So "Three Wise Guys" is a little trite. What post-"Home Alone 1" Christmas movie isn't? The point is, this makes trite very enjoyable, though it's a far cry from the best Christmas entertainment ever.
When I first saw this on USA, I knew I'd found another 25-December tradition. It reworks the pivotal nativity story into a modern world that involves three brash hit men, a tricky pregnant girl, and a "little drummer boy" named Jake Marley. Tom Arnold is the modern-day King Herod.
Katey Sagal, Arnold, and two of the three wise guys give fantastic performances. The weak link is Judd Nelson, whose delivery is almost always like he's reading from cue cards or just trying to get out of dodge.
And maybe a TV movie isn't exactly going to be four-star cinema (contrary to the vivid impression left by Hallmark's stunning "Merlin"), but this is definitely a lot better than even some theatrical Christmas excursions ("Christmas with the Kranks," for instance, or "The Santa Clause").
When I first saw this on USA, I knew I'd found another 25-December tradition. It reworks the pivotal nativity story into a modern world that involves three brash hit men, a tricky pregnant girl, and a "little drummer boy" named Jake Marley. Tom Arnold is the modern-day King Herod.
Katey Sagal, Arnold, and two of the three wise guys give fantastic performances. The weak link is Judd Nelson, whose delivery is almost always like he's reading from cue cards or just trying to get out of dodge.
And maybe a TV movie isn't exactly going to be four-star cinema (contrary to the vivid impression left by Hallmark's stunning "Merlin"), but this is definitely a lot better than even some theatrical Christmas excursions ("Christmas with the Kranks," for instance, or "The Santa Clause").