Call Me Claus

Cantankerous home shopping network producer Lucy (Whoopi Goldberg) inadvertently hires the real Santa Claus (Nigel Hawthorne) for her channel's "Kristmas Korner" sales campaign in this made-for-TV movie. But Santa's presence there is anything but accidental, as his 200-year contract is about to expire and he must convince Lucy to take over the reigns both figuratively and literally. What's at stake? Not just Christmas, but the fate of the planet in this holiday offering, executive-produced by Goldberg and Garth Brooks. Goldberg does her dreadlocked Santa thing, and Brooks sings such classics as "Sleigh Ride," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and Louis Armstrong's signature "Zat You, Santa Claus?" While its message of diversity is generally handled in a low-key fashion, the 90-minute film directly deals with the issue of a black (and female) Kris Kringle with an excerpt from B.J. Wrights's poem "Can Santa Be Black?" This congenial film is appropriate for ages 7 and up. --Kimberly Heinrichs