Fred Claus (Exclusive Series) (HBO Max)
- Matt Palmer
- Nov 30, 2021
- 2 min read
Initial release date: November 9, 2007
Studios: Warner Brothers/Silver Pictures
Tagline: Everyone has that one relative who can’t help but cause problems over the holidays. Even Santa.
Plot: Of the two Claus brothers, Fred is the troublemaker and polar opposite of his saintly sibling, Nicholas. When Fred’s ways finally land him in big trouble, Nicholas bails him out and brings him to the North Pole to work off the debt by helping out. The headaches mount for St. Nick, who not only must deal with his trouble-making brother, but also an efficiency expert who has come to evaluate Santa’s operations.
Cast
Vince Vaughn (Freaky) - Fred Claus
Paul Giamatti (Jungle Cruise) - Nick ‘Santa’ Claus
John Michael Higgins (Peacock’s Saved By the Bell) - Willie
Miranda Richardson (Stronger) - Annette Claus
Rachel Weisz (Black Widow) - Wanda
Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell) - Mother Claus
Trevor Peacock (Quartet) - Papa Claus
Ludacris (F9: The Fast Saga) - DJ Donnie
Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels) - Charlene
Jeremy Swift (Apple TV’s Ted Lasso) - Bob Elf
Elizabeth Barrington (Spencer; Last Night in Soho) - Linda Elf
Bobb’e J. Thompson (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) - Slam
Writer: Dan Fogelman (NBCs This Is Us; Last Vegas)
Director: David Dobkin (The Judge; The Change Up)
Rated PG for mild language and some rude humor (116 minutes)
The 2007 Vince Vaughn holiday comedy ‘Fred Claus’ does pack on the laughs and even a few bittersweet moments.
Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti (who portray Santa and his brother) work well together in their scenes. Vaughn, like most of his earlier roles, can really bring the laughs. The one scene where he’s being chased by numerous Santas will always be hilarious.
Sure, ‘Fred Claus’ can be a little cheesy in a few parts. But, this feel-good holiday movie does a great job keeping the humor going and everyone entertained and the ending where Vaughn’s character helps save Christmas and redeems himself is a great way to end the movie.
‘Fred Claus’ can currently be found on the HBO Mac streaming platform.
Here are a couple interesting tidbits for ‘Fred Claus’:
David Dobkin was originally going to direct the 2007 Adam Sandler/Kevin James comedy ‘I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,’ but dropped out to work with Vince Vaughn again in this movie. They previously collaborated in ‘Wedding Crashers’ two years prior.
The head mission control elf wears a while vest, similar to Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Director during the Gemini and Apollo programs.
Trevor Peacock, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2009, has no lines after the first scene where Nicholas was born.
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.
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