So here's a lost Dave Foley Christmas item. It's an hourlong Christmas special, written by, directed by, and starring Dave himself. It's got a ridiculous cast, with Kevin McDonald, Jason Priestly, Dave Thomas and Joe Flaherty reprising some SCTV impressions, Andy Richter, Mike Myers in full-on self-parody, and even Dick Dale. I love Dick Dale.
Most of the guests have something fun to do, and Dave gets to play with a lot of Christmas special tropes. He mopes at the hollowness of commercialism, sings, ice-skates, and even undergoes the whole Christmas-Carol-three-ghost-deal. I laughed, or at least chuckled, pretty consistently through the whole special, but I think I know why this one's lost. Dave's a really good writer, but he's best at short sprints -- knocking out a six-minute sketch with Kev, or coming up with individual character bits on the Newsradio stage. I don't know why there weren't more writers on this special. Dave knows plenty of fantastic writers, and he was smart enough to collaborate on things like The Wrong Guy (which is undeservedly forgotten by most). For one example: I didn't think Dave's shadow-realm exhibitionism is very funny, but I kinda get the idea that Dave's never been a perfect feminist.
So it's not perfect, but there are so many enjoyable moments. Dave's impression of David Bowie is better than you think, and seeing him and Flaherty reenact the old Bing/Bowie "Little Drummer Boy" duet is a hell of a lot of fun. There's also a quick scene of Dave and Kevin bickering about Christmas specials yet to come that reminds me of their easy chemistry. Finally, if you've never seen Dick Dale and El Vez collaborate on a Christmas song, you haven't lived. (I love Dick Dale.)
If you've never seen it, it's fine to put on in the background while you wrap presents for an hour. Or, you can fast-forward through the songs and finish it in half the time. You can't buy this thing anywhere, but the whole video's been up on YouTube for years without getting pulled down, so it should be safe to watch there for a while.
As a Christmas special, I rate this 5/10. It's got some funny twists on the old ideas, but none of the heart.
As a spotlight for Dave, I rate this 7/10. He does a lot of different things, but his auteur status reflects poorly on him when the whole thing feels hollow.
As a Christmas special, I rate this 5/10. It's got some funny twists on the old ideas, but none of the heart.
As a spotlight for Dave, I rate this 7/10. He does a lot of different things, but his auteur status reflects poorly on him when the whole thing feels hollow.
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