Fred Claus

[PirateLover]

Saw this tonight with my boyfriend and we both enjoyed it. A word to the wise, however: This is not a children's movie! It is rated PG, but almost all of the situations and jokes are geared towards adults. A child under the age of 13 or 14 probably will get pretty bored with this movie. A local school must have run a promotion as our theater was overrun with children on a Tuesday night at 5pm. You could tell the kids weren't into it because they kept leaving and were getting restless. Afterwards I heard a parent ask a few kids if they enjoyed it and the responses were "It was OK" "eh.." etc.

However most Vince Vaughn fans and adults who enjoy Christmas movies should get a kick out of this one.:thumbsup:

[NotaGeek]

I am totally looking forward to this movie!

[gauvin4]

We saw this movie over the weekend and I agree with you. It is geared to older kids & adults. My son is 13 and he enjoyed the movie ( my husband & I did as well).

[bleukarma]

I saw this over the weekend and I enjoyed it! In the past I've found it hard to take Vince Vaughn seriously as a comedic actor because when he became big it seems like he just played serious roles (like Psycho). But I think this is the first Vince Vaughn comedy that I could get into. My aunt and I both laughed out loud a few times! I also enjoyed Kevin Spacey in it. Very good!

[PirateLover]

I also enjoyed Kevin Spacey in it. Very good!

yes I forgot to mention, we enjoyed him as the scrooge type villain. Aunt Paul Giamatti as Santa was good too.

[RenDuran]

We almost thought about seeing this with our two kids this weekend because of the PG rating, but there was a nagging voice in me saying....would Vince Vaughn really make a family movie?! Glad we didn't now!

[PirateLover]

We almost thought about seeing this with our two kids this weekend because of the PG rating, but there was a nagging voice in me saying....would Vince Vaughn really make a family movie?! Glad we didn't now!

Yea, nothing about it is offensive per say... for instance it isn't Bad Santa... but it also isn't Elf. There isn't much appeal for the kiddie crowd because they probably aren't old enough to really comprehend the overall theme of the movie (Living in someone else's shadow your whole life).

[bleukarma]

I really didn’t see anything offensive, but I don’t have kids so I really wasn’t looking through the “kid sensor” goggles. I can see how kids would be bored of it though. Vince Vaughn has the type of humor that I don’t think kids would get. He wasn’t crude, but I just think his style is over some kids heads.

However I was VERY put off in the opening scene when Kathy Bates was giving birth. Seriously…I could’ve lived my entire life without seeing that!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope that doesn’t count as a spoiler, if it does then feel free to erase it, but I kind of wish that scene wasn’t in the movie! Right from the beginning it got me thinking “what am I watching??!” But the rest of the movie made up for it. :mickey:

There are a few scenes that actually made me tear up though. It has a good message with how you treat one person can have an affect on their life.

[Disneyatic]

We saw this on Saturday and took my DD8 and my friends nephew 7.
I did expect it to be more like Elf and it wasn't as slapstick, but it was funny and they both liked it. The loved the elves.
I do agree that during the first scene when she was giving birth I was thinking "UH OH" but it was good and I think that the message was clear enough that the kids can get it.

[PirateLover]

We saw this on Saturday and took my DD8 and my friends nephew 7.
I did expect it to be more like Elf and it wasn't as slapstick, but it was funny and they both liked it. The loved the elves.

I'm glad the kids you took enjoyed it. I think I probably would've myself at that age as well, but I was always a bit mature. There were definitely scenes that the kids laughed at, but I think the average kid would get bored sitting through it. I'm basing this on the fact that my theater was packed with 7-12 year olds who seemed very restless and uninterested whenever Santa or the elves weren't on screen. With the prices of movies these days, I would probably wait for DVD if I wasn't 100% sure my kid would enjoy it.

And bleukarma, I totally was tearing up during the Silent Night scene.

[bleukarma]

And bleukarma, I totally was tearing up during the Silent Night scene.

Me too!!! That one scene really puts things in perspective of what Christmas really is all about.

[MinnieMommie]

Thanks for the recommendations. I hope to catch this over the holiday weekend. :mickey:

[PirateLover]

I forgot to add one thing! People in the theater must've thought I was nuts because at one point, Santa says something about "What about all the children in Lithuania etc etc " just naming random countries. Well I'm half Lithuanian and whenever I hear anything about Lithuania I get overly excited. I punched my fists up into the air and nudged my bf.
LIETUVIU PRIDE!!!!!!!

The presents scene also had brief clips of them flying past city hall in Philly not once but twice! :thumbsup: