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Fred Claus (Movie Review)

Fred Claus is a hilarious and heartwarming comedy that's sure to have you smiling. It stars Vince Vaughn as Santa's underachieving brother, Fred.

For most of his life, Fred has lived in the shadow of his saintly brother, Nicholas, or Santa. He tried, but he could never live up to his younger sibling's example of giving.

Recommendations

If you're looking for a comedy to watch around the holidays, consider checking out Fred Claus. Directed by David Dobkin (Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers), the film features a star-studded cast including Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.

This film is not for the faint of heart, but it does offer a number of laugh out loud moments and memorable lessons to help you remember to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Director David Dobkin deserves a lot of credit for pulling off a family-friendly film that also manages to offer some much-needed social justice and a unique understanding of Santa's origins.

As the oldest of the four Claus brothers, Fred has lived his entire life in the shadow of his younger brother, Nicholas. He has tried to live up to his brother's example, but he can't. He ends up stealing from Nick and becoming the black sheep of the family. Despite his best efforts, his misdeeds get him into jail and Nicholas bails him out with a simple condition: that he come to the North Pole and work off his debt making toys.

After returning home, Fred is determined to repay Nick for his generosity, but he has to make some tough choices. Initially, he decides to cut down the big Christmas tree in their home. This leads to an argument with his brother, which escalates into a snowball-in-the-face, wrestle-in-the-street fistfight that ends with him being run over by a snowmobile.

There are a few mild cuss words and some very subtle sexual jokes that don't seem to fit with a family-friendly comedy, although the director toned them down in this film. In addition, Santa's efficiency helper Charlene wears a short skirt and cleavage-revealing top in a few scenes.

The movie also tries to add an adult subplot, but it only ends up being a little too in-your-face. It isn't a bad idea to include a few adult scenes in a film that's intended for kids, but the padded running time makes it difficult to keep track of everything that's going on.

Cast

Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti) has a brother, Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn), who is on the losing end of a long-running sibling rivalry. When an opportunity for a quick cash boost comes his way, he heads to the North Pole to work in his brother's workshop.

At the workshop, he encourages the elves to make gifts quickly so that every child can have one. He also reminds them that most of the naughty kids are just going through tough situations and need some love, not just a toy. This leads to a lot of trouble with Clyde Archibald Northcutt, an efficiency expert who sabotages their efforts and fires the elves, forcing Nick to help them out.

After a while, Fred starts to feel guilty about everything he's doing, so he gets the workshop to start making gifts that can be given to children who aren't naughty. This causes a lot of trouble, but Fred manages to turn it around and make things better again.

He even gets the elf Willie (John Michael Higgins) to fall in love with his buxom little helper, Elizabeth Banks. It's a nice touch and shows that director David Dobkin can be fun with comedy if he wants to.

The movie's most intriguing scene isn't at the North Pole but in Chicago, where Fred attends a "Siblings Anonymous" meeting that openly lampoons AA gatherings and is so heavy-handed no children will understand it. It's a crucial part of the plot, but it's also so unnecessarily heavy that it makes it difficult to watch with kids.

It's not that the film isn't fun or entertaining; it just doesn't have the level of high-quality comedy you'd expect from a made-for-TV Christmas comedy. It's a mismatch of flimsy fancy and twelve step program parody that works only because it's entertaining to see, not because it's enjoyable for viewers.

Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti are a pair of fine actors who deliver plenty of laughs, but the rest of the cast falls flat. Kathy Bates' nagging mom shtick grows a bit weary, and Kevin Spacey's efficiency expert is too much of an obvious "Superman" reference to get very far with the audience. Nevertheless, there are some nice moments in Fred Claus that will leave you smiling, including the opening sequence where the origin of Santa and his brother is told to the audience.

Story

When Santa Claus's (Paul Giamatti) estranged older brother, Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn), wants to start his own business he needs a large sum of money. Nick agrees to lend him the money if Fred comes up to the North Pole and helps out a few days.

The film begins with a flashback to Fred as a child. He was born with a saintly older brother, but as time went on he gave himself over to bitterness and resentment.

Now he has a job at a repossession company and is having a hard time with the whole concept of Christmas. It's a tough thing to overcome, and he has no idea how to do it.

He calls his brother for help, and when Nick tells him that he'll give him the money only if he comes up to the North Pole to work during the Christmas rush, Fred jumps at the chance. He doesn't know that Santa and the elves are facing an efficiency expert who'll shut them down if they don't meet his demands.

Meanwhile, a little orphan named Slam comes to visit Fred and asks for a puppy for Christmas. Fred has to explain that he can't afford one, and tells him that he should take care of himself and his family.

After the elf-like narrators are removed, it's time for the real humour to begin. Fortunately, director David Dobkin and writer Michael Sexton aren't afraid to use their wits in order to make the cliches of Christmas movies laughable.

They've also managed to keep a lot of the slapstick elements in check, although some of these look like warmed-over leftovers from The Santa Clause series. Despite these limitations, the movie isn't bad for a Santa movie and has its moments.

Nevertheless, the film is a little too resentful and nasty for it to create much holiday cheer. Its trite and poorly written family confrontations are overly strained, and its slapstick is weak at best.

Ultimately, however, Fred Claus proves that it's not only possible to be a good brother, but also to help others. In the end, he manages to deliver a few toys and a puppy to his little orphaned friend. Afterwards, Fred even kisses his girlfriend (Rachel Weisz), which is the only bit of heart-warming action in this bleak film.

Rating

When he was young, Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn) was jealous of his younger brother Nick (Paul Giamatti). That, in turn, cemented a bitter, resentful and mean-spirited disposition that had been curdled by the constant comparisons their mother (Kathy Bates) made.

Years later, frustrated Fred Claus is a hard-up Chicago repo man with an estranged wife and patient girlfriend Wanda (Rachael Weisz). He’s about to lose her to another repoman, when his famous brother Nicholas offers him $50 000 to spend some time at the North Pole. The enticement is too much for Fred, who turns up his nose at the offer.

In the end, he agrees to travel to the magical North Pole. There, he tries to find a way to fulfill his promise to Nick. The movie flits between broad comedy and a series of oddly sour riffs on sibling rivalry.

While the main storyline isn’t particularly original, there’s enough in the film to keep a family engaged. A few good performances by Kathy Bates and Trevor Peacock add to the entertainment value. The supporting cast, meanwhile, is solid.

The movie is rated PG for mild language and some rude humor. The movie includes several instances of a-s-s and sexual innuendos, along with plenty of fighting between Fred Claus and his elves.

Fred Claus is an entertaining and festive Christmas film. It has a message about the importance of family and the power of belief in yourself. It also teaches the value of persistence. It’s a good movie to watch with your children as you learn about what makes a good person.

Whether you watch it with your children or not, the movie will help you to understand that what makes a person good isn’t the amount of money they make, but what they do in their lives. The movie also shows that being nice to other people is important.

In addition to the Blu-ray release, there is a standard DVD edition that includes a plethora of extra scenes, audio commentary by director David Dobkin and a music video (Ludacrismas). There are also featurettes entitled Vince and Paul’s Fireside Chats, Pause for Claus: Elves Tell All, Sibling Rivalry and a bonus disc presenting Fred Claus: Race to Save Christmas.

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