Fred Claus

Wilsford's Review
Thumb: Up

Notable Characters:
Vince Vaughn – Fred Claus
Paul Giamatti – Nick Claus
Kevin Spacey - Clyde

Plot (contains spoilers): We start in peasant times in the Claus’s home to witness the birth of Fred Claus’s little brother Nick. Predisposed to kindness and generosity, Nick quickly becomes the beloved son that Fred needs to be more like and Fred quickly begins to wish that Nick were never born. Fast forward to today, apparently when someone becomes a saint they and their family are blessed with eternal life, Fred is a repo man spreading his disdain for Christmas with everyone he meets. After an altercation with 30 Santa’s, Fred lands in jail and is forced to call his brother Nick for bail money. Nick agrees to give him the money but Fred must go to the North Pole and work for Nick. At the North Pole child demands are increasing and Santa’s productivity is decreasing, an efficiency expert is called in Clyde. Clyde is rough, as he makes his way through Santa’s shop, he continuously picks out the flaws and gives Santa an ultimatum to shape up or ship out. Meanwhile Fred, being the naughty person he is, is making Nick’s life miserable. He is rebelling against everything Nick has built and ruins everything to the point that Nick is fired from being Santa and Christmas is outsourced from the North Pole. Following the usual format, Fred gets his act together and saves Christmas and reconciles with his family.

Reasons why I didn’t like it:
• Predictable Christmas movie. Follows usual formula, which is not a bad thing but not a good thing either.
• A Christmas movie in November. Please people join me in doing something to keep Christmas in December.
• The music, I know I can’t believe I am writing about the music too. The main theme of the movie sounded very familiar to the theme of “Back to the Future”. Just listen. I think the reason I didn’t like this is because I felt it was a cop out, not original. I don’t know why this bothered me but it did.

Reasons why I liked it:
• This movie was funny. I have liked Vince Vaughn but now I really like him. I have enjoyed his cameos in movies but never really realized how funny he is. I really like his fast paced delivery and I think it is a big reason why most adults will enjoy seeing this movie (it allows for more adult humor to be in the movie because kids won’t catch it and understand it, or maybe I am naïve about kids ability to pick up things).
• Paul Giamatti is a fantastic actor. I didn’t think that a kids holiday movie would have scenes as emotional as this movie had. There was a brotherly love scene that was touching and a scene with Kevin Spacey about naughty children that could bring tears to some. I think the power of those two scenes should be credited with Giamatti’s talent.

Final Notes:
This movie was funny, seasonal, and emotional. I think this is a movie that most people will enjoy, even those that typically go for Vince Vaughn’s more crude humor movies.


Young’s Review

There have been many movies about Santa. We know a lot about him, and some about his wife, but the rest of his famiy remains a mystery. ‘Fred Claus’ sets out to change that. It is a good (if not great) movie and while it may not go down as a Christmas classic, it certainly earns a ‘thumbs up’.

Vince Vaughn plays the title character, Santa’s big brother Fred. Fred lives a nondescript life as a repo man in Chicago. His dream is to start an off-track betting parlor, but he is having trouble raising money for the venture. After an ill-advised fund raising attempt on a street corner gets him chased by a mob of street corner Santas and thrown in jail, Fred turns to his brother Nick (Paul Giamatti) to bail him out.

The problem is that Fred has not spoken to his family in years. Despite the objections of Mrs. Claus (Miranda Richardson), Nick offers to help Fred on the condition that he comes to work for him. While Fred is not looking forward to the extended family time, he agrees to the deal.

Fred’s arrival at the North Pole coincides with that of Clyde Northcut (Kevin Spacey), an efficiency expert sent to shut down Santa’s operation. Santa is left with the task of saving Christmas for kids everywhere while also trying to keep his brother in line.

While I expected more laughs from this film, I still walked away pleased with the final product. Vaughn is the perfect choice for the bitter, sarcastic Fred. He channels some of his previous roles in films such as ‘Swingers’ and ‘Wedding Crashers’, but with a much smoother edge. The best part of Vaughn’s performance is his seamless transition between the comedic and dramatic elements of the character. With his wonderful appearance in ‘Into The Wild’ earlier this year, Vaughn proved his acting chops went beyond just being a smooth talking womanizer in comedies. That trend continues here.

The presence of acting heavyweights Giamatti and Spacey were unexpected. Giamatti makes a surprisingly good Santa. He brings humor and warmth to Nick. I was stunned to see Spacey’s name in the opening credits, but upon screening the film could see no one else playing the role of the sinister Clyde.

The best performance is turned in by one of the cast's relative unknowns. John Michael Higgins plays the role of head elf Willie and does so spendidly. Willie runs the emotional gamut and Higgins is up to the task. A scene where Fred teaches Willie to dance in order to impress Charlene (Elizabeth Banks) is priceless comedy.

While there are some syrupy moments, director David Dobkin does not let the movie become too sappy. Dobkin, who also collaborated with Vaughn in ‘Clay Pigeons’ and ‘Wedding Crashers’, helmed a good holiday movie that should be seen by Christmas lovers everywhere.