Fred Claus (2007)

Director:

David Dobkin

Writers (WGA):

Dan Fogelman (screenplay)
Jessie Nelson (story) ...

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Santa's brother is coming to town.

Plot:

Fred Claus, Santa's bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole. |

Plot Keywords:

Holiday | Santa Claus | North Pole | Brother Brother Relationship | Critically Bashed

Cast

Vince Vaughn	...	Fred Claus
Paul Giamatti	...	Nick 'Santa' Claus
John Michael Higgins	...	Willie
Miranda Richardson	...	Annette Claus
Rachel Weisz	...	Wanda
Kathy Bates	...	Mother Claus
Trevor Peacock	...	Papa Claus
Ludacris	...	DJ Donnie (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges)
Elizabeth Banks	...	Charlene
Christian Hansen	...	Fireman
Jeremy Swift	...	Bob Elf
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Linda Elf
Kevin Spacey	...	Clyde Northcut
Rio Hackford	...	Leon
Liam James	...	Young Fred - 12 yrs old

Also Known As:

Joe Claus (USA) (working title)
Untitled Vince Vaughn/David Dobkin Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and some rude humor.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Netherlands:6 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #43797) | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | France:Unrated | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Ireland:PG | Taiwan:R-12

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

David Dobkin was originally going to direct _I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)_, but dropped out to work with 'Vince Vaughan' in ‘Fred Claus’. The two originally worked together on Clay Pigeons (1998) and again in Wedding Crashers (2005).

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: In the end credits, the promotional note for the soundtrack album is misspelled "sountrack."

Quotes:

Fred Claus: Love's complicated.
Willie: It hurts.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2007-11-10)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Rubberneckin' (Paul Oakenfold Remix)

Can't decide if it wants to be naughty or nice

"Fred Claus" somehow avoids becoming this year's "The Santa Clause" by at least having a bit more amusing moments than that Tim Allen starrer, but it doesn't mean that it's got enough going for it that's worth a trip to the theater.

As holiday movies go, it's contrived and sentimental. But actually, that could be the least of one's concern as "Fred Claus," boasting of having David Dobkin ("Shanghai Knights," "The Wedding Crashers") at the helm, contains virtually nary a genuinely funny moment as it clumsily treads the line between a boorish Vince Vaughn vehicle and a fuzzy Christmas film. In the end, it amounts to not much of both. And with a cast that comprises of Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, Rachel Weisz, and Kathy Bates, all the more it leaves one disappointed.

Vaughn plays Fred, Nick's (Giamatti) older and estranged brother, who once upon a time, left him and their parents (Bates and Trevor Peacock) after having had enough of enduring his parents' favoritism of his younger sibling. Nick grows up to be Santa Claus (and as the voice-over tells us, time freezes on you and your family when you become a saint), while Fred becomes a Yuletide-jaded repo man in Chicago who's having a hard time remembering his girlfriend Wanda's (Weisz) birthday.

He runs in trouble with the law and had to call his younger brother (who eerily looks at least a decade older than him) to bail him out of jail. Nick agrees but only if Fred agrees to help out on the toy-wrapping business up in the North Pole. Fred reluctantly agrees but his cynicism clashes with Santa and the elves' perpetually cheery nature, even as an efficiency expert (Spacey) is checking on the toy factory operations, only too happy to have the whole Arctic operations shut down if things fail.

The film, as said, does have its moments, but the padded running length stretches them thin across its duration. In between are piles of Christmas film clichés that were handled better in, say, "Elf" and the attempts at sentimentality are as endearing as last year's fruitcake.

Vaugn, as usual, brings on his coarse charm to the table, but the neutered script of Dan Fogelman keeps him from REALLY doing his thing. Giamatti, underneath the bad fat suit, brings a jolly old charm to his iconic character, but unfortunately, has to play second fiddle to Fred. Spacey brings his game face, but his turns usually end as unfunnily vapid.

Ultimately, "Fred Claus" becomes a forgettable film that falls below what those involved in it deserve. Sure, there are worse ways to start the season at the cinema, but there are certainly far better ways.