‘There’s no naughty kids, Nick. They’re all good kids…’
There are parts in Fred Claus where it feels like the writers sat in a room and discussed how they could best serve up an actual piece of turd and make it into a film. Whole scenes drift by where every second is as bad as that moment in time could possibly be. Frustratingly though, there are other parts that work really well. Basically, what we have here is a brilliant cast wasted on a very sub par film. Vince Vaughn does his absolute best in the titular role but Paul Giamitti is too intense for Santa and Kevin Spacey doesn’t seem to know what film he is in. What possessed any of them to be a part of this is a complete mystery but they are and now I have watched it and nobody can turn back the clock on that. Not even Santa Claus.
I’ve got to the part of this project now where it really feels like a slog and I’m increasingly concerned about having to deal with Tim Allen again for the next film after he nearly drove me mad last Christmas. If you ever find yourself committing to watching sixty Christmas films in five years like I have then Fred Claus is definitely a film for you. That is the only circumstance in which you should watch this film however. A new low.