Fred Claus
Published 2022-12-24
Film info
- Title Fred Claus
- Director David Dobkin
- Year 2007
- Run time 1hr 56m
- Genres Action, Comedy, Drama
- Tagline Everybody has that one relative who can't help but cause problems over the holidays. Even Santa.
- Cast Vince Vaughn, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks
This is a story you've never heard before, a hilarious and heartwarming comedy about Fred Claus, Santa's brother - and complete opposite. After growing up in saintly Nick's shadow, Fred becomes a grouch who's lost his belief in Christmas. Then, one magical December, Fred flies north (first class via reindeer) to find brother Nick is in trouble: a scheming efficiency expert is out to shut down Christmas forever! Expect fun by the sleighful as Fred helps save Christmas and rediscovers the gift of family.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:33 | That's the guy from Vicar of Dibley and I can't take that seriously. |
| 5:05 | Turns out santa as a kid is pretty annoying. |
| 7:18 | Mmm, 16,000 bags of Cheetos. |
| 12:52 | Santa as a megalomaniac is interesting. |
| 17:19 | Santa BUNDLE. |
| 23:46 | I like that he did just say he was the boy's father, no questions asked. |
| 27:46 | The Pitch Perfect team are back together!! |
| 32:10 | "Ooh, you Scrooge, you lose." |
| 35:48 | What board is in charge of Santa? |
| 44:24 | Even the Claus family have tension over the holidays. |
| 52:38 | "I know you've got more Blitzen in you than you realise." |
| 1:02:29 | How does he sleep sideways on that bed? |
| 1:06:34 | "Don't bring a snowmobile to a snowball fight." |
| 1:11:52 | Frank Stallone! |
| 1:18:49 | That sounds like a Claus clause to me. |
| 1:30:46 | Doesn't he star in Superman movies after this? |
| 1:42:39 | "I'm positive too! I'm positive I'm right." |
| 1:44:50 | Stephen Baldwin, Roger Clinton and Frank Stallone. WHAT. |
Thoughts
Mixed feelings about this one - it's a great cast (except, you know) and the concept is interesting and fun. I like that it's a slightly darker take on festive stories, to balance out the sugary sweetness of many others. But I feel like it could have been so much better. Vince's babbling didn't quite fit, for me, I'm assuming a lot of that was him improvising. And the CG to make the elves smaller fell a little bit into that uncanny valley so that it was a little bit creepy.
But it was entertaining and certainly a lot better than many other Christmas films around.
Rating: 3 / 5
