Film Review: ‘Claus’ kills Christmas humor
Photo from movieweb.com
Hollywood’s latest attempt to make a worthwhile family comedy, fell flat with a few laughs from predictable holiday jokes.
Vince Vaughn (“Into the Wild”) plays Fred, Santa’s embittered older brother. When Fred sees he can’t match up to his brother (Paul Giamatti, “The Nanny Diaries”), he turns into the opposite of the saint. Vaughn plays Fred as the same likable jerk as his characters in movies like “Wedding Crashers” and “The Break-Up.” Everything has to be about him.
Fred needs $50,000 to establish a bar downtown, so he asks his generous brother, knowing Santa won’t refuse. Santa will give him the money only if Fred works a few shifts in Santa’s workshop. However, irresponsible Fred as a temp-elf comes at the worst time. An efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey, “Superman Returns”) happily threatens to shut Santa down.
“Fred Claus” is different than other Christmas movies, like the cheery “Elf.” It lacks the message about the spirit of Christmas. Instead, “Fred Claus” seems to tell children Christmas is all about gifts. It no longer cherishes the idea that holidays are when we should be happy for what we have.
The concept of sibling rivalry is carried throughout the movie, but the confrontations are poorly written. The dialogue when a surprise family dinner was sprung on Fred had no heat. A few clichéd jokes about Santa’s job were flung, but that was about it.
There are a few scenes where laughter is a must. In one scene, Fred teaches an elf to dance and the elf puts his hand on Fred’s butt. But the comedy in the movie is thin. It’s just a so-so family film.
‘Fred Claus’
Release Date: Nov. 9
Director: David Dobkin
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, and Kevin Spacey
Genre: Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Rating: PG for mild language and some rude humor
Grade: ?
This entry was posted
on Monday, November 12th, 2007 at 9:54 pm and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Film Reviews.
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