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Created Dec 28, 2008 08:50PM PST • Edited Dec 28, 2008 08:51PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Fred Claus was not what I was expecting it to be . . . . but at the same time it was exactly what I thought it would be. I know that doesn’t make sense, but its how my mind is explaining it. At the end of the movie, my first thought was, “That was really good, but not what I was expecting.” But upon further reflection, the movie was exactly what it said it would be. I guess being that it was Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti, my mind went in thinking one thing when the trailers already told me what would be coming.

   I think this is a movie with a great idea. It takes the concept of Santa Claus and applies an age old tale of family dysfunction. There is a favorite son and the parents (mother, really) make it very known that he is the favorite. How does this affect the other siblings? What do they do with those kinds of emotions? Now throw in the fact that they’re both immortal and involved in a world of magic. Again, not something we haven’t seen before. Make this a holiday family movie and still nothing we haven’t seen. But Giamatti as Santa and Vaughn as Fred give us something we haven’t seen before but feels very familiar and honest. This is the movie that I wished Elf had been and I think will take its place as a classic holiday movie.

4. Acting

   Really Great 4.5

   Having a very strong cast helped this movie establish characters quickly. They are good actors and therefore have strong personalities that keeps the story moving very well.

5. Male Stars Perfect 5.0

   Vaughn and Giamatti are great as brothers. Take Vaughn from the Break Up and Giamatti from Safe Men and it makes perfect sens that these guys would be great in a movie together. Vaughn is funny, but he’s got to be controlled. He will just keep going and going and in a couple spots here he did, but not to any negative effect. Giamatti is a great character actor and there is no bigger character than Santa Claus. He mad ol’ St. Nick very real and very human. It just may be my favorite portrayal of the Claus on film ever.

6. Female Stars Really Great 4.5

   Kathy Bates as Momma Claus was fantastic. She has a very motherly quality to her already and has just enough b**ch in her to pull off the judgmental area with ease. She’s sweet as pie, but a big part of you still hates her just as as Fred does.

   Rachel Weisz was a surprise to me. I didn’t even know she was in the movie. She’s not fantastic, and isn’t used as much as I would like her to be, but she fills her role perfectly. This movie is about Fred and his relationships with everyone, so you need actors to support that story and his character and she does so very well.

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

   Elizabeth Banks is in this movie? Yup, her too. She’s gorgeous and as an object of one elf’s obsession, she works well. She’s pretty and you know exactly why she is sought after. Why she is the only normal sized person outside of the Claus family, though . . . . . no idea.

8. Male Costars Perfect 5.0

   I love Kevin Spacey. He plays bad guy so well, especially bad guys with depth. Not saying this is a very deep, thoughtful movie, but you need to see that there is a reason to his actions.

   And if you’ve seen Superman Returns then the place that Spacey’s character ends up will make you chuckle quite a bit.

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Pretty straight forward. Nothing spectacular. The north pole does look good, but its not a north pole that we haven’t seen before. I do, however, think the special effects were pretty tremendous. Putting actors heads on little people is never something easy. In Lord of the Rings, for instance, it was always very obvious to me when they were using a short body double. The body type was just too different for me to buy it. Here, they took a risk and most of the time you see any part of the body, it is the short body with an actors head digitally added. Its not perfect and it is a little jerky here and there, but it worked for me.

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Great 4.0

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.0

    None. At all. There is a snow ball fight that turns into a wrestling match at the end. If that gets you upset, then by all means avoid this movie at all costs. If you are normal, though, then there is nothing to worry about. Very wholesome entertainment.

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Supernatural 4.0

    This movie is about Santa, his brother, their family and everything involved in those stories. Its pretty far out there, I think. Reindeer can’t fly and there aren’t a bunch of midgets living at the north pole. The emotional problems and the family dysfunction is very real, but everything else is a bit of a stretch.

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 4.0

23. Biological Supernatural 4.0

24. Physical Supernatural 4.0