It's not so jolly an exaggeration to suggest that one would have to be in love with actor Vince Vaughn in order to fully enjoy Fred Claus. Aiming for this very limited demographic may have affected the performance of the film, which gurus predicted would be a hit based on the success of Wedding Crashers and other films starring Vince Vaughn, but one that came in behind Bee Movie and American Gangster in its opening week. So it's safe to assume that at least some people in America love Vince Vaughn, and their blinding idealization will be needed because Fred Claus is 116 minutes of Vaughn at his best, at his worst, and right in your face. Fred Claus is what it would be like for you to be married to Vince Vaughn.

So while we can assume that someone like Jennifer Aniston would have a great time at the movies watching Fred Claus (or not so much, now?) for anyone that doesn't enjoy Vaughn's "act" (a manically vengeful wise guy whose only solace in life seems to be complaining and spouting off to clueless people) Fred Claus will be a very long 116 minutes. Vince Vaughn plays Fred, the bitter older brother of Santa who is forced to move to the North Pole and has some trouble fitting in with a Saint's lifestyle.

Right away, the premise of the film is flawed, however promising it was to see Vaughn together with Paul Giamatti wearing a Santa suit in the previews. Vince Vaughn doesn't actually seem to come from any Christmas fairy tale, nor does he seem related to Giamatti in any significant way. This movie plays like a poorly conceived Saturday Night Live sketch, but minus a punchline. This is a dress rehearsal, a great idea of a joke that never quite gets told.

To his credit, Vaughn does try to carry the picture on his shoulder, and will continue to charm his fan base while getting under the skin of everyone who thinks neurotic hostility is not quite funny enough. Paul Giamatti is a gifted actor and is equally adept at playing comedy and drama. He is more than capable of playing a wonderful straight man to Howard Stern, Andy Kaufman or even a turn of the century magician who looks like Edward Norton. However, Giamatti picks up the Santa Claus suit to no great discovery in Fred Claus and merely looks fat, silly and fresh out of ideas on how to make a scene funny.

Vince Vaughn is enthusiastic about restoring the R rated comedy back to prominence, even if this movie is a shockingly tasteful PG rated family flick about sibling rivalry. Vaughn's dangerous sneers and aggressive perspectives certainly seem like they are out of place here and longing to be in more of a Bad Santa type of flick where old fashioned Christmas cheer is wrung by the neck for some uncomfortable laughter. Instead Fred Claus is disappointingly simple, overly sentimental and has a howlingly ill-conceived movie premise. Thank director David Dobkin for this mess. He took a 360 degree turn from the raunchy comedy Wedding Crashers to film this holiday fantasy anxious to prove he doesn't have to crash every sacred party. Too bad this enthusiastic and ignitable cast of actors was wasted in a very inane script. Somewhere amid the picket lines, screenwriter Dan Fogelman is trying to keep a low profile. Grade: Naughty, er I mean D.