Lovel S. Ellis

The mysterious owner of a costume shop rents a Santa Claus suit to three very different men: a math teacher trying to get the nerve to propose, a homeless restaurateur trying to hide from the mob, and a harried political speech writer visiting with his estranged wife and son. Their lives are inexorably changed by their experience of playing Santa Claus.

Kidnappers making a ransom demand dial a wrong number and reach a struggling actor instead. He decides to cut himself in for some of the money.