STUDIO: Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: November 25, 2008
STARRING: Vince Vaughn, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Paul Giamatti, Ludacris, and John Michael Higgins
WRITTEN BY: Dan Fogelman
DIRECTED BY: David Dobkin
FEATURES: Commentary By Director David Dobkin
Over 25 Minutes Of Merry Additional Scenes

There's an old saying that you can learn as much from a bad movie as a good movie. Fred Claus is a very, very bad movie but it does teach us a few interesting lessons about moviemaking. Before we get into them, a quick plot recap - Vince Vaughn plays the title character, Santa's older, jealous brother. Paul Giamatti plays St. Nick himself and the lovely Rachel Weisz plays Fred's love interest. Our "hero" ends up needing to borrow money from Santa and he finds himself at the North Pole in the days before Christmas. It turns out that the Elf-based operation in the arctic North hasn't kept up with the times and an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) has been brought in to shut down Christmas forever. Kathy Bates plays mom to the troubled siblings and Miranda Richardson tries in vain to get out with her dignity intact as Mrs. Claus. Let's not even talk about John Michael Higgins, Ludacris, and the tragically wasted Elizabeth Banks.

There are basic rules of cinema that Fred Claus completely misses. First, know your audience. Who is Fred Claus made for? It's not entertaining enough for the little ones, who are going to be restless, angry, and bored by the film's bloated 115-minute running time. (This is one of the worst paced films of the last few years.) Adults are not going to be interested in the script and teenagers are going to run for the hills. All of this explains why Fred Claus opened with less than $20 million after a HUGE, year-long marketing blitz. No one was sure if the movie was made for them.

Okay, Fred Claus falls into a demographic gap. There have still been good movies in there. So, what other rules does hack director David Dobkin violate? Here's another one - don't waste your talent. Rachel Weisz and Elizabeth Banks are two of the loveliest, most charismatic actresses working today and they are completely tossed aside in Fred Claus. They're underwritten, stupid roles that could have been filled by anyone and waste their talents. Fred Claus also makes the mistake of allowing its star's shtick to get out of control. Remember when Robin Williams went from lovable to annoying? You can see Vince Vaughn and his man-child routine do the exact same thing in Fred Claus. I could go on and on about the awful, '80s-esque special effects, and the predictable script, but enough is enough. Fred Claus is a bigger waste of time than most DVDs released not just this season but this year.

A subpar comedy can often be saved by a strong home presentation but Warner Brothers knows that they don't have an annual classic here, giving the film a lackluster transfer and merely a lone commentary from Dobkin and deleted scenes. It's a subpar collection of special features for a subpar film. Fred Claus is one of those rare films where literally everyone involved, probably down to the key grip, has done better work in just the last few years. With more and more holiday films and specials every year, let someone else watch Fred Claus. Unless you really need to learn a lesson about what NOT to do with a holiday comedy.