Fred Claus (2007)

Fred Claus, Santa's bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole to help Santa and the elves prepare for Christmas in exchange for cash.

Director:

David Dobkin

Writers:

Dan Fogelman (screenplay), Jessie Nelson (story)

Stars:

Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Elizabeth Banks

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vince Vaughn	...	Fred Claus
Paul Giamatti	...	Nick 'Santa' Claus
John Michael Higgins	...	Willie
Miranda Richardson	...	Annette Claus
Rachel Weisz	...	Wanda
Kathy Bates	...	Mother Claus
Trevor Peacock	...	Papa Claus
Ludacris	...	DJ Donnie (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges)
Elizabeth Banks	...	Charlene
Jeremy Swift	...	Bob Elf
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Linda Elf
Kevin Spacey	...	Clyde
Rio Hackford	...	Leon
Bobb'e J. Thompson	...	Samuel 'Slam' Gibbons
Allan Corduner	...	Dr. Goldfarb

Storyline

During childhood, Fred Claus suffered his younger brother Nick's saintliness. Jump ahead: Fred is a fast-talking, genial but self-centered guy in Chicago looking for $50,000 to open an off-track-betting shop. When one scam goes awry, he calls Nick at the North Pole for a loan: Nick will give him the money only if Fred comes up to help a few days with the Christmas rush. After his girlfriend dumps him, Fred heads north. Santa's facing an audit from an efficiency expert, and it's not pleasant. Fred's job is to review charts and determine who's naughty and who's nice. Is there any fraternal feeling left, can either learn from the other, and what about Santa getting fired?

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Plot Keywords:

released in 2007 on usa | north pole | efficiency expert | christmas | cape the garment | 

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Taglines:

You're invited to a very unusual family reunion.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and some rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official UK DVD & Blu Ray site Warner Bros [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joe Claus

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,515,473, 2 November 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$72,006,777

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$97,838,349

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Silver Pictures, David Dobkin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the locations seen in the movie are: Athens (Greece), Moscow (Russia), London (U.K.), Caernarforn (U.K.), Vatican City, the Taj Mahal (India), Cairo (Egypt), The Great Wall of China, Hong Kong (China), Sydney (Australia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Machu Picchu (Peru), Paris (France), Washington, D.C., New York City (New York), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Seattle (Washington), Cape Elizabeth (Maine), San Francisco (California), Chicago (Illinois), Mount Rushmore (South Dakota), St. Louis (Missouri), the Grand Canyon (Arizona), and Brooklyn (New York).

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Goofs

In one shot during the fight on the snowmobile, the background is painted and clearly fake.

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Quotes

Willie: Charlene, do you think it's possible we can make enough gifts to meet our quota?
Charlene: Baseball bats, lose four seconds, 55... Yeah, it is possible.
Willie: It is, but, Fred, that's not what the kids asked for.
Fred Claus: Yeah, but all that matters is that each of the kids get a toy. That they have something that they can open when they wake up in the morning. Most importantly, they all know there's somebody who's thinking about them.

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Crazy Credits

The opening logos are covered in snow and Christmas tree lights.

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Connections

Featured in Getaway: Episode #16.39 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Main Title
from Mousehunt (1997)
Written by Alan Silvestri
Courtesy of DreamWorks SKG

User Reviews

Thin Story-Line That Can't Sustain the 2-Hour Running

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 300 HOLIDAY FILMS & SPECIALS. I HAVE NO AGENDA.

In this film Of the two Claus brothers, Fred (Vince Vaughn) is the troublemaker and polar opposite of his saintly sibling, Nicholas (Paul Giamatti). When Fred's criminal ways finally land him in big trouble, Nicholas bails him out and brings him to the North Pole to work off the debt by making toys. The headaches mount for St. Nick, who not only must deal with his trouble making brother, but also an efficiency expert who has come to evaluate Santa's operation.

Before they shoot this film they should have re-written the screenplay. The first 45 minutes could have been reduced by 1/2. The final hour could have also been streamlined.

This film in reality has no idea who its audience is. The thing is the film doesn't try to cover all the bases. The film however does have some very great scenes and a awesome set. The flying sequences are the highlight the film which is the only thing that makes film give flight.

Worth watching Once. I don't see this becoming a holiday favorite for many!