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FRED CLAUS
For those old enough to remember, there was a folk singing duo back in the 1960's called The Smother Brothers, who actually had their own controversial variety series on CBS. One of the standing bits between older brother Tom and younger brother Dick was Tom always reminding Dick that "Mom always liked you best." The Smothers Brothers kept flashing through my mind while watching a lavish 2007 comedy called Fred Claus, which addresses sibling rivalry as well as challenging aspects of the Santa Claus legend in an amusing and believable fashion.
The film opens with the birth of Nick, who it is revealed is the largest baby ever and we then learn that Nick has an older brother named Fred who finds himself competing for the love of his mother (Kathy Bates), but cannot compete with Nick whose generous spirit helps to turn him into Santa Claus. The film then flashes forward to present day Chicago where Fred (Vince Vaughn) is desperate to start his own OTB business and escape from constant reminders of Christmas and his more famous brother. Fred gets in some trouble and contacts younger brother, Santa AKA St. Nick (Paul Giamatti) to borrow $50,000 which Nick agrees to on the condition that Fred come to the North Pole and help with the Christmas operation. The story is further complicated by the arrival at the North Pole of an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who has been sent to the North Pole by "the Board" who are not happy with North Pole operations and are threatening to close down the pole for good.
This film features a solid screenplay by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson that, despite everything that's going on here, never forgets the central story here...the sibling rivalry between Fred and Nick, which is firmly established in the opening scenes where Fred's resentment of his little brother never changes the love Nick has for Fred, despite Fred's horrible treatment of him. As you can imagine, living in Santa Claus's shadow can be daunting and near the end of the second act, it all comes to head in a showdown between the adult brothers, in the form of a very funny snowball fight.
I also love the way the story takes these brothers' story as well as the aspects of the Santa legend and addresses them in a somewhat realistic manner. There is a brilliant sequence, which I didn't see coming at all, where Fred is observed attending a Siblings Anonymous meeting to deal with his issues, a meeting also attended by Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton, and Stephen Baldwin. When Fred finally has to step up for his brother, the film also cleverly addresses the practicality of entering homes through the chimney and having to consume all the cookies and milk left for Santa in fear of offending the children who left them.
Vince Vaughn is totally winning in the title role, a character who is drawn in shades of gray but never becomes unlikable and Paul Giamatti makes a perfect Santa Claus. Miranda Richardson scores as Mrs. Claus as does John Michael Higgins as a very insecure elf. Kevin Spacey also effectively underplays a classic mustache-twirling villain. A lot of money went into this film...it's lavishly mounted with superb art direction/set direction. The North Pole is beautifully created here, though I have to wonder that the North Pole would have an establishment that serves alcohol, but it's a tiny quibble that did not keep me from becoming completely enveloped in this smooth and funny holiday journey.
For those old enough to remember, there was a folk singing duo back in the 1960's called The Smother Brothers, who actually had their own controversial variety series on CBS. One of the standing bits between older brother Tom and younger brother Dick was Tom always reminding Dick that "Mom always liked you best." The Smothers Brothers kept flashing through my mind while watching a lavish 2007 comedy called Fred Claus, which addresses sibling rivalry as well as challenging aspects of the Santa Claus legend in an amusing and believable fashion.
The film opens with the birth of Nick, who it is revealed is the largest baby ever and we then learn that Nick has an older brother named Fred who finds himself competing for the love of his mother (Kathy Bates), but cannot compete with Nick whose generous spirit helps to turn him into Santa Claus. The film then flashes forward to present day Chicago where Fred (Vince Vaughn) is desperate to start his own OTB business and escape from constant reminders of Christmas and his more famous brother. Fred gets in some trouble and contacts younger brother, Santa AKA St. Nick (Paul Giamatti) to borrow $50,000 which Nick agrees to on the condition that Fred come to the North Pole and help with the Christmas operation. The story is further complicated by the arrival at the North Pole of an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who has been sent to the North Pole by "the Board" who are not happy with North Pole operations and are threatening to close down the pole for good.
This film features a solid screenplay by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson that, despite everything that's going on here, never forgets the central story here...the sibling rivalry between Fred and Nick, which is firmly established in the opening scenes where Fred's resentment of his little brother never changes the love Nick has for Fred, despite Fred's horrible treatment of him. As you can imagine, living in Santa Claus's shadow can be daunting and near the end of the second act, it all comes to head in a showdown between the adult brothers, in the form of a very funny snowball fight.
I also love the way the story takes these brothers' story as well as the aspects of the Santa legend and addresses them in a somewhat realistic manner. There is a brilliant sequence, which I didn't see coming at all, where Fred is observed attending a Siblings Anonymous meeting to deal with his issues, a meeting also attended by Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton, and Stephen Baldwin. When Fred finally has to step up for his brother, the film also cleverly addresses the practicality of entering homes through the chimney and having to consume all the cookies and milk left for Santa in fear of offending the children who left them.
Vince Vaughn is totally winning in the title role, a character who is drawn in shades of gray but never becomes unlikable and Paul Giamatti makes a perfect Santa Claus. Miranda Richardson scores as Mrs. Claus as does John Michael Higgins as a very insecure elf. Kevin Spacey also effectively underplays a classic mustache-twirling villain. A lot of money went into this film...it's lavishly mounted with superb art direction/set direction. The North Pole is beautifully created here, though I have to wonder that the North Pole would have an establishment that serves alcohol, but it's a tiny quibble that did not keep me from becoming completely enveloped in this smooth and funny holiday journey.