Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

ElMaruecan82 To give the movie its deserved credit, Richard Attenborough is a wonderful successor to the iconic Kris Kingle as played by Edmund Gwenn in George Seaton's seminal Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street" and Mara Wilson is just as good as the little girl who doesn't believe in Santa but wishes she could and only asks for a proof. In fact, she embodies our very attitude toward the film, we love the original, we want to embrace this one with the same enthusiasm, so we're waiting for the script to charm us.And it's only fair to have high anticipations, the film was made in 1994 when commercialism was as preeminent as five decades later, and written by John Hughes who could give a subtle dimension of satire and benign cynicism, all these elements could have given an edge to the 1994 remake. Unfortunately, the film doesn't really manages to deliver: when it's good, it's just as good as the original, the rest of the time, it's just a pale copy that fails to capture the the taste of its era. This film could have been made in the 80's or the 70's as well because the story is timeless, but not in the 'appealing' meaning of the word.It's incredible but "Miracle on 34th Street" manages to feel more dated than its glorious predecessor, the 1947 version starring Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O'Hara and young Natalie Wood. Maybe the remake was liable to feel dated because the 1947 classic was already ahead of its time for its take on Christmas consumerism, its portrayal of a divorced mother and a precocious girl (tired tropes today), so any attempt to duplicate the charm of the movie was likely to fail... unless it tried to modernize the original premise a little bit.The problem with Les Mayfield's movie and John Hughes' screenplay is that the two men seem to be in awe with the original and never really dare to make the original structure shatter, not a bit. As a result, we have quite exactly the same movie, and the changes operated in this one never feel as improvements but rather inspire the opposite feeling. For instance, the climactic trial scene with the bags of mail delivered on the courtroom is only replaced by a parallel drawn between the existence of Santa Claus and the faith in God which, as smart as it is, is anticlimactic and leaves many things in wanting.We all know the story is heading toward a heart-warming and magical conclusion but there's just something curiously depressing in the turn of events that lead the gentle Kris Kingle in jail and the way his aura immediately fades while the set-up of his downfall is quite obvious. There was a moment where I expectedKingle to tell that the man he assaulted had just literally accused him of the worst possible crime and had the punch coming, but the scene dangerously flirts with the idiotic plot where the lines that can get you off the hook aren't said, for no other reason that they're waiting for the right moment. I feel a bit guilty to be so judgmental, again there's that snow beard in Richard Attenborough and that glee in his eyes that makes many scenes with him very touching, I loved his interaction with the deaf girl (a smart remake of the Dutch scene), his chemistry with Mara Wilson hit the right chord, and that little girl is a genuinely good actress conveying the right mix of smartness and innocence (a bit like a real-life Lisa Simpson). But the film reminded me of that scene where Kingle and Bryan, the lawyer enamored with Susan's mother, and played by Dylan McDermott, discuss about the mother (Elizabeth Perkins) and say there's something quite sad about her.There's something sad in the film as well, sometimes, Elizabeth Perkins overplay that feeling and make any scene she's in a killjoy, even her romance with Dylan, while integral to the original happy ending, are only inserted in the movie as an 'obligation' but it's obvious these moments slow down the script more than anything. There are a few good characters in the film, the judge played by a scene-stealing Robert Prosky, the so underrated J.T. Walsh as the prosecutor but the film loses its way in many unnecessary plot points, and escalate to a trial where we feel cheated because we didn't have our bags of mail, after all, there was no Internet yet in 1994, it could work.The film is still an enchanting moment that can please any child of any age, but it lacks that little sharpness, the taste of modernity it needed, and luck, too. Macy's didn't want its name associated with the film so they had to come up with a fictional company had to invent a and make the rival an evil businessman, missing the opportunity of the 'marketing policy' subplot that made the first film so ahead of its time. It's like Mayfield and Hughes didn't trust their own material, they had so charming protagonists who could carry the film alone, who needed villains? Especially when the "system" or the world's cynicism was good enough an antagonist. A good film nonetheless, but so one-dimensional in its treatment it feels dated by the original film's standards.

