Missy Thompson

STAFF WRITER

Films released in November and December tend to have one of two goals in mind: The first is to get movies out into the public before the award season takes off early next year. The second is to tap moviegoers' holiday spirit by releasing Christmas-themed movies. The latter was precisely the objective for the new family-friendly comedy "Fred Claus."

Teasers for "Fred Claus" were released around Christmas time last year. They showed co-stars Vince Vaughn, who plays Fred Claus, and Paul Giamatti, who plays his younger brother Nick -- or as we know him, Santa -- sitting on a couch bickering. After seeing these opening teasers, the film sounded promising with a real feeling of on-screen brotherly love.

Unfortunately, my positive thoughts were stolen away as the months rolled on and more trailers were released showing more of the film. After seeing the film, it was obvious that these clips were the best scenes.

As much as I wanted this to be a good-feeling Christmas movie, it doesn't come close to competing with films such as "It's a Wonderful Life." Director David Dobkin -- who also directed Vaughn in "Wedding Crashers" -- tried to make the underlying values of "Fred Claus" similar to those in "It's a Wonderful Life." It was as if Dobkin was saying, "Here's a toy-inspired version of a holiday classic."

Sticking with the toy theme, I know this is a film about Santa Claus' older brother, but too much of the film focuses on greed. In fact, for much of "Fred Claus" it seemed as if the true meaning of Christmas was lost. Fortunately the end sheds a better light on the holiday with the characters doing good deeds for others.

Hundreds of years ago, Fred's mother (Kathy Bates) was giving birth to his younger brother Nick. The boy did not cry, but was perfectly happy -- a content child. Several years later, Nick was declared a Saint, which granted immortality to him, his wife and any children they may bear along with Nick's family members. Because of Nick's considerable popularity, Fred is forced into the background.

In the present day, Fred is doing the exact opposite of his brother's job. Instead of delivering toys, he takes things back that people can't pay for. Fred's finances have exceeded what he can afford, and he goes to Nick for help. Instead of just giving Fred the money, Nick offers to have him come help out at the North Pole during the holiday season. This causes contention between Fred and his girlfriend Wanda (Rachel Weisz) and Nick and his wife Annette (Miranda Richardson), who doesn't like her brother-in-law.

Upon Fred's arrival at the North Pole and Nick's workshop, he finds himself going through a lot of paperwork deciding which kids are naughty and which are nice. Then a scrooge-like auditor named Clyde (Kevin Spacey) comes to town to shut down the factory. When Fred starts to care more about himself than other people the work in the factory goes downhill, much to the dismay of Nick and all the elves. The brothers must work together to save Christmas before the workshop is closed forever.

Because this is a film for children, "Fred Claus" desperately tries to play to that audience. But Vaughn is still stuck in the R-rated comedy mindset. Many jokes are designed to get adults to laugh while flying right over the heads of kids. Those instances may be enjoyable for adults, but this is a family-friendly film that should focus on appealing to children without having too much innuendo.

Watching "Fred Claus" didn't put me in a holiday mood, but it will definitely get kids who are coming down off their Halloween sugar highs excited for Christmas. "Fred Claus" will probably appeal more to kids than to their parents, although there are likely to be better holiday films coming down the pipeline.

missy@tooeletranscript.com