Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street_360P

source: Miracle on 34th Street

Much better that I thought it would be, but why would John Hughes choose a movie that's practically impossible to top an earlier version. The parts that I found irritating were trademark John Hughes like the drunk Santa showing his butt-crack. Still the story maintains its Christmas charm, with good performances from Richard Attenborough as Kriss Kringle and Mara Wilson as Susan Walker, but neither compare to Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood, respectively. I wonder how $$ Santa had in his sack to convince George Seaton, the 1947 version's director and screen-writer, to write another version of his inimitable classic There are so many other better Christmas movies out there, not to mention the 1947 version. It seems a shame that the film-makers tried to redo a true classic.

While a good movie remake, with a fine performance by Richard Attenborough, it simply lacks the overall charm and "presence" of the 1947 movie, which I recommend watching instead, whether in the original black-and-white or the later colorized version.

This movie is best all time Christmas movie! Whether its the 1994 version with Richard Attenborough, Mara Wilson, Elizabeth Perkins and Dylan McDermott or the 1947 version with Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood and William Frawley, I can watch either one every year with the same emotional pull every time! "I believe!" Each version changes the miracle (the 1947 uses the US Post Office's innumerable letters to Santa Claus and the 1994 uses the US One Dollar bill's "In God We Trust"), but they both have the same effect. It's too bad Macy's didn't lend it's name to this excellent makeover, especially being the the parade is known as the "Macy's Day Parade," but instead giving way to the fictitious S.F Cole store in the make over.

The original Miracle on 34th Street is a classic. Much that is good about the original is changed in this one. The actor that plays Santa is good in both but the male lead, female lead, and child lead are all far better in the original. The Macy's and Gimbles plot line is also far superior to the changed one here. I hated the acting, hated the changes, and hated the movie. There was no need for this movie to be made. Inferior in every way.

Richard Attenberough is excellent as usual but the movie is cheesy and over acted. In a world full of xmas movies, this one sits right in the middle of the pack.

You know, I always try to have an open mind when it comes to movies, but this particular one never should have been made in the first place. But if you are going to try and remake a classic like Miracle on 34th Street, you should do way better than this. I mean the original movie had these amazing actors such as Edmund Gwen, Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood. So when the remake came out the cast ended up falling really short of the already exceptionally high marks left by these ridiculously talented people. Bottom line, the original is magical and a timeless classic, the remake is a badly failed attempt to capture what the first film pulled off so flawlessly.

Horrible, doesn't hold a candle to the "real" one from 1947. WAY too many sappy close-ups of Mara Wilson's would-be "cute" expressions (of which she has exactly one, used ad nauseum in both this and Mrs. Doubtfire) and brings in a completely bizarre and irrelevant Christian angle to the end. As others have pointed out, "In God We Trust" was NOT originally on currency, and was only added in 1957. It was a sign of the times and should not be assumed to be a government endorsement of religion. Americans believe in literally thousands of "gods" and yet only one Santa Claus, so his "god" argument was ridiculous and nonsensical. It's no wonder Macy's didn't want to be associated with this film. Treacly sentimentality, mawkish pandering to religious fanatics, and lackluster acting make this movie more akin to a made-for-TV film than a remake of a classic. If you want to watch "Miracle On 34th Street," then watch the real one. Give this gooey, inferior imitator a wide berth.