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Movies / On DVD / Fred Claus
Fred Claus

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Fred Claus (2007)

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Reviews Counted:134

Fresh:28

Rotten:106

Average Rating:4.2/10

Consensus: A slew of talent is wasted in this contrived and overly sentimental Christmas film, which can't quite get the balance between slapstick humor and sentimental family moments.

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Childrens

US Box Office: $71,970,547

Synopsis: 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,... 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. [More]

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, Elizabeth Banks

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Kevin Spacey, Trevor Peacock, Ludacris

Director: David Dobkin

Director: David Dobkin
Screenwriter: Dan Fogelman
Story: Jessie Nelson, Dan Fogelman
Producer: Joel Silver, Jessie Nelson, David Dobkin
Composer: Christophe Beck
Studio: Warner Bros.

[See More Credits]

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Reviews for Fred Claus

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

[Vaughn's] naughtiness has never seemed so approachably nice.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
11/09/07
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

The storytelling and focus are all over the map.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
11/09/07
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

The idea that Santa Claus... is getting the life lessons and not giving them is the surest indicator of how crass this movie is.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
11/09/07
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

It may not be brilliant, but it's easily the best holiday movie since Elf...

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
11/09/07
Todd Gilchrist
Todd Gilchrist
IGN Movies

Paul Giamatti's oddly soulful turn as Santa stands out like a Christmas cookie atop a septic tank in this randomly plotted and intermittently amusing formula comedy.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
11/09/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

A generally fun movie as long as your expectations are low enough. But considering the talent of the cast and filmmakers, Fred Claus should be better (and funnier) than this.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
11/09/07
Russ Breimeier
Russ Breimeier
Christianity Today

...far from the light-hearted, family-friendly comedy its promotional materials have been promising...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
11/09/07
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

The anemically kooky coal-in-the-stocking comedy feebly employs the same tactics. The toothless slapstick Fred Claus is merely "ho ho ho" and a bottle of dumb!

Full Review Source: Movie Eye | comment Comment
11/09/07
Frank Ochieng
Frank Ochieng
Movie Eye

Here's the newest entry in that curdled genre, the I-Hate-Christmas movie.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
11/09/07
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

a passionless, crappy, made-for-TV-grade, sanitized feel-good fest

Full Review Source: Film School Rejects | comment Comment
11/09/07
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
Film School Rejects

Fred Claus is the perfect post-millennial holiday film. It's funny, smart, wicked, warm, and above all, completely clued-in to our growing crass commercialization of Christmas.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/09/07
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

Freely mixing reality therapy, fairy tale and satire, Dobkin's film does not maintain a consistent tone.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
11/09/07
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

Fred Claus is a tacky would-be comedy about family dysfunction that fronts some Scrooge attitude only to dissolve into slobbering sentimentality and canned uplift.

comment Comment
11/09/07
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Fred Claus] has apparently studied Elf and figured out everything that could have gone wrong with its fish-out-of-water Christmas fable.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/09/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Fred Claus ends up closer in spirit to Eugene O'Neill than it is to Dr. Seuss.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/09/07
Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole
Globe and Mail

The best children's stories are the simplest, and this one's a complicated mess.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
11/09/07
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

A Santa story you've never heard before turns into a bright holiday package - filled with pure enjoyment for kids.

Full Review Source: www.susangranger.com | comment Comment
11/09/07
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

Isn't there a verse in Revelations that proclaims when Tim Allen makes a funnier Christmas movie than Vince Vaughn, end times are a-comin'?

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/09/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

David Dobkin directs with some sparkle, but without the sustained energy he brought to Shanghai Knights (2003) or Wedding Crashers (2005).

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/08/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Fred Claus is like alump of coal, the kind of thing that no one in their right mind would possibly want to receive for Christmas and the kind of thing that could only be useful to people when set ablaze.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/08/07
Peter Sobczynski
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
all

Latest News for Fred Claus

November 28, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: Local Critics Warm To Changeling; De Niro Delights But What Just Happened Doesn't
It's Friday, there's a new raft of movies in the UK cinemas this week, but are any of them any good? This week the UK film hacks give us their opinions on Clint Eastwood's... More...

November 24, 2008: RT on DVD: Fred Claus, Hancock, and 24: Redemption
The holidays are upon us, which makes it a perfect week to snuggle up with the superhero (Hancock), the spirited (Fred Claus), or the stealthy (Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer... More...

November 23, 2008: Don't make the mistake of misreading this mean-spirited production as a kid-friendly Christmas flick. Opens in new window
More...

November 22, 2008: Vince Vaughn's famously rude Wedding Crasher gets macho with Ludacris as a m-igitalized feisty Santa elf, while huddling over the pint-sized urinals in the john with another, to clue him about North Pole dirty dancing and romance. Opens in new window
More...

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