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CommentApr 23, 2009
Fred Claus (2007)
21
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:135
Fresh:28
Rotten:107
Average Rating:4.2/10
Consensus: A slew of talent is wasted in this contrived and overly sentimental Christmas film, which can't quite get the balance between slapstick humor and sentimental family moments.
Theatrical Release: Nov 9, 2007 Wide
Box Office: $72.0M
Synopsis: Fred Claus, Santa's bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole. [More]
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Miranda Richardson
Director: David Dobkin
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REVIEWS FOR FRED CLAUS
A turbulent ride that shifts tonal gears and messages like oscillations in the weather, ending in mythological frostbite.
Nov 26, 2008
Fred Claus is not an entirely bad picture, but it is a decidedly bland one.
Nov 21, 2008
Vaughn's act may be toned down a bit, but he still plays the same fast-talking, quip-spouting arrogant schmuck that he usually does, and it wears thin real fast.
May 20, 2008
Rather than creating imaginative situations for Vaughn to explore, director David Dobkin merely asks that Vaughn be himself, as if his personality were big enough to wring humor out of a comic vacuum.
Apr 9, 2008
Unfortunately, this is a broad family comedy that depends on odd sound effects (zonks! splat!) during every scene...
Mar 4, 2008
Does it make me a Scrooge to suggest that this is one piece of holiday coal you should leave in your stocking?
Feb 28, 2008
Fred Claus won't make us forget "Rudolph," "Frosty" or even "The Santa Clause."
Jan 19, 2008
It is a joyless rehash of old plots and jokes. File "Fred Claus" under lump of coal.
Dec 12, 2007
Paul Giamatti is forced to play Santa like a socially awkward version of Vince Vaughn
Dec 11, 2007
There are no laughs from the material, which wants to be edgy but can't go for broke because it's too busy being a trifling piece of holiday cheer but without the cheer.
Dec 1, 2007
Fred Claus tries desperately for a Bad Santa meets Elf vibe. Five minutes in, the man sitting next to me was sound asleep.
Nov 30, 2007
The actual effect of films such as this, however, is to put you in an entirely non-Christmas, non-joyous and non-charitable mood.
Nov 30, 2007
An archly mirthless comedy.
Nov 30, 2007
Fred Claus is in the grand tradition of a certain type of Yuletide farce - one that's about as funny as a crushed bauble in your egg nog.
Nov 30, 2007
The spirit of Scrooge surges strong within me having watched this chillingly cynical and unfunny Christmas movie.
Nov 30, 2007
DICK VAN DYKE had an excuse for doing a terrible Cockney accent in Mary Poppins – he is American. But how Brit Rachel Weisz can explain her “you wot” effort in Fred Claus is anyone’s guess.
Nov 30, 2007
It’s not exactly It’s A Wonderful Life, with Vaughn’s trademark blokeishness starting to jar, Giamatti strangely miserable and the laughs generally thin on the ground.
Nov 30, 2007
You'll have a better time if you spend Christmas wedged up a chimney.
Nov 30, 2007
This is one of those flicks that attempts to appeal to adults at a nudge, nudge, wink, wink, more salacious level while keeping the kids happy. It never really works.
Nov 29, 2007
LATEST NEWS FOR FRED CLAUS
November 24, 2008:
RT on DVD: Fred Claus, Hancock, and 24: Redemption
The holidays are upon us, which makes it a perfect week to snuggle up with the superhero (Hancock), the spirited (Fred Claus), or the stealthy (Keifer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in 24: Redemption), plus...
More...
November 21, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Enchanted Leads Packed Holiday Weekend
This weekend For the first time this decade, a new release seems set to take over the number one spot during the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the North American box office. Studios are...
More...
November 15, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Beowulf Set To Conquer Multiplexes
One animated film will bump another from the number one spot at the North American box office. But the new warrior Beowulf is no B movie but an A-list production from an Oscar-winning director...
More...
November 11, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Bee Movie Jumps Into #1 Spot
Three new releases failed to steal attention away from last weekend's top two films which continued to rule the North American box office swapping chart positions in the process.
More...
November 8, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Fred Claus Fails to Spread Cheer; Lions Is Tame, P2 is Average Genre Fare
This week at the movies, we've got Santa's not-so-little helper (Fred Claus, starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti), geopolitics (Lions for Lambs, starring Robert Redford, Tom Cruise, and Meryl...
More...
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