Movie: Fred Claus

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So, the wife and I, on our way back from visiting friends and relatives of the X-mas holiday, decided to stop at a NEPA theater and see a movie. When we got their, there were only a few movies starting close enough to the time we were there. We had out choice of The Golden Compass, Fred Claus, and I Am Legend.  

Since we have already seen I Am Legend, and I have enough check marks in my personal "going to Hell" checklist that I didn't want another one next to "saw Golden Compass", we decided on Fred Claus.

Fred Claus is piffle. That might seem like an insult, but it's not. Piffle has its place. Not every movie should be thought provoking, emotion wrenching or an allegory. We need movies that are disposable fun. Which Fred Claus essentially is.

This is a Vince Vaughn vehicle. Which means, to a certain extent, the movie is build around opportunities for Vaughn to bring out the most used weapons in his arsenal--the smartass complaining, the encouraging a less cool and suave person, the stubborn arrogance that he is right and his right is the the only right. These tricks still work, but I would like to see something new.

There are some good laughs all the way through. Great acting as well. Kevin Spacey is born to play the bad guy. He is slimy and evil here, and is a different villain than he was in Superman Returns or Se7en.

Good support was given by Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz and Kathy Bates, although each actress was wasted. They helped make the slightly less than well defined characters they played--the overprotective wife, the put upon girlfriend, and the nagging mother--be more than just one note or charicatures. But these are some of the best actresses working today. You'd think they'd give them more to do.

The movie is predictable (Spacey's bad guy has a beef with Santa. Care to guess why?) but if you go in just expecting mindless entertainment, some simple fun, you will not be disappointed.

Trailers:

• Get Smart: I am so psyched for this movie, perhaps even more than what I am for Iron Man or The Dark Knight. I believe Steve Carell will make a great Maxwell Smart. He is different from Don Adams but still true to the spirit of the character. But this one has more potential for disappointment than the other two, in my eyes. I mean, the TV series is a classic.
• 10,000 B.C.: Yeah, I don't know about this. I really don't find this interesting. And it seems like the movie will be anachronistic. I catch some very ornate robes on certain priests in the trailer. Kind of above what I know that the people of that time were capable of. And how will they communicate?
• Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins:  Seen this trailer a number of times. There are some funny scenes in the trailer, but this has the look of a movie where the funniest scenes are in the trailer.
• The Spiderwick Chronicles:  The fantasy movie does seem to have an interesting concept, but I think the lack of success of The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising and The Golden Compass means that not all kid lit transfers to the screen all that well.