Potentially in this film, the brother is too scared to fulfill his "responsibility" and so the sister has to step in and do the job that he is too overwhelmed to do. Male is weak and inept (and therefore fails), female rises to the challenge and succeeds.
This is a discussion for a different thread. But what I'm seeing here is not weakness.
Here you have a story of a family business where the son is expected to take over when the time comes. He's probably been trained his whole life for this! But does he really want to take over for Santa? Does he care about understanding the logistics that is Christmas Eve? Does it really matter? It's the sons role to take over because That's What Is Done. I bet this is a generational thing that has been going on for years. You yourself put responsibility in quotes, so you must recognize this as well.
But then there's Nicole - she's been raised alongside her brother. She understands the work it takes to get those presents delivered and she
enjoys it. But because she is not Nick, it was never her place to take over.
The time comes for Nick to take over but he's reached his breaking point. He never wanted to work for the business, and now he's being forced to run it? Nope. Queue very real emotional turmoil as he wrestles with the idea of owning this responsibility that was given to him long before he was born vs the responsibility he has to himself in living a fulfilling life. He can't do it. It wouldn't be fair to him, his family, or the children of the world.
So Nicole steps in. Maybe she never saw herself taking over because that was always going to be Nick. But she knows the system. Things are rocky at first, but by the end of Christmas Eve, she has the whole operation running better than any year before. Meanwhile, Nick has found some other role that allows him to be fulfilled.
In the end, both Nicole and Nick are in better places than the day before. Nicole is now recognized for the strong, intelligent woman that she is. While Nick has been allowed to express emotion (experiencing fear and being overwhelmed is not a sign of being weak as you called out before. It's something that happens to everyone, but males have not been allowed to express) and start on the path to his own happiness.
Yes, there should be more of an equal ground. But a few films that turns the male protagonist into the Damsel in Distress is nothing compared to the years of films that do the same to females
And as for showing this to your sons? Use it as a teaching opportunity. Teach them that it's okay to not be strong. It's okay to have doubts, and fears, and emotions. But don't hold them in under the guise of masculinity because that is far more damaging to an individual than an empowered woman
You've found one of my soapboxes as well
If this were one instance, no problem. But more and more men are made to look like complete idiots in commercials (especially) and shows/film.
Have you seen Mary Poppins (1964)?
“Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group they’re rather stupid.”
