Stealing Christmas (2003)

Around this time of year, we watch Christmas movies, and this is a new Christmas classic to add to the mix. I love the plot. It reminds me of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Everybody was perfectly cast. Tony Danza stars as a thief named Jack Clayton. When Jack is about to be caught at the mall, he dresses up as Santa Claus and hops on the bus to Evergreen. He is mistaken for the new Santa at Sarah Gibson's tree store. He is very reluctant at first, but after becoming a part of the town, earning their trust, and falls in love with Sarah, he begins to have second thoughts on robbing Evergreen's bank. I highly recommend STEALING Christmas!!!

I am watching this movie as I write, and am so impressed with Tony Danza's performance. What an underused, underrated actor! Someone of influence should take note, and give Mr. Danza the opportunity to act in a major film. The movie itself is not bad. Good as Christmas movies go.

Stop me if you've heard this one before. A wisecracking thug, Tony Danza, finds himself running from the law after a botched mall heist. He's able to escape using a Santa suit, and boards the first bus out of the city. 50 miles away in the tiny town of Evergreen, a case of mistaken identity lands him a job playing Santa at Lea Thompson's Christmas Tree yard. Enter a wealth of typical small-town personalities: The independent Christmas Tree yard owner who doesn't take any crap. A rebellious daughter named Noel. The flirtatious waitress. The dutiful cop. The jealous boyfriend-wannabe who suspects Danza is more than he appears. And Betty White in the same role she's played in every film post-Golden Girls.As you might expect, Danza soon realizes that he can take advantage of the town's goodwill and naivety. He recruits a demolitions expert, and plans to rob the town blind when the bank vault is full on Christmas Eve. That target date gives him enough time to grow closer to the townsfolk. And the sincerity of his new friends, and perhaps a little bit of Christmas spirit, begins to melt that cold exterior.Will Tony Danza go through with the heist? Will Tony Danza fall in love? Will Tony Danza ever shake his Who's the Boss character? There's only one way to find out. Catch this formula effort the next time it's on USA. If you aren't expecting much more than your typical Yule Tide Movie of the Week, you should be satisfied.

Tony Danza, one of the most underrated actors in the business today, does a fine job portraying a bad guy who has the potential to be good, given the right circumstances. He finds that opportunity while on the lam from a failed department store breakin, ending up in a small town and meeting a widowed Lea Thompson and her cute daughter and taking a job as the village Santa Claus for 3 weeks. Solid supporting cast and plausible story line make for an excellent USA network film, seemingly shot in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast. Betty White is, well, a very good Betty White. Film isn't hokey, even if Danza does get off a line about the Lea Thompson character: "She's the boss." Come to think of it, there are times when she resembles Judith Light. All in all, good holiday fare.