The Real St. Nick (2012 TV Movie) User Reviews

Cute Holiday movie

[tkell31 · 7/10 · 29 November 2013]

Looks like the Grinch and his cousins have been reviewing this movie. Sure it's formulaic about a guy who thinks he is Santa Claus, but everything gets explained in a pretty reasonable way. There is also the creepy guy - cut girl - good hearted guy love triangle that works out as expected. Along the way we're reminded that the Holidays are all about spirit and caring.

Devitto is adorable as Kate and Gitter is a close second as her institutionalized sister with an aversion to being touched. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well making this a cut above the normal Lifetime/Hallmark feel good fare. Have a Happy Holidays and feel safe enjoying this family friendly movie.

Amateur Dramatics

[Lew777 · 3/10 · 9 November 2020]

It's very rare for me to bail out of watching a film the whole way through - but the poor acting & amateur storylines just made me stop watching. They're trying to blend a sweet Christmas theme mixed with One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - and it just doesn't work. Sorry !!

Do not watch this movie.

[roseellenwomersley · 25 December 2012]

The psychiatrist falls in love with the patient. This is NEVER okay. Not even if the patient thinks he is Santa Claus. Sure, it's trying to be cute but in real life if a psychiatrist acts that way towards a patient, she will be fired and banned from practicing. She was taking advantage of him and using his situation to get him to fall in love with her.

If a psychiatrist finds herself attracted to a patient, it is HER responsibility to make sure that she is removed from his treatment plan. I have been in mental hospitals and I have been in the treatment of a psychiatrist for over five years. If any of my providers had done what she does to him in this movie, I don't know what I would have done. When you are in a mental hospital you are in a fragile state. Portraying the relationship between care provider and patient as being okay is irresponsible.

Not my kind of funny.

[adamjohns-42575 · 1/10 · 3 December 2020]

I probably should have trusted my gut and turned it off after the first five minutes. The idea of Father Christmas with amnesia was only ever going to be stupid and that's a shame, because a more genuine and realistic take on this story could be quite sweet.

The mental hospital shenanigans took over the romantic element to the point that I was surprised by how much they'd fallen for each other in such a short space of time.

Some of the acting was terrible, especially the evil boss and the brother, but the guy playing Jack was superb.

All a little extreme and far too silly for my tastes.

Kenneth Choi MAKES this movie!

[coco!!! · 8/10 · 24 December 2012]

Kenneth Choi makes this movie watchable. His character, Jack, is a mental patient who thinks he's Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." And he's really good. You don't see enough Asian actors in roles that aren't somewhat stereotypically "Asian" and this is a wonderful role for him. The rest of the movie? Eh...yes, your typical lame Lifetime holiday movie. Girl meets boy, other boy wants her but she doesn't want him, despite him being the "respectable" choice...but in the end, girl ends up with the boy who thinks he's Santa Claus. Corny, predictable, holiday fare. With, you know, mental patients to lend a little comedic relief.

But Kenneth Choi's Jack is pretty freakin' awesome.

Not worth watching

[nancy-and-grace · 1/10 · 27 December 2012]

This movie started out somewhat entertaining but it went downhill fast! A man thinks he is Santa Claus and is admitted to a mental hospital. The hospital administrator is portrayed as the "bad guy". The patients act like unruly children which is an unfortunate and inaccurate portrayal of mental illness. The main character is a traumatized man who would benefit from real mental health services, not from falling in love with his psychiatrist, At the end there is an incredibly disturbing scene in which the police cruelly and unnecessarily use their tasers. I think that this is meant to be funny, but it is just disturbing. This scene alone makes the movie unfit for children! The ending is a letdown - a waste of 2 hours!!

Terrible

[ronterry55 · 1/10 · 28 November 2021]

Christmas in a psychiatric hospital where the staff as well as patients refer to the hospital as a nuthouse; a looneybin. The staff call the patients nuts and make fun of patients. One male even says he needs some ECT as a top off. Very inappropriate; making fun of mental illness.

In comes an amnesiac Santa, with whom the attending psyciatrist falls in love. A total breach of doctor/patient boundaries.

Terrible acting, and story make this the worst TV holiday movie.

the second worst movie I've ever seen

[umbrellalater · 2/10 · 10 March 2023]

You got your doctor who does absolutely nothing besides lounge around with the patient she's falling for, your classic scrooge boss, your terrible Jack Nicholson impressions peppered throughout, your outlandish plot holes...

The hospital staff collectively commit car theft, kidnapping, sexual assault, neglect, and obstruction of justice. The mental patients commit physical and sexual assault, petty theft, breaking and entering, and fraud. There's even a funny little police brutality scene!

I exclusively watch bad movies, and this one takes the cake as one of the most absolutely absurd, irregular, unrealistic pieces of garbage ever produced. The ludicrously unprofessionalism and incompetency of the hospital staff is a huge win for awful cinema. This movie is definitely a holiday classic. Five bags of popcorn.

Don't get your hopes up.

[circle8 · 1/10 · 16 December 2012]

This is not a movie you would like to see or admit you watched. The story was lame and the acting was worse. If the director even tried to make a watchable movie he should be fired. My 6 year old daughter quit watching before the half way mark. Her comment was "Daddy this movie is dumb, do I have to watch it?" Maybe I should point out the acting reminded me of a grammar school Christmas play where the children playing trees make mistakes causing the parents to giggle and laugh under their breath. The hospital administrator was like watching a child actor trying to play the part of an adult. Much like Alfalfa in the old our gang movies. The script was written by someone who if wrote for an animated cartoon show they would be fired. Sorry I just can not find anything positive about the movie at least to the part where we could not watch it anymore.