Caffeinated Clint
By Clint Morris
What a fun little film this is – yes, I know, who’d have thought!?
Vince Vaughn as Santa Claus’s younger more mischievous brother? Sounds about as excruciating as having your eyes poked out with tongs, right!?
And whilst the film does get sickly sweet in its second half (but what’s a Xmas comedy without a ‘message’ huh?) for the most its just out-and-out good-time laughs….with Elizabeth Banks providing the hotness. Me no complain!
It’s a fairly straight-forward scenario : Santa Claus’s (a perfectly cast Paul Giamatti) younger brother, the very unfestive Fred (Vince Vaughn), is in trouble with some loan sharks so his red-coated brother bails him out and brings him to the North Pole to work off the debt by making toys. The headaches mount for Santa, who not only must deal with his trouble making brother, but also an efficiency expert (Kevin Spacey) who has come to evaluate Santa’s operation.
The lovely Banks (“Zack and Miri Make a Pornoâ€, “Wâ€) is Santa’s assistant Charlene, Rachel Weisz plays Fred’s on-again-off-again girlfriend (her role is rather brief), Kathy Bates is Mumma Claus, and the always-dependable John Michael Higgins (who features in a lot of Chris Guest’s flicks) is miniaturized to play an elf head-over-heels in love with Charlene – as you would be.
With Tim Allen (hopefully) hanging up his Santa Suit for good a year or two back, Warner’s noticed a blank spot in last year’s Xmas release calendar so got their own family yuletide comedy up. And you know what? Unlike “The Santa Clause†comedies there’s been no reporting of anyone become nauseous, or worse, at any of the theaters screening the film! This is actually quite a fun film. Yes, it dips in spots, but on the whole, its quality.
Who’d have thought a film that features Frank Stallone and Stephen Baldwin in its cast (you’ll see – they’re used fabulously) would be worth wearing out the laser on your DVD machine for?
Extras
Extras include an informative but not very conscious commentary by director David Dobkin, who seems to think his film is a lot deeper and meatier than it is, and some deleted scenes – none of which are especially worth checking out.
