Remember when Jack Black was funny? Pepperidge Farm remembers. I’m not sure I get that joke, but it’s what I’m opening with and I’m sticking to it. Black is back, this time playing the devil in Dear Santa.
From director Bobby Farrelly, Dear Santa tells the story of a young lad who still believes in Jolly Ol’ St Nick, but isn’t the best at spelling. The plot is:
A young boy who, in writing his yearly note to Santa, mixes up the letters and sends it to Satan instead.
It’s an easy mistake to make. When Satan receives the letter, he does what he can to make the young lads dreams come true. Sounds like A Nightmare Before Christmas but with less animation.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Farrelly said that Black was the first choice to play the devil:
“Jack is just that guy that with his arching eyebrows and his faces and all that, there’s a little bit of mischievous to him at all times, but he’s eminently likable, and that’s just Jack.”
“We never wanted to make it a horror movie or something like that. We wanted it to be comical. So it was a delicate ball of playing this iconic character but doing it in a way that the audience can have some fun with it. And Jack was the perfect guy.”
Dear Santa stars Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Brianne Howey, Hayes MacAuthur, Post Malone, P. J. Bryne, Robert Timonthy Smith and Gavin Munn. This movie stars Post Malone? Do I need to go on? There are some images online from Entertainment Weekly.
Dear Santa will be on Paramount+ on the 25th of November. I will say, though, that dyslexia is no laughing matter.