When his brother was born, Fred Claus promised him he would be the best big brother ever. Unfortunately, making a promise is easier than keeping one.

Fred’s brother Nick always seemed to get in the way of Fred’s life. He hogged all the attention with their mom, (Kathy Bates, who was easy to hate) who treated Nick like a saint. Saint Nick, get it?

Now in present day New York, Fred (Vince Vaughn) is stuck at age 43 or so while his brother is in the North Pole being Santa and overeating. Fred has no friends except the kid next door, Slam, and his girlfriend who he treats like a litter box. Fred wants to start a gambling casino, but he needs $50,000 in order to do so. He ends up in jail and has to call Nick (Paul Giamatti) to bail him out for $5,000. Fred also asks Nick for the $50,000 he needs for the gambling casino. Nick says Fred will have to earn the money by working at the North Pole.

Fred is picked up by the goofy Head Elf, Willie, and taken to the North Pole. He gets attacked by ninja elves when he first steps out of the sleigh. Santa stops the ninjas from hurting Fred, and shows him the special snow globe where he can check up on any child in the world. Fred checks up on his girlfriend.

Nick also shows Fred his job, where he will have to look at children’s files and stamp them either Naughty or Nice. Then an “Efficiency Expert,” Clyde Northcut (Kevin Spacey), shows up and tells Santa that children all over the world have gotten less satisfied with their gifts since the 1800s. Clyde also tells Santa that if he gets three strikes for inefficient working conditions, the North Pole will be shut down forever. Fred does not know this, so he continues spreading the New York spirit throughout the workshop, creating major problems. In the first instance, he knocks out the elf DJ Donny (played by Ludacris’ head, stuck on an elf’s body) and replaces “Here Comes Santa Claus” which has been playing endlessly, with the hit ’80s song “Stop, Look, and Listen.” The elves are soon rocking to the workshop radio, giving Santa his first strike.

This movie was very funny and showed what happens if you and your sibling fight too much. The duration of the movie was 1 hour, 56 minutes. Vince Vaughn did a nice job as Fred, and Paul Giamatti was a good Santa Claus. Also, Miranda Richardson, from Chicken Run, did a good job in the movie. In my opinion, there shouldn’t be a Fred Claus 2.

Rated PG for rude humor and some mild language.

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