Fred Claus is a Christmas film starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti and produced and directed by David Dobkin. The film is a comedic, holiday film about Santa Claus' older brother Fred Claus. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (510x755, 67 KB) // Movie poster for the 2007 film Fred Claus. ... David Dobkin (born 1969) is a film director, producer and former screenwriter. ... The name David Dobkin may refer to the following persons: David Dobkin (born February 29, 1948) is the Dean of the Faculty at Princeton University. ... Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is a successful Hollywood film producer. ... Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor. ... Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... Mark Livolsi is an American film editor. ... Warner Bros. ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... This article is about motion pictures. ... Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor. ... Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... David Dobkin (born 1969) is a film director, producer and former screenwriter. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ... For other uses, see Holiday (disambiguation). ... A typical depiction of Santa Claus. ...

Plot

Santa Claus' (Paul Giamatti) older brother Fred (Vince Vaughn), a present-day repo man in Chicago, Illinois, gets arrested close to Christmas. When his brother St. Nick bails him out, Fred talks his way into a $50,000 loan for a business venture, which Nick will provide only if Fred comes to the North Pole to visit the family, including the brothers' mom and dad (Kathy Bates, Trevor Peacock) and Mrs. Claus (Miranda Richardson). Unbeknownst to Fred, another "guest" is an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who wants to shut Santa's operation down. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor. ... For other uses, see Repo Man (disambiguation). ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation). ... Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an Academy Award-winning American theatrical, film, and television actress, and a stage and television director. ... Trevor Peacock is a British character actor who has breathed life into such famous roles as Jim Trott in The Vicar of Dibley, Rouault in Madame Bovary (opposite Keith Barron) and Old Bailey in Neverwhere. ... Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an Academy Award nominated English actress. ... Kevin Spacey (born July 26, 1959) is an Academy Award-winning American actor (film and stage) and director. ...

The setting of the film takes place in a cottage where a baby is just born. Unlike normal babies, he didn't cry, but instead his first words were "Ho,ho.ho." So he was named Nicholas Claus, with his mother nicknaming him as Saint Nick. Frederick Claus loved his new baby brother very much and had promised to be the "best older brother in the whole world."

As they grew up, Fred became extremely jealous of Nick's attention because Nick had such a caring heart, and was unintentionally outdoing his brother. The moment Fred starts resenting his brother, is when Nick, out of good intentions, cuts down Fred's favorite tree with his bird friend, Chirp Chirp, living in it. Thus resulting in Chirp Chirp leaving and never returning again.

As Fred grew worse, Nicholas became even more generous, which fulfills his destiny as a Saint. When you become a Saint, you freeze in time. So Nicholas and his family never dies.

As the story switches into a more modern setting, we see Fred as an adult and a Repo man who takes from those who can't pay their bills (and even keeps what he repossesses). He hates Christmas time because every place he goes reminds him of his brother. By getting money to rent an apartment, Fred stands in the middle of the street begging for money in the name of charity which gets him arrested for not having a license. He calls his brother, Nicholas, as a last option for bail money.

To get the rest of the money for the apartment he was going to buy, Nicholas gives Fred a job at the toy company. Fred reluctantly agrees to Nicholas, who promised not to tell their mother Fred was coming. As Fred gets ready to leave, his "son" whose real father died a year ago gets taken from him from Child Services. Moments later, an elf comes lurking into Fred's apartment and takes him to the North Pole. Once there, Fred is shown into the toy factory, where all the elves work, and is shown to the station he'll be working at. Santa had arranged for Fred to work in the Naughty/Nice Department, inspecting files of all the world's children, and stamping who would be naughty and nice.

Reception

In critical reaction, the film scored a 25% positive rating at the critics-aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes^[1] and 42% at Metacritic.^[2] Michelle Orange of The Village Voice said, "The exceptional cast ... is an embarrassment of riches for a script this thin and this beholden to family-fare protocol, with its mushy-minded moral and slick sentimentality.^[3] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International said, "An engaging idea gets mostly lost amid underdeveloped characters, a pointless subplot and creepy CGI".^[4] Bill Goodykootnz of The Arizona Republic summed it up for most with his opening line, "Bah. Humbug".^[5] This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and books. ... This article is about a New York newspaper. ... Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic-book writer. ... Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Nielsen Business Media, a division of The Nielsen Company. ... The Arizona Republic is a newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona. ...

Cast

• Vince Vaughn - Fred Claus
• Paul Giamatti - Nick (Santa) Claus
• Miranda Richardson - Annette Claus
• Kevin Spacey - Clyde
• Rachel Weisz - Wanda
• Kathy Bates - Mother Claus
• Trevor Peacock - Papa Claus
• Elizabeth Banks - Charlene
• John Michael Higgins - Willy
• Ludacris - DJ Donnie

Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American film actor. ... Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (born June 6, 1967) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor. ... A typical depiction of Santa Claus. ... Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an Academy Award nominated English actress. ... Mrs. ... Kevin Spacey (born July 26, 1959) is an Academy Award-winning American actor (film and stage) and director. ... Rachel Weisz (born March 7, 1971) is an Academy Award-winning English film and television actress. ... Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an Academy Award-winning American theatrical, film, and television actress, and a stage and television director. ... Trevor Peacock is a British character actor who has breathed life into such famous roles as Jim Trott in The Vicar of Dibley, Rouault in Madame Bovary (opposite Keith Barron) and Old Bailey in Neverwhere. ... Banks in Heights Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Maresal Mitchell on February 10, 1974) is an American actress. ... John Michael Higgins (born February 12, 1963, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actor whose film credits include Christopher Guests mockumentaries and the role of David Letterman in HBOs The Late Shift. ... Luda redirects here. ...

Footnotes

References

• Fred Claus - Warner Bros. official site

External links

• Fred Claus at the Internet Movie Database