Studio: Warner Bros. Street Date: November 25, 2008 Director: David Dobkin MPAA Rating: PG Cast: • Vince Vaughn
• Paul Giamatti
• Miranda Richardson
• Rachel Weisz
• Kathy Bates
• Elizabeth Banks
• John Michael Higgins Format: DVD Specs: Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Color (Anamorphic),Standard 1.33:1 Color
Audio: ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC], SPANISH: Dolby Digital 5.1, FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French Special Features: - Commentary By Director David Dobkin
- Over 25 Minutes Of Merry Additional Scenes Version: Standard Store Exclusives: N/A Review: Fred Claus is the story of Santa's brother, what? you didn't know he had one?
At the heart of this Christmas story is the story of what it's like to live in the shadow of a much praised sibling. It’s a touch place to be, let alone if you were immortal and your bro was the guy who brings joy to the world (most of it anyway).
While I understand that this is a family film first and foremost I can’t help but think they missed a really chance at creating something a little deeper had they focused on the immortality aspect. When we first meet Fred he’s a low life hustler who works doing repo’s. Santa givith and Fred takith away. It would be great to cover just how Fred got there and what he’s been doing with his time over the years. I dunno maybe I’m asking for too much.
Naturally St. Nick has a soft spot for his dear screw up brother and being a saint doesn’t make it easy to turn his back on Fred so when called upon again he offers to help Fred out if he’ll come to the shop and work for it…and naturally Fred makes a mess of the entire operation.
As if Santa’s troubles weren’t bad enough he is being audited by Lex Luthor…err I mean…Clyde Northcut (Kevin Spacey), but what’s not clear is who the higher power behind Clyde is. Maybe I missed this bit of info, but I couldn’t figure out just who has the power to layoff Santa.
The movie in and of itself is not bad, it’s a holiday movie and these cannot be subjected to the normal rules. The big question with any holiday movie is: “will it become a classic?”. I have a hard time thinking Fred will wind up being one of those movies that get put into massive rotation for the holidays but if you or someone you know loves holiday movies this will fit in well enough with the rest of the collection. Buy It Now: Rating:
