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Movie Review: Fred Claus
Bright stars can’t save dull 'Claus'
By John Wirt
jwirt@theadvocate.com
Advocate movie critic
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Far from being jolly, the grim Fred Claus features Vince Vaughn as the bitter older brother of Santa Claus. Vaughn is a funny guy in the right vehicle. This isn’t it. It’s doubtful he inspires even one decent laugh in the humorless Fred Claus.
The movie begins ages ago in a time before Santa Claus. Fred is a good Medieval kid until the birth of his fat little brother. Nicholas is a saintly child, so generous and kind. His do-gooder accomplishments cast Fred in a comparatively cursed shadow of underachievement.
Before the story leaps in time to the 21st century, the narrator explains that Nicholas Claus’ wonderful deeds lead to his sainthood and, therefore, he becomes ageless. The miracle of immortality is also bestowed upon Nicholas’ immediate family members, including sour big brother, Fred.
In present-day Chicago, Fred is a repo man. Despite having lived through centuries of bitterness, he still has aspirations for greater things. Nonetheless, Fred’s latest scheme is dashed when an indignant gang of Salvation Army Santas bust him for being a phony collector of charitable donations.
Fred knows his brother is a soft touch, so he phones the North Pole from jail. Santa (the well-padded, good-natured Paul Giamatti), agrees to pay Fred’s bail and grant him a $50,000 loan. But there’s a catch: Fred must work at Santa’s workshop during the Christmas rush.
Predictably, Vaughn’s bad Claus turns out to be a grinch with a heart of gold. That’s obvious even before he takes an express-reindeer flight to the North Pole. And to ensure a happy ending, there’s a shameless, unconvincing Santa clause woven into the film’s exhausting trudge through the ice and snow.
Kevin Spacey co-stars as the story’s real heavy. A heartless efficiency expert, Spacey works for a bottom-line obsessed corporation that, for some unexplained reason, has the power to shut Santa and his elves down.
Spacey, in glasses and a dark suit, stalks Santa’s workshop like an evil Jack Benny. As bad as the movie is, Spacey’s talent isn’t completely lost. Even so, the abrupt transformation his character makes before all is said and done is a pathetic bit of screenwriting.
Bad though Fred Claus is, the film attracted great talent. Kathy Bates, playing the mother of Fred and Santa, gives the film its best moment. Another Oscar-winning actress, Rachel Weisz, is Fred’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. The cast also includes Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Claus and rap star Chris “Ludacris” Bridges as the elf-size deejay who rocks Santa’s workshop.
Fred Claus must be one of those characteristically miserable early holiday season entries that studios realize isn’t good enough for a primetime holiday release. In that, it follows a long-standing Hollywood tradition.
