Sometimes a movie can have bad trailers and still be pretty good. I watched the trailers for “Fred Claus” for months before it came out in theaters last year and I wasn’t expecting very much from the movie. But, turned out, “Fred Claus” was definitely worth seeing, and it’s worth a viewing now that it’s out on video.
The story, as you probably already know, centers around Santa’s older brother Fred (played by Vince Vaughn). Fred lives in Chicago, not at the North Pole with the rest of his family. But after he gets into trouble he needs some money from Santa (Paul Giamatti) and so he goes to the North Pole to get it.
Once there Santa puts Fred to work preparing for Christmas with the elves, but things don’t go too smoothly. Plus, Santa has to deal with an evil man (played by Kevin Spacey) who is trying to shut-down Santa’s workshop.
“Fred Claus” is both funny and sweet, just what a holiday family comedy should be. In fact this is the best Christmas movie since “The Polar Express”, and is has a lot of that movie’s warmth and charm. And there’s also some wacky fun, including cameos by other famous brothers including Frank Stallone and Stephen Baldwin.
The film is rated PG for a little crude humor, but this is a movie the whole family can see.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Fred Claus” gets a B. Give it a look. It’s a great way to kick-off the holiday season.