Fred Claus (Blu-ray) (2007)

"Deftly blending disrespect and good nature, Fred Claus is a gas.  Ella Taylor, LA Weekly
"Fun holiday cheer for the whole family.  Jay Towers, FOX-TV
"Sure to be a holiday classic.  Jeffrey Lyons, NBC-TV
"Silly, heartwarming, and fun.  Laura Repstad, Premiere
"...well made, superbly acted and entirely watchable, provided you can stomach the sentimentality levels.  Matthew Turner, ViewLondon

Editor's Note Sibling rivalry takes on a new dimension in director David Dobkin's (WEDDING CRASHERS, CLAY PIGEONS) third collaboration with actor Vince Vaughn, FRED CLAUS. Ever since his younger brother, Nicholas (Paul Giamatti), was born, it seems that nothing Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn) does is good enough. Nicholas literally becomes a saint and is beloved by millions worldwide, but Fred is just a regular Joe. When Fred finds himself in need of big money in a hurry, little brother Santa is the only one he can turn to. Soon, Fred is working at the North Pole to earn some quick cash and shaking things up with the elves to the delight of efficiency expert Clyde Northcutt (Kevin Spacey), who is on a mission to close down Santa's operation. Can the dueling Claus brothers work together to save Christmas? A sweet lesson is thrown in amongst the sibling rivalry and hijinx: there are really no naughty children at Christmas, just kids who may need a little or love or a second chance. Vaughn plays a character familiar to us now, fast-talking but likable with good intentions. He's at his best when teaching the elves the merits of rock & roll, or talking himself out of sticky situations. Giamatti is endearing as Santa Claus, who compensates for the stress of his job by overeating. Spacey's emotionally frozen Clyde Northcutt harks back to WILLY WONKA's Slugworth as a villain. Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton, and Stephen Baldwin appear in the film's funniest scene as siblings with rivalry issues. Rounding at the cast are Miranda Richardson as Santa's wife, Kathy Bates as Mother Claus, Elizabeth Banks as Santa's assistant, John Michael Higgins as Wiilie the Head Elf, Rachel Weisz as Fred's girlfriend, and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as DJ Donnie.

	Miranda Richardson
	Ludacris
	Rachel Weisz
	Paul Giamatti
	Elizabeth Banks
	Trevor Peacock
	John Michael Higgins
	Kevin Spacey
	Kathy Bates
	Vince Vaughn
	Vince Vaughn - Co-Producer
	Dan Fogelman - Screenwriter
	Remi Adefarasin - Director of Photography
	Christophe Beck - Composer
	Joel Silver - Producer
	David Dobkin - Producer
	Jessie Nelson - Producer
	Dan Fogelman - Story
	Jessie Nelson - Story
	David Dobkin - Director

Los Angeles Times
"Vince Vaughn's take on sibling rivalry with his famous brother gives traction and a fresh look to a story about helping Santa during crunch time." 11/09/2007

Variety 5 of 10
The burden of having a famous sibling seems fraught with comedic possibilities, but whatever potential existed has been squandered and then some in "Fred Claus," dumping coal into everyone's holiday stocking. Although promoted as a comedy, this reunion of "Wedding Crashers" star Vince Vaughn and director David Dobkin alternates between unpleasantness and Hallmark-sweet sappiness, with the only clever (if predictable) sequence occurring well into the second hour...The shortcomings are nearly as bountiful as a child's Christmas wish list, but the movie's central problem begins with Vaughn's casting in the title role and the seeming inability to shackle his rapid-fire delivery and angry persona so that it adheres in even the smallest way to the fuzzy material...For studios, feel-good holiday movies should represent the ultimate commercial no-brainer, but "Fred Claus" follows in the feel-bad footsteps of "Deck the Halls"...In that respect, Hollywood might be making an inadvertent contribution to family values, what with the rather cynical image of movies as a means to escape family interaction around the holidays. Given options such as this, suddenly sitting around staring at each other doesn't sound quite so bad. - Brian Lowry

Reel.com 6 of 10
One scene will stay with me for the next six Christmases. Vince Vaughn, playing Santa Claus' dishonest brother Fred, attends a support group for second-banana siblings. Frank Stallone is there, sheepishly admitting that his faith in brother Sylvester faded with each new Rocky movie. Roger Clinton explains how difficult it was being "the First Brother." Fred tries to get a word in edgewise but ends up shouting at Stephen Baldwin...Fred Claus needed two or three more thinking-outside-the-box scenes like this to help it become more than what it actually is: a fragile premise stuffed with hollow Christmas jokes that would collapse in a holiday heap if not for Vaughn's demonstrated charms...Fred falters because director David Dobkin never definitively chooses between making a kid-friendly moneymaker or an edgy comedy aimed at our inner teenage boy. The PG rating suggests the former, with tall Vaughn looming over pint-sized co-stars and sleeping in undersized beds...But the concept of sibling rivalry, the outsourcing of elfin labor, and the need for an intervention will fly over the heads of young ones like Santa's sleigh above snow-covered rooftops on Christmas Eve. Ho, ho, oh well. Maybe next time. - Sean O'Connell