Vince Vaughn’s new movie, “Fred Claus,” has all of the makings of a raunchy movie in the vein of “Bad Santa.” It’s Christmassy, it has Paul Giamatti playing Nick “Santa” Claus, and it stars the fast-talking, highly energetic, and yet subtle, Vaughn. To boot, it has Kevin Spacey in it.

The plot is that Fred (Vaughn) has to get $50,000 by Dec. 22 to lease a building so he can establish a casino. To complicate matters, Fred just got tossed in jail for trying to steal money from a Salvation Army Santa. He calls up his brothe,r Nick, whom he has a very strained relationship with, and he asks for bail money, as well as the $50,000. Nick promises to pay the money if Fred works hard for it.
Meanwhile, Clyde (Spacey), an efficiency expert from the company that runs Christmas, Easter, and other holidays, is threatening to shut down Santa’s facility if they commit three major errors.
The movie has the right parts, but Vaughn seems a bit too restrained. The language in the movie is toned down for a PG rating, and, while it is an attempt to make Vaughn more marketable, the movie falls a bit flat.

It is cliché, but there are a few tearjerker moments that do make up quite a bit for the shortcomings of a weak plot and a lack of humor. Giamatti hams it up as Santa, playing both a perfect nice guy and a stressed business manager. The movie could have benefited from increased interaction between Nick and Fred, since the movie is focused on Fred and how he seems to have always lived in Nick’s shadow.
Ultimately, by restraining Vaughn into a more family-friendly type of role and putting less emphasis on the problematic relationship between the two brothers, the movie doesn’t live up to what it could be: a hilarious holiday classic for years to come. The movie is a nice family picture, but it could have been better as a raunchier comedy.

Rating: 2 out of 5