'Claus' arrives with ho-hum

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Christian Toto
November 9, 2007

If Will Ferrell could save Christmas in "Elf," so could fellow Frat Packer Vince Vaughn, right?

Not so fast.

Mr. Vaughn's "Fred Claus" relies on the actor's fast-talking, eye-bulging persona, a less reliable fit for a Christmas comedy than Mr. Ferrell's blank stares.

We somehow believed Mr. Ferrell as an overgrown elf, but it's much harder to buy Mr. Vaughn, the "Wedding Crasher" himself, as blood kin to Kris Kringle.

The film's prologue tries to make some sense of a high-concept comedy that only intermittently amuses.

"Fred Claus" begins by turning the pages back to the Clauses' childhood. Young Nicholas Claus was always doing good deeds, which made his older but no wiser brother, Fred, burn with jealousy.

When Nicholas is granted sainthood, it cements their sibling rivalry.

Flash forward to 2007, and not much has changed.

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