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Bookmark this pageFred Claus (2007)
Director: David Dobkin
Synopsis
Fred, Santa’s deadbeat older brother, pays a visit to the North Pole in an effort to make up for his past mistakes and redeem himself. The reunion with his family does not go according to plan however, and as the lazy black sheep of the family, Fred causes chaos in the run-up to Santa’s most important night of the year.
Movie review
From Time Out London
Too good to be true, this. Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey, Rachel Weisz, Miranda Richardson and Kathy Bates, plus Vince Vaughn reteamed with ‘Wedding Crashers’ director David Dobkin. Way too good to be true. Early on, Vaughn’s face-smashing donnybrook with an army of charity Santas bodes well. But he’s on autopilot here, rolling out his patented hustler-with-heart schtick as narky Chicago repo man, Fred, who’s little brother happens to be St Nick. Tough to blame Vaughn: slaloming between gooey seasonal cheese and near-the-knuckle sourness, this Christmas comedy struggles to stir knockabout kiddie fun with spiky adult themes of resentment and sibling rivalry. Lost on the wrong side of ‘Elf’ and ‘Bad Santa’, the script sleighs Fred to the North Pole to help his brother with the Yuletide push, hurdling reality checks with all the grace of a three-legged reindeer. Big laughs go missing and about 30 minutes should have been cut like deadwood– preferably Weisz’s rub-a-dub London accent and Vaughn’s ‘dancing’. But there’s no beating that cast. All sausage fingers, frazzled hair and morbid obesity, Giamatti is the first Santa to admit to acid reflux and sleep apnoea. No guessing if Spacey’s glacial contempt is simply for his role as an efficiency expert trying to shut down Santa – either way, it works a treat. What’s more, Dobkin’s film is lit up by a couple of genius scenes: first, a siblings support-group attended by Frank Stallone, Stephen Baldwin and Roger Clinton; second, a superb in-joke triggering Spacey’s redemptive thaw-out, stoking a festive glow against all the odds.Author: Jonathan Crocker
Time Out London Issue 1945: November 27-December 4 2007
User reviews of this film
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- Ed said...
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Posted on Jan 10 2008 11:45
it am best film.
i wuz not finkin much cuz it r urtin but me m8 tellz me i musta likd it cuz i nevr bovverd 2 get up 2 go 2 da toylit.
pise an rezpek an all dat.
Fik Ed. - Report as inappropriate
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- aaron monks ea 2k8 said...
- Posted on Jan 08 2008 11:24 azzy ea loveing olivia 2k8 :P and tom is gay
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- dave said...
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Posted on Jan 04 2008 23:41
I'm going to see this fim the day day before last week. It were great; I nearrly wet myself.
I fort the bit were the rayndeer waz run over n dragged by the Scoobydoo waz best wen its ed came off - Report as inappropriate
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- olivia said...
- Posted on Jan 03 2008 19:08 Kids loved it - me and hubby hated it and couldn't wait for it to end.
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- JULIIIIIIII said...
- Posted on Jan 01 2008 15:11 i reccoment BEE MOVIE. fred claus is rubbish + i dont flipping belive in santa.
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- Buffy said...
- Posted on Dec 28 2007 20:49 Went to see this with my husband and young niece. Really enjoyed it, was good family fun and filled me with christmas spirit, Thought it would be one of those naff cheesy movies but much better than i dreaded it would be.
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- Jay said...
- Posted on Dec 28 2007 18:26 I like vince vaughn so i wsa pretty much sold from the word go but it is cheesy and i think thats why kids like it. Took my son (6) to see it and he only went to the loo once which means he liked it. If you remember it's not aimed at adults then you'll be fine. funny film. To jerry-marie. sorry about your little sister, glad she enjoyed the film. Jx
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- Jerry-marie said...
- Posted on Dec 26 2007 22:00 my littl sister (6) loved it because it was the last film she ever saw, im glad it wos a good film
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- Habib said...
- Posted on Dec 24 2007 16:07 dont know what to watch bee movie or fred clause if you have seen both please tell me whichone is better and just say its for habib fnx
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- davis said...
- Posted on Dec 23 2007 11:28 its sad reading the reviews that the youth of today post, no wonder they dont enjoy a film, half of them seem illiterate and dont understand the english language. "...wel datz wot a fink an me m8s al agree dis is da wickdst film man...." i rest my case, sigh......
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- aden said...
- Posted on Dec 21 2007 22:09 i hav not seen dis film but man it was great it was the funnyest thing in the word me m8 laughed so much his head blowed of ever1 laughed and then we all had a fun game of football wid is head so funny lol got 2 see no!!!! must see
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- S Saunders said...
- Posted on Dec 21 2007 13:00 This is the best christmas film ever. Good clean family entertainment. A must see!
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- Sarah.Sophie said...
- Posted on Dec 21 2007 09:15 Well Well Well.....This film was .... POO! We were bored from the word fred claus! Don't get us wrong it was a entertaining film it just wasn't for us. We thought it was boring and the jokes were unconventional, We prefer ELF!
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- stephanie hawthorne said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2007 13:15 This is the best christmas film ive ever seen it was brilt vince is a very good character in this film and he is soooo funny ive watch one of his films before wedding craches and he was brilt in that too anyone want to see this film go and see it is amazing merry Christmas every one and a happy new year xx
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- bullet said...
- Posted on Dec 20 2007 12:22 this film iz tuff me jamacan dis iz tuff ya no its bere funny stilllllllllll
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Cast & crew
Director: David Dobkin
Producer: David Dobkin, Joel Silver, Jessie Nelson
Cast: Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Miranda Richardson, Kevin Spacey, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Kathy Bates, John Michael Higgins full cast
Duration: 116 mins
UK Release: Nov 30 2007
US Release: Nov 9 2007
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