Vince Vaughnas Fred ClausThe story
About Fred Claus
Santa Claus has an older brother, and he is a resentful Chicago repo man who has spent a lifetime being the less impressive sibling. Broke and out of options, Fred agrees to work off a loan at the North Pole just as an efficiency consultant arrives to argue the whole operation should be shut down. It is a big, broad studio Christmas comedy that spends as much time on sibling grudges as on saving the sleigh.
The CineClaus verdict
A broad studio comedy that spends most of its running time on a sibling grudge and only occasionally on saving Christmas. Vaughn does fast-talking resentment well, and the film is far more interested in being the overlooked older brother than in the sleigh.
It is twenty minutes too long and the ending arrives exactly on schedule. Undemanding company on a wet afternoon, and a good deal warmer than its reputation suggests.
The family desk
Can the kids watch?
Our take: fine for most six-year-olds. Some sharp sibling bickering and a stretch of jeopardy near the end, none of it lingering.
BBFC advice: Contains mild comic violence, language and sex references.
Content advice & accessibility
- Where the advice comes from
- The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
- Our age guidance
- Editorial, separate from the official PG certificate, and never looser than it.
