a bigger family. The ending does pay that off in a rather sweet way too as Susan gets the most definite of proof that her faith in Kris Kringle wasn't misplaced.
- This is actually the fourth remake of the original movie but only the second one to get a cinema release. Both Coles/Shopper's Express were used as Macy's didn't want part of the movie and Gimbles were out of business by then.
- The Doorman (Alvin Greenman) also appeared in the original movie as Alfred.
- John Hughes, who also co-wrote this movie was also involved in both Home Alone movies as well.
- Chronology: I'm going to assume it was set during 1994, given it's release and unlike the original, this was released somewhat closer to Christmas as well.
As remakes go, it might not be the first one, but Miracle On 34th Street is undoubtedly one of the best. It's a lovely modern update of the original, while at the same time, mostly retaining the core essence of what made the first movie such a joy to watch. It's a shame we don't get Christmas movies as good as these ones anymore.
Rating: 8 out of 10
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