The Review

Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: Mosaic

Media Credit: Warner Bros.

"Fred Claus"
Warner Brothers
Rating: 2 stars (out of 4)

For Vince Vaughn, who has found his niche somewhere between frat-boy vulgarity and off-the-wall sports comedy, tackling the family genre is a big departure.

It's your typical Christmas flick - that sometimes redundant but mostly endearing formula audiences eventually come to love every holiday season. The equation is simple - a foot of snow mixed with some twinkling lights, elves, eggnog and a good, old-fashioned moral equals fuzzy feelings and cheer for all.

The problem with a lot of holiday-themed films is that they tend to be obvious and predictable, and although most fans can get behind some cheesy, feel-good holiday fun some of the time, the ending of "Fred Claus" can easily be established within the first 10 minutes of the movie.

Vaughn plays Fred Claus, the Scrooge-turned-softie who overcomes his cynicism and finds a love for his family and Christmas. After a lifetime of living in his older brother's shadow, it's understandable that Fred grows up to be a Negative Nancy. But when Fred gets into trouble and needs Nick (Paul Giamatti) to bail him out of jail, he must help Santa prepare for Christmas at the North Pole in return.

Vaughn is his typical charming, fast-talking trouble-making self, just in a more kid-friendly environment and with less sex and swearing than he's used to. It's his quick wit and loud, matter-of-factness that carry the film through to its end.

When Fred arrives at Santa's workshop, the scene inside puts viewers in the holiday spirit. The gigantic toy factory filled with busy elves, a larger-than-life Christmas tree and sprinkles of red, green and gold wrapping paper is a welcomed sight during the upcoming holiday season.

The visual aspects of the film and Vaughn's interactions with the elves, including a miniature DJ-ing Ludacris, are the only real substantial parts of the film.

With a strong supporting cast of accomplished actors and actresses (Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Kevin Spacey), it's too bad there wasn't more to this movie to take advantage of all the talent on set.

This holiday flick had a lot of potential, but it lacks a real passion and seems forced in both content and plot. Vaughn, it seems, is much more comfortable and natural in slapstick and silly than corny and commercial.

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