Fred Claus

Fred Claus sells you something you didn't know you wanted: a Vince Vaughn Christmas movie. Vaughn is not the hook. Neither is the holiday. The script, by Dan Fogelman, is smarter than that.

Fred Claus seems a clever installment, not a seasonal classic, a buffet whose many nibbles you sample, move on and quickly forget.

Neither here nor there, the film is “Elf” without the goofy jokes, Will Ferrell or heart, “Bad Santa” without the smut, Billy Bob Thornton or spleen.

Fred Claus is less enchanting than the 2003 fairy tale, "Elf" (which was directed by Vaughn's good buddy, Jon Favreau), but no worse than the inexplicably popular Tim Allen series.

The film isn't just not funny, it is off-putting.

Few things are more dispiriting than a holiday movie straining to become a perennial. Such is the case with Fred Claus, an insipid Christmas comedy.

Not like a lump of coal in your stocking. Coal is useful; you can burn it. This movie is more like a lump of something Blitzen left behind after eating a lot of Mexican food.

I think this movie shows why you should compare your children to each other and why playing favors isn't the thing to do and the actors are good acting and some of the actress are good and other one their acting don't feel the emotion from their acting.

Fred Claus has an idea that, at first, could have offered quite a lot: Santa Claus has a resentful, selfish, loud-mouthed brother who is much less exemplary than he is. With Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates and Kevin Spacey, you would expect a Christmas comedy with more bite, more rhythm and more laughs. But the film falls far below the level of its **** main problem is the script. Everything is too simple, too childish and too familiar. The story of a cynical character who does not believe in Christmas, or dislikes it, or has to learn a lesson about kindness, family and redemption, has already been told in countless ways. Here it is told once again, but without much imagination. The names change, the North Pole is added, Santa’s brother is introduced, and little else.Vince Vaughn tries to pull the film into his own territory, with his fast-talking style, sarcasm and slightly tiring mischief. At times it works, because he has comic presence and knows how to play selfish characters who are not completely hateful. But the material does not help him. The film seems to want Fred to be a funny disaster, but also lovable, family-friendly and redeemable from the beginning. In the end, it lands somewhere in the middle: not naughty enough to be truly funny, not tender enough to be moving.Paul Giamatti as Santa Claus is one of the film’s best ideas. He brings humanity, fatigue and a touch of melancholy, and he could have been used much better. Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates and Kevin Spacey are also there, but the feeling is that there is too much talent for such a small and uninspired story. It is frustrating to see a cast like this trapped in a comedy that never really uses them.Visually, the film has what you expect: workshops, elves, snow, sleighs, Christmas atmosphere and the kind of friendly design that fits a family movie. But there is no real surprise there either. Everything looks correct, but manufactured. The film does not have enough magic to be remembered as a Christmas classic, nor enough bite to become a mischievous alternative.Fred Claus is not unbearable, but it is very weak. It can work for a Christmas afternoon when you do not want to think too much, especially if you accept that it is basically a children-and-family comedy with the occasional adult joke along the way. But with that cast and that premise, it should have offered much more. In the end, it is a present wrapped in shiny paper, but rather empty inside.

Fred Claus doesn't have a story. Just think about it, what is comedy without a story? A poor one that is and Fred Claus falls straight to the naughty list.

This movies uses too much dialogues, not to mention, the story is confusing.

Despite having the best interpretation of the North Pole I've seen in recent films, Fred Claus fails to be the Christmas great it could have been thanks to the terrible humour.