Santa Claus (a very good Paul Giamatti) bails his NY residing brother, Fred out of jail and in return Fred must work for him at The North Pole, during the busy holiday season.
Vaughn is as likable as always (as Fred) and this is worth watching thanks to a stellar cast but if you think too hard about the screenplay, you'll be asking yourself questions like: why does Santa look significantly older than his older brother? Why does The North Pole need an efficiency expert (Clyde, a snarky Kevin Spacey)? And, why would a fully grown woman (Elizabeth Banks) fall in love with a shy Elf? [John Michael Higgins.]
The best scene sees Clyde receiving a long desired gift from Santa Claus (think Superman Returns, 2006.) The SFX is good (see the sleigh in flight scenes) and it's appropriately festive. Fun if you just go with it!
Rachel Weisz is Fred's put upon girlfriend and Bobb'e J. Thompson is orphan Samuel.
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DIRECTED BY: David Dobkin. SCREENPLAY BY: Dan Fogelman. RUNNING TIME: 116 minutes. CERTIFICATE: PG. USA.
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