Fred Claus (2007)

*

Four years ago Elf came along and showed that a big-name actor, the right cast, and the right intentions could result in a timeless Christmas movie meant to make kids and their parents smile. Fred Claus has shown that given a star-studded cast, a putrid script, and three weeks, Hollywood can put Christmas presents under a few actors and some cast members' trees. Three weeks may be generous; it looks like it took about a week to make this film. The joke is on the audience here though, as the film is a solid thirty to forty minutes in before the first joke that even elicits a smirk comes across the screen. Vince Vaughn, as Santa's delinquent brother Fred, got paid for being himself, which after ten years isn't so funny anymore. While other high-profile comedians such as Will Ferrell and Steve Carell have shown great diversity and have achieved success across multiple genres, Vaughn is still playing the same character that made him a star in Swingers. Paul Giamatti does play a respectable Santa Claus, but the script is so typical and unfunny that his performance it doesn't matter. Rachel Weisz and Kathy Bates are irrelevant in throwaway roles that someone else could have played for millions less, and Kevin Spacey is surprisingly disappointing in a role you would expect an actor of his caliber to avoid. The plot can be predicted twenty minutes in advance by a 4 year-old on the nastiest Sour Patch Kids sugar high, and is borderline painful for adults. There is nothing clever, witty, or original in Fred Claus, which is based on a premise that had some potential. It is possible to make a family Christmas movie that becomes a staple of the holiday season years after it was made, and it is possible to rob parents of a few hard-earned dollars that could go toward little Bobby's Playstation 3.

Good For: Vince Vaughn fans

Bad For: anyone 3 years of age or older, people who like to laugh at funny jokes

Idiocracy (2006)

*

Throughout the nineties Mike Judge proved he could make versatile comedy across multiple genres. Office Space was a cult classic, smart, and satirical. Beavis and Butthead was the complete opposite, the ultimate display of immaturity that used its stupidity as genius comedy, and King of the Hill was a mainstream comedy that is still in syndication. Idiocracy, which has garnered a respectable cult following as it has lingered in Hollywood purgatory for years, is none of the above. Absolutely nothing is smart about Idiocracy, the stupidity is not funny, and after not being released in theaters or distributed by any major film company, it is unlikely to ever gain a mainstream audience even on DVD. The premise of Idiocracy is in itself brilliant. Joe Bauers, played by Luke Wilson, is the most average human being on earth. As part of a U.S. army experiment he is frozen to be re-thawed a year later, but actually is not rethawed until over 500 years later. In the distant future, 500 years of evolution has selected for an incredibly stupid human race and Joe finds himself as the smartest human being on earth. Maya Rudolph plays a prostitute who is also a part of the experiment. Wilson and Rudolph are painfully not funny especially when they are on the screen together. Dax Shepard plays one of the humans of the future and talks in an awful future "hick, ebonics, valley girl" combination accent that is way more annoying than funny. Where Office Space was the perfect satire of life in the cubicle, Idiocracy completely whiffs at the chance to poke fun at the increasing stupidity of the human race. Occasionally there are a few fart jokes or plays on four letter words that get a chuckle, but as a full length feature, the film falls flat on its face. I'm not sure what Judge was thinking, and I see myself for the first time siding with the film companies. This should not have been released and needed major work, probably a hit of the reset button. Its a shame such a great idea is wasted on a terrible plot with a funny joke every 30 minutes.

Good For: people who liked Norbit, Beavis and Butthead (themselves)

Bad For: people with a double digit IQ, people with hobbies/friends/relatives

The Gallery
The Economist: *
The Film Maker: * * *