2karl- when you believe in something or someone you love deeply enough anything is possible this is remake of a 1947 film of the same name with Richard Edinburgh playing Kris Kringle he plays his role perfectly as a being and a belief in people believing in this figure gives this man hope as he sets up a pet project as a little girl who doesn't believe in dreams and reality of Kris as 6 yr old Susan her mother lost her spirit long time ago and it rubbed off and doesn't expect any surprises on Xmas but after meeting a department store Santa who makes her believe in one so as Cole's department store is saved by a figure as he is Santa another shop decides to frame him and but Cole's out of business with Santa locked up Dylan McDermott character who is a lawyer must get the court that losing this man identity would mean the spirit of Xmas ruined forever plus he wants his step daughter a chance to love this joyous uplifting film will make us all believe as this is 1hr49mins and I give this 7/10 this is in my top 5 Xmas films of all time

NateWatchesCoolMovies I haven't yet seen the original Miracle On 34th Street film, so until then I'll focus on Les Mayfield's pristine 1994 update. It's a warmhearted delight of a piece, painted in bold, kindly strokes and starring Richard Attenborough in a wonderful, childlike, good natured yet vulnerable performance as Kris Kringle, and elderly gent living in New York City who is convinced that he is really Father Christmas. Like.. for real. Little Susan Walker (Mara Wilson) believes and befriends him. Wilson was a child actress staple in the 90's, also making adorable impressions in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire. She's precious here, full of wonder and blooming compassion that's kindled by spirited Kringle. Her mother (Elizabeth Perkins) is in charge of the Macy's Christmas parade and when the drunken Santa she's hired acts a damn fool and is fired, Kringle steps up to the plate. He's a hit, and when word gets out of his belief in himself as the real Santa, controversy stirs, in trademark obnoxious New York fashion. And so a media hooplah leads to a hysterical court case to prove whether Kringle is the real deal. He's defended by compassionate lawyer Dylan McDermott and prosecuted by a smarmy J.T. Walsh, always welcome. There's also work from James Remar as corrupt hoodlum Jack Duff who has a hilarious turn of faith near the end, Robert Prosky as New York's crankiest judg, and appearances from Jennifer Morrison, Jane Leeves, Allison Janney, Mary Mckormack, Jack Mcgee and Joss Ackland. The film comes out a winner thanks to Wilson and especially Attenborough, who plays Kringle with a frank naivety and beaming soul, qualities which everyone hopes and expects to see in Father Christmas, should he really be out there somewhere.

zardoz-13 "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" director John Hughes has done an admirable job reworking writer & director George Seaton's Santa Claus on trial classic "Miracle on 34th Street" but he has made some interesting as well as creative changes with the narrative. The names of various characters have been altered and certain incidents from the original have been enlarged. First, the psychiatrist named Sawyer has been omitted. Second, Hughes has added some melodrama in the form of a villainous department store owner struggling to implement a takeover bid. This villain has a henchman who exploits the drunken Santa Claus that Kris Kringle revealed. The names of popular department stores, such as Macy's and Gimbals', have been altered, too, to fictional stores. .Hughes has taken certain liberties that were not done in the original. Elizabeth Perkins is far more reserved than Maureen O'Hara as the heroine, but she is incredibly sincere. Dylan McDermott is perfect as John Payne's replacement who is an attorney who desperately sets out to woo the Perkins heroine. If anybody bestows a sense of dignity to this respectable remake, actor/director Richard Attenborough does so as Kris Kringle. The strong supporting cast consists of James Remar as the rival department store owner's henchman; J.T. Walsh as the public prosecutor, and Robert Prosky plays Judge Henry Harper. Unfortunately, the remake lacks the passion of the original. There is no mail bag scene, and the Judge issues his ruling based on the circled words "In God We Trust" on a one dollar bill that secures Kringle's release. Like the original, the Santa Claus definitely believes that he is the one and only Santa. This "Miracle on 34th Street" is appropriate for our enlightened, cynical age and doesn't touch the commercialism of Christmas issue. Les Mayfield does a good job of shepherding the remake through to its inevitable conclusion. Alvin Greenman is the only cast member from the original, but he doesn't play a department store janitor this time. Instead, he is cast as a doorman. Although it lacks the spontaneity of the original, you may enjoy this version more. Inevitably, the two romantic leads unite at fade-out.