Now that the jack-o'-lanterns are rotting at the bottoms of trash cans throughout Charlottesville, the holiday season can finally begin. The film with the honor of ringing in the winter hoopla is Fred Claus. It's shiny, warm-hearted -- and extremely boring. The premise is novel and the cast is exceptional, but like Fred himself, the film will leave you wondering, "What the heck?"
Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn) has lived most of his life in the shadow of his saintly younger brother, Nick "Santa" Claus (Paul Giamatti), and he has grown hostile toward his sibling and Christmas in general. After an altercation with a horde of charity Santas, Fred lands himself in jail, gets dumped by his girlfriend (Rachel Weisz) and finds himself in need of money. Nick offers him a job at the North Pole, which Fred begrudgingly accepts. Not all is well in the winter wonderland, however. Clyde (Kevin Spacey), a Grinch-like efficiency expert, has arrived, bent on shutting the holiday down. Fred must make amends with his family and save Christmas before time runs out.
Though the prospect of a Christmas-less future is bleak, there is no suspense in Fred's quest. There is no chance that Fred will continue to be a jerk. There's no chance that he won't be redeemed in the eyes of his family. It's a Christmas movie, and a PG one at that. It's predictable from beginning to end.
When the story line of a movie is this painfully obvious, other elements often compensate for an unimaginative plot. Not so for Fred Claus.
Most of the laughs are based on the fact that Vaughn is very tall and elves are very little. A fish out of water is only funny for so long. All the time that should have been spent crafting the script went into creating the look of the North Pole. (Admittedly, it is very pretty. The town and factory are brightly colored, extremely detailed and full of holiday spirit.)
Furthermore, Fred's ally, Willy (John Michael Higgins), was created by superimposing the actor's face over that of a smaller actor, à la Little Man. While Higgins is considerably less skeezy than Marlon Wayans, the effect is still creepy.
Though Fred Claus leaves many things to be desired, the cast is not one of them. Higgins has starred in Christopher Guest's well-received mockumentaries. Giamatti, Spacey, Weisz, Miranda Richardson and Kathy Bates have all been nominated for or have won Academy Awards. Vaughn is a popular comedic actor and, well, he's won an MTV Movie Award. They're all very charming and talented actors, but Claus just isn't worthy of their efforts. The women huff and puff indignantly and the men get into one zany situation after another.
Despite all of its faults, Fred Claus does have a good message about the importance of family, the true meaning of Christmas and, um, other gooey things. It's earnest, but heavy-handed. Essentially, Fred Claus is an ABC Family made-for-TV movie with a famous cast and a big budget.
If you're really feeling the need to watch a comedian play St. Nick, rent The Santa Clause instead. It's a better movie and you'll be able to relive a bit of your childhood. I can't say the same for Fred Claus, but maybe my heart is just two sizes too small.
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