by Karyn L. Beach

Fred Claus reminds me of most of the gifts you get at the holidays. You open them, you thank the giver and by the end of the day you’ve forgotten all about that wonderful box of assorted shower gels from Bath and Body Works., not to mention the tasty set of teabags that came with the accompanying Christmas themed mug and stale package of cookies. “No, really, you shouldn’t have.”

Fred (Vince Vaughn) is the older brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti), also known as St. Nick. Well, it seems that if one reads the fine print of ‘sainthood,’ one would find a little rule that says the spouses and immediate families of the saint also gain immortality. So Fred has been living for centuries in the shadow of his beloved brother. Fred is barely getting by. His relationship with his meter maid girlfriend Wanda (Rachel Weisz) is strained. His friend, the adorable little boy next door, Slam (Bobb'e J. Thompson) gets picked up by Child Protective Services. And he doesn’t have the money for a business deal he wants to embark on. When his latest scheme lands him in the slammer, he calls his brother for bail. Only St. Nicholas, at the prodding of his wife (Miranda Richardson) institutes a little tough love. In exchange for bail, he’ll have to come up to the North Pole and help out with the family business. But things at the Pole aren’t filled with holiday cheer. Santa is being investigated by an efficiency expert Clyde Northcut (Kevin Spacey), who is threatening to close down Santa’s entire operation … for good.

There are two memorable scenes in Fred Claus. One involves a group of Santa’s chasing Fred through the streets of Chicago and through a toy store. The other involves a sibling support group for siblings of the rich and famous. There are cameos by Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton and Stephen Baldwin. Both scenes are laugh-out loud funny but neither are enough to sustain the movie.

Vaughn is best when he’s doing his fast-talking slick shtick in a more adult-themed comedy. He didn’t seem comfortable in a film that is aiming to be more family-friendly. The cast is impressive: Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, Kathy Bates, and Rachel Weisz. And I couldn’t help but wondering how all these talented people got involved in this film … especially Spacey. He was good; in fact, he was the only one who looked like he was having fun. Unfortunately, I wasn’t.