Fred Claus

"Fred Claus" is not funny. Not even close. Not to kids or adults. It's destined for repeat showings on Comedy Central, where you will find a number of unfunny movies. This is one of those.

Santa Claus has a brother, Fred (Vince Vaughn). Fred has grown up in the shadow of Nick (Paul Giamatti) and has loathed him for hundreds of years. We are told early on that families of saints, such as Nick, don't age. Fred has fallen on hard times and needs money. Appealing to his younger brother for help, Fred calls Nick for help. Nick (aka Santa) agrees to help him, but only if Fred agrees to visit the North Pole. He eventually relents and gets put to work with the elves.

Also lurking around the North Pole is an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who has been sent to determine whether Santa is running his toy operation the best way possible. Santa fears that this guy has been sent to shut him down. Fred's arrival does nothing to help the situation.

Fred and Nick never seem to see eye to eye, though Santa, being the good guy that he is can't be blamed for lack of effort. It's Fred who is the bitter one. It is also Fred's bitterness that brings the movie down. That, and the fact that the script is not funny. Did I mention that before?

Vince Vaughn seems to be want to be funny, but is restricted by the PG rating of this family film. Perhaps this is why Tim Allen does better in such roles. Unable to be his ultimate funny guy, Vaughn makes the most of his scenes with the elves but even those come up short.

"Fred Claus" is a gift better left unopened, lost under the holiday movie tree forever. I give it a D.

"Fred Claus" is rated PG with a running time of 116 minutes.