Jack Black isn’t for the faint of heart. He’s funny and outlandish, and not afraid to show it on screen, and it does make some of Black’s best movies even better. As he’s continued in Hollywood, including being a part of the 2024 movie release schedule, he’s had plenty of roles across genres and has proven himself in all of them. So when the opportunity arose to play Satan in a Christmas comedy movie he leaped at the chance, especially with the Farrelly brothers at the helm.
Yes, that’s the Peter and Bobby Farrelly, who made some of the best comedies of the ’90s, the height arguably being Dumb and Dumber. The two had been on a brief hiatus from working on projects together throughout the mid-2000s and 2010s for personal reasons. Their first reunion in over a decade has brought a long-standing script to life, and when talking with EW, they shared why the Nacho Libre actor was the perfect pick. They said of Black and the responsibility of making a funny Christmas movie:
Jack is just that guy that with his arching eyebrows and his faces and all that, there’s a little bit of mischievous to him at all times, but he’s eminently likable, and that’s just Jack. We never wanted to make it a horror movie or something like that. We wanted it to be comical. So it was a delicate ball of playing this iconic character but doing it in a way that the audience can have some fun with it. And Jack was the perfect guy.
When the School of Rock star received the script, he knew immediately he had to play the part. Jack Black dressed up in his own interpretation of what the character may look like and sent it to the Farrellys, and it became the blueprint of what we’ll see in the movie. The cast has some great talents, including Keegan Michael Key and Post Malone.
Dear Santa revolves around a classic tradition gone wrong–Liam Turner (Robert Timothy Smith) spells Santa’s name as Satan, and thus, brings Jack Black’s jolly devilish Satan to life. The movie is described as family-friendly with some Farrelly edge (not as edgy as Bad Santa, though) for children to watch if approved by parents/guardians. Note that if they still do believe in the big red guy, you may want them to skip this and offer them one of the best animated Christmas movies instead.
The Farrelly brothers’ Dear Santa will be available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription starting November 25th. If you’d like to get a head start on the season, check out our 25 best Christmas movies list to get ready for the brothers’ festive return to the big screen. I think it’s safe to say that for fans of The Super Mario Bros. alum, we’re as excited to see him take on this twisted holiday flick.