MovieChat Forums > Fred Claus (2007) Discussion > This movie...

This movie...

posted 16 years ago by Splitskull87
5 replies | jump to latest

Is nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. At least in my opinion. Could it have been better sure, but it also could've been alot worse. Is it hilarious? no but it s funny enough. I think why this movie has a mediocre rating is that most people were expecting to witness Vince Vaughn's trademark adult-themed humor, but instead what they got was a sort of clean family-themed version of that, but hey, it's a holiday movie.

Another reason, I think, was that most people may have missed the point of this film, i.e. the message it was trying to convey. Now, I admit the first time I watched this movie I did too, & I also didn't think too much of it. It was on my 2nd viewing that I finally understood what the film's all about.

The movies about the bonds of family, & that you should never turn your back on them & that sometimes family is all you have. In their hour of need you should always be there for them. This is obvously shown in the relationship between Fred & Nick (Santa)

In short I did enjoy this film & had fun watching it, and was kept entertained throughout (which is what movies are supposed to be, fun & entertaining). Fred Claus is good family film. If you give it a chance, I think you'll enjoy it as well.

7/10.

[–] dogtag-1 16 years ago

I actually thought this movie was pretty funny. After the reviews I had read, I wasn't expecting much, but I really enjoyed it. In my humble opinion, it was unfairly reviewed. Helluva lot more entertaining than some of the other stuff I've seen lately. Do NOT watch "88 Minutes," trust me!

[–] j_imdb-661 16 years ago

What do some people want? For it's purpose this movie is great!

[–] jg114 16 years ago

I enjoyed the scenes with sarcastic and funny Vince Vaughn, but I absolutely hated the scenes where it was intended to amuse kids. I seriously did not get all the random sound effects added in. It's like they just sat in front of a keyboard and pressed all the wacky sounds effects during those scenes. The santa chase was by far the most annoying.

It's like they were trying to make this an adult friendly and kid friendly movie, but instead of finding a balance, they came up short on both ends.

[–] cbartal 16 years ago

I don't agree jg114.

I just watched this on cable last week.

I thought that it was very well done. I didn't notice the overt sounds. That wouldn't have bothered me anyway.

What I did appreciate was that the arc of this film didn't play out the same way that most kids/family/teenager films do.

I will take Elf as a counter example. In Elf, there is a crescendo that ends up in this big action packed sequence when Ferrell gets into the sleigh. It's the big final set of scenes. Humor has pretty much left the film at this point in favor of big crashes and the standard action movie play out.

Contrast this with Fred Claus. Fred gets in that sleigh and wanders across the Earth to deliver the presents. The wit continues, the situational jokes continue.

In fact, Vaughn's cynical comedy continues almost to the end of the film.

There's no doubt this is was intended as a family film. But I think it works well as a vehicle for Vaughn's cynical everyman from start to finish.

I will grant you that the Rubber Necking scene was a bit much, and I would venture to guess that Vaughn couldn't stomach watching that scene even sedated, but that was one scene in a film filled with many hilarious, truthful moments.

I wish I'd seen Fred Claus in the theater around Christmas. Oh well.

But I will watch it again and again this Christmas on TIVO.

[–] x-Trinity-x 15 years ago

I caught it on cable and thought it was hilarious and cute. I also enjoyed seeing some of my favorite actors in it (Kathy Bates, Rachel Weisz, etc.)

"...to crooked eyes truth may wear a wry face."