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What’s the weirdest conversation a father can have with his teenage son at Christmas? Well, it’s not what you’re thinking of. It’s like this: telling a 16-year-old that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. In Finding Father ChristmasChannel 4’s unique cocktail of festive cellophane-wrapped conspiracy thriller and tragic memoir, this revelation doesn’t go entirely to plan.
When Chris (Lenny Rush) learns that his widowed father (James Buckley) has been after the gifts, the fake snow on the ceiling and the soot in the grate, his response is blunt. “You?” he asks incredulously. “You bring joy and happiness to billions of children around the world?” His father tries to explain that there is no mention of Father Christmas, full stop, but Chris is having none of it. He’s going to prove that Santa exists, and you can feel the movie winding down like a music box to his inevitable tune.
With a celebrity party in the offing, Chris takes a break from school to pursue his mission with his cousin Holly (Elle McKenzie). lead him? Stephen Fry, mathematician Hannah Fry, space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock And SAS: He who dares wins Star Jason Fox – Chris believes it’s all part of a big Christmas conspiracy. The investigation culminates with a farcical break-in at a secret facility in Milton Keynes, where Greg Davis gives a strange turn as Santa himself.
The celebrity cameos work quite well, especially when explaining how Santa manages his logical impossibilities. Fry has invoked “macroscopic quantum tunneling” to explain passing through walls, while Aderin-Pocock has mentioned the Alcubierre drive and its ability to bend space and time.
Rush, BAFTA winner for his breakthrough performance Am I being unreasonable?The center of gravity holds this curio together. He brings infectious optimism to Chris without any pretense – a high-wire act when your entire character is based on a teenage belief in Santa Claus. This is a performance that explores the fine line between endearing and unbearable and walks it with the confidence of a seasoned professional. Buckley, meanwhile, plays the bereaved father with pleasant restraint, conveying grief and joy softly, without straying into clever territory. It’s a reminder that he’s more than just Jay middlemenElevating what could have been hacked into something that actually impresses. There’s a real warmth to their scenes together.
What stops the show from going completely festive fantasyland is the darkness underlying it. Chris’s mother has died, and that grief clouds everything. With the best seasonal fare – it’s a Wonderful LifeSays – There’s a thread of sadness running through it Finding Father ChristmasThe story feels profane at times, while the plot has a lot of plot twists, and not every comedy beat hits, But mostly it strikes a fascinating balance between cynicism and sentimentality, If your threshold for schmaltz is reasonably high and you can accept quantum physics applied to sled aerodynamics, this is good family entertainment, It can melt even the weakest heart,