Military Movies - Military Times

Solid cast helps ‘Claus’ spread holiday cheer

It’s a sibling rivalry for the ages when jolly old St. Nicholas (Paul Giamatti) and his black-sheep big brother Fred (Vince Vaughn) mix it up in “Fred Claus.”

It’s a sublime mix of snarky and sentimental, buoyed by its two leads and support from Kathy Bates, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Spacey and Miranda Richardson.

Fred, who has always lived in the large shadow of Nick’s innate, outsized goodness, has shunned his family for centuries after the Claus clan became immortal when Nick was named a saint.

Fred is now a fast-talking repo man, forever disappointing his long-suffering girlfriend (Weisz) while looking for the one big splash that will finally bring him love and respect from his parents (Bates and Trevor Peacock).

As Christmas nears, Fred must come up with $50,000 for his latest business scheme. Choking down his pride, he calls Nick and Mrs. Claus (Richardson) to hit them up for the dough. Nick says he’ll have to come to the North Pole and earn it by helping with the Christmas toy-making rush.

Utter mayhem ensues when Fred — not exactly elf material — blows into town and finally faces his deep family wounds.

Along the way, he shows Head Elf Willie (John Michael Higgins) how to win the heart of Santa’s sexy little helper (Elizabeth Banks), while also aiding Nick in battling a corporate efficiency expert (Spacey) who wants to streamline and outsource this increasingly archaic operation.

The film has lots of color and motion for the kids and wry humor for the grown-ups, such as a “Siblings Anonymous” meeting in which Fred shares his feelings of familial inadequacy with the likes of Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton and Stephen Baldwin.

If you get the least bit sappy about the holidays, “Fred Claus” will go down like a smooth cup of Christmas cheer.