Santa Claus' estranged brother, Fred, is forced to work for him in the North Pole, where Fred eventually must keep Christmas from being ruined. Fred Claus has always lived in the shadow of his brother, Nick. As children, Fred was constantly angered by Nick's attempts at doing the right thing, leaving him to have one friend in the world: a bird in a nearby tree. Nick sees how much Fred loves the tree, so he cuts it down so Fred can look at it inside at all times... unaware that this sends Fred's bird friend away for good, effectively ending their relationship's good terms. When Nick becomes a saint, he and his family are frozen in time forever, so they'll never grow older. In present day, Fred, still resentful of Nick, has become a repo man, so that he is basically the opposite of his brother, taking away the gifts that are given at Christmas. Fred is trying to come up with $50,000 to start his own business, but he has no money-- not even enough to pay bail when he's arrested one night. He asks Nick for help, and Nick cuts him a deal: if Fred comes to work at the North Pole in the time leading up to Christmas, he will give Fred the money he requires. Fred reluctantly agrees, and soon finds himself up north, where an efficiency expert named Clyde is inspecting Nick's operation. Unsurprisingly, Fred's arrival causes things to quickly become inefficient, leading to Christmas being in jeopardy. When Fred and Nick fight, and Nick injures his back, Christmas is on the brink of being cancelled. Fred takes the money he earned and leaves, but when he realizes that only a Claus can deliver gifts on Christmas Eve, he races back in order to keep Christmas on track.
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Best part of story, including ending:
It's a good premise with some appealing performers, but quite frankly, the tone of the film is simply too resentful and nasty to generate any real holiday cheer.
Best scene in story:
A small elf named Willy struggles the whole film long with his confidence, so at film's end when he kisses his love interest, it's a heart-warmer.
Opinion about the main character:
Fred is a jerk, simple and plain, and just because he befriends birds and small orphaned children doesn't really excuse how horribly he behaves around everyone else.
