Fred Claus tries to tell an updated version of the Santa Claus story by bringing in Santa's relatives and adding some modern flourishes, but it ends up being a formulaic cash-in on the holidays that only those under the age of six will enjoy.
In order to drive home an anti-corporate message, the film has Santa answering to a board of businessmen (the script never explains why Santa has to answer to a board) and an efficiency expert (Spacey), who wants to shut down the North Pole and outsource to the South Pole. Making matters worse, Santa's brother Fred (Vaughn), comes to Santa's workshop to work in the naughty and nice department, where he decides all children are nice, regardless of their actions. After Fred stamps every child's file as nice, Santa's elves can't keep up with all the new toys that need to be made, thus putting Santa's workshop in danger of being shut down by the board.
Parents who use Santa as a means to get children to behave may be hesitant about Fred Claus, as children might walk away from the film with the impression that regardless of their actions they will receive presents. However, since this movie is utterly forgettable, the Christmas tradition of disciplining unruly, present-hungry children through threats of coal from Santa shall remain intact - or at least until the next holiday movie season.
