Design © 1998-2008 Ken Kocanda |
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| Fred Claus | ||||
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| Review by Ross Anthony | ||||
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Though I'm falling a little weary of Vince Vaughn's shtick, I'm still a big Paul Giamatti fan. And despite the weak previews and even worse poster, I decided to give this flick a look. To my surprise, the film not only surpassed the lame promises of its advertisements, it proved to be one of the best films I've seen all year. Don't trust those trailers, this isn't just a slapstick comedy, it's got heart -- big Christmassy heart. I laughed, I cried. I got choked up -- a lot. It's got that rare wonderful mix of warmth, depth, and funny. And to top it off, it's beautifully produced and directed and acted. Even further, you will appreciate the angle on "family get-together." Vaughn redeems himself both as Vince and Fred. There's so much to like about this film I really want to give it an A+. But, though it pains me to give them mention, there were two blemishes that robbed the film of perfection. The first, Vaughn's stick goes just a little long in a very early scene with his girlfriend. The second, Kevin Spacey's character's presence in the film is never really sold. And since his character has some serious import, I expected a bit more "selling." I guess they figure if they can sell us Santa and Santa's brother in the 21st century, then why would we question a mythical-character efficiency expert. One last comment, while the final resolutions are all good, the snow globe scene is so head-and-shoulders one of the most beautiful, heart-warming, cinematic scenes in years -- I'd have extended and rolled credits on it. That's all small potatoes, this is a good film -- go see it. I'm happy to give it a full A. Paul Giamatti (Santa) comments, "Santa Claus's family is a regular family who just happens to live in the North Pole among hundreds of elves. Besides that – and having a really stressful job – Santa is pretty much a regular guy." He went on to say, "Comedy guys like Vince really amaze me. They have such confidence and conviction in what they're doing. It is truly impressive to watch and so much fun to worth with." |
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Grade..........................A (3.5/4) |
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Copyright © 1998-2008. In addition to reviewing films and interviewing celebs at HollywoodReportCard.com, traveling the world, composing great music, motivational speaking, Ross Anthony also runs his own publishing company in the Los Angeles area. While traversing the circumference of the planet writing books and shooting documentaries, Ross has taught, presented for, worked &/or played with locals in over thirty countries. He's bungee-jumped from a bridge near Victoria Falls, wrestled with lions in Zimbabwe, crashed a Vespa off a high mountain road in Taiwan, and ridden a dirt bike across the States (coast to coast). To get signed books by Ross or schedule him to speak check out: www.RossAnthony.com or call 1-800-767-7186. Was this review helpful? (Include your email if you'ld like a response.)
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