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‘Enchanted' = delightful; ‘Fred Claus' = disenchanting

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In the interest of covering as many of the holiday movies as possible, I will look at two family films for this review - one which positively pleases and the other during which I almost walked out. As far as I am concerned, adorable actress Amy Adams and “McDreamy” Patrick Dempsey's “Enchanted” does indeed enchant and provide a delightful diversion for the whole family, but funny man Vince Vaughn and talented Paul Giamatti's “Fred Claus” is a silly, sloppy mess, not fit for family consumption.

Adams begins “Enchanted” as a cartoon princess, Giselle, who finds her prince (James Marsden), only to have his step-monster queen mother (Susan Sarandon) banish her to hell or (as we like to call it) Times Square, where the characters become flesh and blood, three-dimensional humans. Certainly nothing could be much more hokey, but who cares when the film makes us laugh and dream? Soon, hunky divorce lawyer Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his young daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey), are rescuing the damsel in distress, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend (Idina Menzel, who unfortunately never sings).

“Enchanted” provides some hilarious, captivating scenes, but truly makes magic when Giselle redecorates Robert's sloppy, upscale apartment with the help of rats, pigeons and, to my horror, cockroaches and in a beautiful ball sequence as the film climaxes to its fiery finale. The terrific score, from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, adds to an already exciting little story. And X-Man Marsden really brings on the laughs with his not-so-bright, talented song-and-dance-man prince. Who knew he could really sing? Still, while the beefcake pleases and superstar Sarandon's sinister royal pain in Giselle's world satisfies, it is Adams who makes “Enchanted” so charming - she epitomizes all Disney princesses.

On the other side of the entertainment coin sits “Fred Claus,” which opens with one inane version of how Santa (Paul Giamatti) came to be. In this version, Santa has an older and much taller and thinner brother, Fred (Vince Vaughn), who harbors a great deal of resentment toward his cherubic sibling and his parents (Kathy Bates, Trevor Peacock).

After the boys grow up and move on, Santa lands in the North Pole, making toys with his wife, Annette (Miranda Richardson), and his elves, while Fred lives a relatively normal yet not very stable life in an apartment in Chicago. After yet another failed promise and no commitment, Fred's parking attendant girlfriend, Wanda (Rachel Weisz), gives up on him. Then a financial opportunity falls into Fred's lap, but to take advantage of it, he needs $50,000. Swallowing his pride, he goes to the only one he knows with that kind of money: Santa, with whom he strikes a deal to help out before Christmas. Unfortunately, Clyde (Kevin Spacey), a wry efficiency expert sent by the controllers of Christmas, arrives to evaluate Santa's operation. A bitter childhood grudge causes Clyde to do whatever it takes to shut Santa down and ruin Christmas. Bwa-ha-haŠ

If forced to choose good aspects of the film, digging hard, I'd have to say Spacey's allusions to “Superman” and a “Siblings Anonymous” meeting where Fred finds himself in the company of Roger Clinton, Stephen Baldwin and Frank Stallone was amusing. At first I enjoyed Giamatti's gluttonous, semi-jolly fellow, but then his character grated on me. The film's physical comedy falls flat and while I typically find Vaughn's rapid-fire rantings entertaining, they feel asinine and out of place in a Christmas film. Perhaps he needs a new style or angle or more likely he needs to stick to films made with more mature audiences in mind or ones with remotely decent and or plausible storylines. I know, I know, it is Santa and the North Pole for goodness sake, but come on, we are not imbeciles here. Making matters worse the story is stale and predictable, even in its attempts at freshness.

Because of its holiday theme and Santa factor, “Fred Claus” will draw in unsuspecting families hungry to get out of the house and away from each other this holiday season. One can hope that once its inanity reveals itself, refunds will be sought - if I had paid I would have asked for my money back - but I doubt it. Sadly “Fred Claus” will most likely score big at box offices. As far as I am concerned, the far better choice lies with “Enchanted.” As past seasonal box offices accounts have shown, the quality of a movie does not necessarily relate to its holiday popularity, so both will likely do well, but only one deserves it.

I am placing an A- in my grade book for the pleasantly palatable “Enchanted” and a D- for the unenchanting “Fred Claus.”

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