4/5 A hilarious holiday farce
  by Melissa Niksic (Chicago, IL United States)
I really, REALLY enjoyed this movie, which tells the story of Fred Claus (Vince Vaughn), the disenchanted older brother of St. Nicholas, a.k.a. Santa (Paul Giamatti). Fred is everything Santa is not: irresponsible, bitter, and kind of shady. However, when Santa agrees to give Fred $50,000 in exchange for helping out at the North Pole right before Christmas, Fred catches the next sleigh ride over, and hilarity ensues.

This movie is fantastically funny, mainly because of Vaughn. His character's complete disdain for all things Christmas is hilarious, from the exasperated facial expressions to the snarky one-liners. The supporting cast is wonderful as well, especially Kevin Spacey, a vindictive member of an overseeing committee that is threatening to shut Santa's operation down. Also, there's a fantastic scene where Fred attends a Siblings Anonymous meeting. I don't want to spoil it, but watch for a few cameos and get ready for a lot of laughs.

The one negative aspect of the film: Rachel Weisz, who in my opinion is one of the most annoying actresses alive. The good news in that she's not in the film very much, and even when she is on screen, Vaughn's performance is so good that he kept me laughing and made me forget how much I want to slap that chick.

Overall, "Fred Claus" is a smart holiday farce that is definitely worth watching. I'm going to make this movie an annual Christmas tradition at my house.

4/5 A loving message about Christmas
  by Viewer (USA)
I had avoided watching this, thinking it would be a silly story much like the various Santa Claus movies, but after finally watching it I found it to be a delightful, comical and moving tribute to things that matter most. Sibling rivalry and how to love ourselves and not compare or be compared to our peers, how life is full of surprises and often we can rise above our limitations and challenge ourselves, and holding charity in our heart...that everyone has struggles and should be forgiven and accepted. Everyone has a little bit of naughty and nice in them, but everyone deserves a break, or in this case, a Christmas present. That sounds deep, and the message is, but toss in gorgeous settings, a wonderful back story, beautiful score, an excellent cast and lots of laughter between the happy tears that stream down your face, and you have a fabulous Christmas special, especially for adults who may have lost their own zest for the holiday season. Very enjoyable and highly recommended!

5/5 Great for kids!
  by N. Rachau (PA)
My 5 year old loves this film! It's the first live action film he has ever been able to sit through without being bored, so I knew it was a must have for us! I love watching him imitate Fred when he is singing and dancing with the elves in the workshop!

4/5 Fred Claus is a 4 star DVD
  by alex fryling (erie pa)
This is a really good movie if you are looking to sit down and have a nice family night. Vince Vaughn brings back the comedy like he did in dodge ball expect a little dumbed down content wise as this movie is PG. A good Christmas story and it shows that even if people are having different opinion and don't get along in life if they put their mind to it and decided to work together they can work out there issues. It is a feel good story and one that should be checked out. I found my copy for 5 dollars when family video was having a sale and I would try to find it for less the fifteen dollars If you could. Overall a solid movie and definitely work a watch.

2/5 WHO KNEW CHRISTMAS COULD BE THIS DEPRESSING!
  by ! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b (TRI STATE AREA)
With a cast this good, its amazing that this film is so bad! The first two thirds of the film are so depressing that I almost couldn't imagine watching this in the holiday season. Of course the ending is predicatable and uplifting, but the journey there is rather dull. It's just too little, too late.

The film is over loaded with special effects and not much else. It's not dark enough to be a black comedy and it's not sentimental enough to give you that classic holiday feeling. HO HO Hummmmmm!