The last time I did this, I watched the original “Miracle on 34th Street” from 1947. I had never seen it, and I loved it. It only seemed fitting, since I hadn’t seen it either, that I watch the 1994 remake. As a “Jurassic Park” fan, I jumped at the chance to see Richard Attenborough’s take on Santa Claus, as well as to see how the story translated to a more modern time period.
With Edmund Gwenn delivering an iconic performance, it was going to be tough for anyone not to face comparisons to that performance. Attenborough manages to channel Gwenn without feeling like he is just copying Gwenn from 1947. He is charming and kind and has just a little bit of the joy of John Hammond from “Jurassic Park,’ showing off his dinosaurs. I don’t remember Gwenn showing anger like Attenborough does here. That is justified by his feelings when he gets committed, he tells Dylan McDermott that by acting in anger, he has betrayed what Santa stands for.
What I did not know was that John Hughes wrote this movie. The master of 80s teen movies like “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty In Pink,” and “Sixteen Candles,” was behind the script for this movie. It’s not his best work, but when you have Hughes’ résumé, you are allowed to have a few scripts that don’t become iconic.
With how much I liked the original, I was worried this was going to be a massive disappointment. I found myself really enjoying it, and a lot of that has to do with Attenborough’s Kris Kringle. The movie is a serviceable and enjoyable remake. It was never going to match the original, but you could do a lot worse than this version of “Miracle on 34th Street.”
