The newestJack Blackmovie sees the actor returning to an unexpected genre after nearly two full decades. Black, who had his breakout role in the 2000 John Cusack movieHigh Fidelity, is best known as an actor in a wide variety of comedy movies includingShallow Hal,School of Rock,Tropic Thunder, andKung Fu Panda. While he has appeared in movies consistently throughout his career, he experienced a major resurgence when he starred in the two most recentJumanjimoviesopposite Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, and Kevin Hart.
In the past five years since his appearance inJumanji: The Next Level,Black’s output has included a variety of well-known titles. This includes the animated featureThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, which grossed over $1 billion, and the fourthKung Fu Pandamovie, which is the sixth highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide at the time of writing. His upcoming projects also include the video game adaptationA Minecraft Movie, which co-stars Jason Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, and Jennifer Coolidge.
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Dear Santa Is Jack Black’s First Christmas Movie Since The Holiday
The Holiday Debuted In 2006
Jack Black’s latest cinematic outing is the Paramount+Christmas comedyDear Santa, in which he plays Satan, who attempts to corrupt a naive young man who accidentally misspelled the name on his letter to Santa. The movie, which was directed by Bobby Farrelly from a screenplay co-written by Ricky Blitt and Peter Farrelly, marksthe first time that he has starred in a Christmas movie since 2006’sThe Holiday. That movie, which was written and directed by Nancy Meyers, followed an English woman (Kate Winslet) and an American (Cameron Diaz) swapping houses and finding love over Christmas.
The Holidaystarred Jude Law as Cameron Diaz’s love interest while Black played the love interest for Kate Winslet.
AlthoughThe Holidayhad mixed reviews from critics, earning a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score,viewers responded to it much better than critics, as evidenced by the 80% audience score on the same platform. However, neither this response nor the fact that it earned $205.8 million, becoming the twelfth highest-grossing movie directed by a woman of the decade, seems to have been enough for Black to return to the Christmas comedy genre immediately. Until 2024, it remained the only Christmas movie in his filmography.
Dear Santa Gives Jack Black A Very Different Type Of Christmas Movie From The Holiday
It Has The Complete Opposite Tone
While both ofJack Black’s Christmas movies are comedies, they could hardly be more different. WhileThe Holidayis a classic romantic comedy set during the holiday season,Dear Santais more interested in subverting the wholesome trappings of Christmas. While it is still a family movie, depicting Satan more as a puckish prankster spirit rather than a purely evil entity, it features irreverent teenage-oriented humor in addition to the fantastical elements that separate it from the 2006 movie, which is much more realistic.
Dear Santa
Due to a mix-up, young Liam, a dyslexic 6th grader, sends a letter to Satan instead of Santa, leading Satan to appear at his door, delighted by his first-ever fan letter and interested in acquiring a portion of Liam’s soul.
