Die Gebrüder Weihnachtsmann (Fred Claus)
U.S.A. 2007

Opening 29 Nov 2007

Directed by: David Dobkin
Writing credits: Dan Fogelman, Jessie Nelson
Principal actors: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz

What could be more wonderful than being related to Santa Claus! Well for Fredrick Claus (Vince Vaughn), there could be nothing more terrible than having to live up to his brother’s generosity and kindness. Since the time Nicholas (Paul Giamatti) was born, Fred had been living in the shadow of his brother. So when the Christmas season takes off, Fred’s disposition seems to become more and more cynical, which destroys his relationship with all those around him.

For kids, director David Dobkin’s film is a little strange. The idea that Santa is overweight and having problems is a bit strange as well, which brings the magical spirit of the season back to earth. The first half of the film only starts to become humorous when the reindeer show up with an elf requesting the return of Fred to the North Pole.The moral of the film seems to turn on a heavy psychological point showing that since the big tree was never trimmed, the small tree slowly suffocates, and there are no bad children in the world, and if there are such children there is a reason for it. Naturally giving them a toy to make them feel “all better” is seen as silly to the kid viewers who can see through the holes in this plot. Ho Ho Ho!!! (Shelly Schoeneshoefer)