Fred Claus Information

Fred Claus is a 2007 American Christmas comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. The film was released on November 9, 2007 by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Plot

The film begins in Middle Age Europe, where a woman gives birth to a baby. Within a few minutes of his birth, the baby starts saying: "Ho, ho, ho!". Mother Claus (Kathy Bates) called her son, Frederick (Vince Vaughn), over to meet his new brother, whom she has decided to name him Nicholas (Paul Giamatti). Mother Claus lovingly refers to the new baby as her little Saint Nick. During Christmas, when Nick opens his gifts including Fred's, he decides to give them away to orphans which angers Fred. Mother Claus advises Fred to be a better person by stating he should be more like his brother; this in turn causes Fred to resent Nick. Feeling isolated, Fred often climbs a tree to confide his problems in a bird. On one occasion, Nick cuts down the tree, saying that now Fred can bring it inside since he liked it so much. However, the birdhouse Fred is confidant lived in is smashed, causing the bird to leave; this causes a permanent rift between Fred and Nick. In the present-day, it is revealed that when Nick eventually becomes a saint due to all his good deeds, he, Mrs. Annette Claus (Miranda Richardson), and Mother and Father Claus (Trevor Peacock) become frozen in time, never to age. Nick has become the modern-day Santa Claus, giving gifts to people and Fred runs a repo company in Chicago to take them away. Fred meet his girlfriend, Wanda Blinkowski (Rachel Weisz), who gets mad at him for forgetting that her birthday was the next day. Wanda refers to a previous birthday where Fred promised to take her to France.

Back at his apartment, Fred packs up when a young orphan boy named Samuel "Slam" Gibbons (Bobb'e J. Thompson) comes in. Slam talks about wanting a puppy for Christmas. Soon after, an elf named Willy (John Michael Higgins) shows up to take Fred to the North Pole. The audience learns that Willy is the head elf, and has a crush on Santa's Little Helper, Charlene (Elizabeth Banks). Once Fred and Willy arrive at the North Pole, Nick welcomes Fred warmly and shows him around. There is also a humongous snow globe in the room, where you can say any person's name and see if they are being naughty or nice. While Fred starts working, Nick introduces Clyde Northcutt (Kevin Spacey), an efficiency expert who has come to assess the situation at the North Pole. Clyde takes Nick to the workshop which is in a state of chaos because of Fred and says that Nick's inability to control his work staff is Strike #1. That night at dinnertime, Nick convinces Fred to come to dinner with Mother and Father Claus and Clyde. Sitting down to dinner, Mother Claus continues to praise Nick, while Fred storms out and heads to Frosty's Tavern, where he meet Willy, who discusses his lack of self-confidence regarding Charlene. Teaching Willy to dance results in him falling down in front of Charlene, embarrassing him. A pep talk by Fred later lifts his spirits. Meanwhile, Clyde deliberately sabotages the mail sorting department by shredding countless children's letters, which later gives Nick a second strike. Believing that Fred is putting Nick under stress, a family intervention is called, but Fred leaves by saying that therapy is for families who want to be together, and they do not have that problem. When Slam is placed at the top of the most naughty list as he was sent to boot camp, Fred understands that Slam has just had it hard and is not naughty, labels him and every child as nice.

Furious at what Fred has done wrong, Nick ends up fighting with him, in which Nick injures his butt. Frustrated with Nick and the rest of his family, Fred leaves the North Pole with his $50,000, but Nick gives Fred a present to take with him. Fred waits until he returns home to open the gift, which is a birdhouse, a replacement for the one on the tree, and a note from Nick, saying that he is sorry for sawing down the tree. Obviously confused about his feelings, Fred enters into a Siblings Anonymous meeting. At the end, Bill Clinton's younger half-brother, Roger, Jr., makes a speech about his brother's success. Back at the North Pole, it looks like Christmas is lost. Nick is laid up in bed and therefore, he cannot make his Christmas Eve journey and Fred replaces him. Willy reminds Fred that, according to a long-standing rule, only a member of the Claus family can deliver the presents and Fred qualifies. Fred begins delivering presents to children around the world and Willy accompanies him to assist with the piloting of the sleigh and the navigation. Meanwhile, Clyde sabotages their efforts at midnight. While Fred and Willy attempt to finish delivering the gifts for the children, Nick talks to Clyde by realizing that when he was a boy, Clyde did not get what he wanted from Nick because he would act up due to bullying, which resulted in him growing up to be the man he is, Nick makes peace with him by giving Clyde the Superman cape he always wanted. Fred and Willy finally return to the North Pole the next day and are successful in their efforts. With Christmas finally saved, Fred brings Slam the puppy that he always wanted. Fred returns to Wanda's house, where he gives her a present. Wanda opens it to find a teddy bear holding a French flag. Fred and Wanda get back together and Charlene and Willy are now happily together. By next Christmas, Slam is adopted, but Fred never stops watching out for him. As for Clyde, Nick hires him as an efficiency consultant and he teaches the elves how to use a spreadsheet.

Cast

• Vince Vaughn as Frederick "Fred" Claus
  • Liam James as Young Fred
• Paul Giamatti as Nicholas "Nick" Claus
  • Theo Stevenson as Young Nick
• Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Annette Claus, Nick's wife.
• Kathy Bates and Trevor Peacock as Mother and Father Claus, Fred and Nick's parents. Peacock also serves as narrator of the film.
• Rachel Weisz as Wanda Blinkowski, Fred's girlfriend who is a parking enforcement officer.
• John Michael Higgins as Willy, an elf whom Fred befriends and helps him to hook up with Charlene.
• Kevin Spacey as Clyde Northcutt, an efficiency expert who has come to assess the situation at the North Pole. The film's main antagonist.
• Elizabeth Banks as Charlene, a tall, blond elf whom Willie becomes enamored with.
• Bobb'e J. Thompson as Samuel "Slam" Gibbons, a young orphan boy that Fred mentors.
• Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as DJ Donnie
• Allan Corduner as Dr. Goldfarb
• Frank Stallone, Roger Clinton, Jr., and Stephen Baldwin as themselves
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan (cameo) as unnamed man getting parking ticket.

Reception

Overall, Fred Claus was received poorly by the critics, resulting in a 21% rating at Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "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."

The film grossed $18,515,473 in its first weekend, and closed on February 14, 2008 with a final gross of $72,006,777 in North America and another $25,831,572 in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $97,838,349. The film became number 1 in the UK on its first weekend, bringing in £1.93m. It held the top spot for 1 week until being knocked off by The Golden Compass.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 24, 2008 in the UK, and November 25, 2008 in the US. The special features includes 25 minutes of deleted scenes and an audio commentary by director David Dobkin. The Blu-ray release includes a music video for "Ludacrismas" by Ludacris in High Definition and also a bonus disc entitled Fred Claus: Race to Save Christmas.