Third (and hopefully final) movie in the "Santa Clause" series

Santa Clause comes down the chimney, and this time comes with a big thud. "The Santa Clause 3: Escape Clause," is the third and hopefully last time Tim Allen will suit as the old and redudant old Saint Nick.

I enjoyed the first Santa Clause movie with Tim Allen, there were clever, cute, and creative gimmicks in the first one which made it an enjoyable movie. The second Santa Clause was not very good, not nearly as good as the first one, but at least it was watchable. However they really hit a new low with this third one. Tim Allen looks stupid, tired, and even looks really bored and uninterested this time in the fat suit and beard. This time "Santa Clause 3" gives us the annoying and just plain stupid character of Jack Frost played by Martin Short. He plays Santa's nemesis in an attempt to take over the bid to commercialize Christmas.

The plot and side stories in this movie are just horrible. Such as an impending childbirth for Mrs. Clause(whom Santa wooed and won in the first sequel, and a North Pole visit by her parents are just a waste of time that take away even more from the miserable plot itself.

As Christmas approaches, Allen's Santa is more frantic than ever with a baby that could arrive at any time. Mrs. Clause feels neglected, that she wishes she had some family around her to keep her company rather than Santa and the little elves. That's where her parents(Alan Arkin and Ann-Margret) come into the movie. They are not aware that their daughter is married to thy "Santa Clause" they think he is just a regular guy and even are tricked into thinking they are in some Canadian town instead of being in they North Pole. Elves uttering "EH" and other Canadian clitches really grows annoying and tiresome.

As the family arrives, Santa's dealing with Jack Frost(Martin Short) grows old too. Along with other dull characters such as Cupid played by Kevin Pollack, Mother Nurture played by Aisha Tyler, Father Time played by Peter Boyle, and the Easter Bunny played by Jay Thomas. None of these actors/actresses had much to work with, but none the less their performances weren't very good. Frost tricks Santa into invoking "the escape clause" which transports them back to the moment of the original film when Allen was a mortal who accidentally kills the real Santa then puts on the red coat and becomes the real Santa Clause. With Frost hijacking the duds, the movie turns into a lame cross between "The Year Without A Santa Clause" and "It's A Wonderful Life" as Tim Allen's character learns what the world would be like without him as Santa.

Even before Frost co-opts Christmas and turns Santa's North Pole home into a cross between a Disney World theme park and a cheap Reno casino, the whole North Pole set looks really gaudy and cheap, especially compared to the whimsical Santa land in Hollywood's last big Christmas fantasy, 2003 blockbuster hit "Elf".

Tim Allen is a talented comedian, I would think he could have found other productive things to work on other than this lame movie. The first "Santa Clause" was good I would even recommend go getting it if you have not seen it already. But stop after the first one because the next two are just not worth your time or money.

I would not recommend this movie to anyone at anytime, not even as a holiday Christmas movie the watch during the Christmas season. This movie is rated G with a running time of 92 minutes.